Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore call it quits

Actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore attend The Urban Zen Stephan Weiss Apple Awards on June 9, 2011, in New York.

/ Getty

(CBS/AP) It's over between Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.

The actress told the Associated Press she plans to end her 6-year marriage to Kutcher, saying she is doing it with "great sadness and a heavy heart."

Pictures: Celebrity splits
Pictures: Ashton Kutcher
Pictures: Ashton and Demi
Ashton Kutcher: "I will forever cherish" time with Demi Moore

"As a woman, a mother and a wife, there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life," she added in a statement to the AP. "This is a trying time for me and my family, and so I would ask for the same compassion and privacy that you would give to anyone going through a similar situation."

Two months ago rumors swirled about the couple's marriage amid tabloid reports that the "Two and a Half Men" star was unfaithful.

Star magazine, citing "a source close to the pair," claimed at the time that Kutcher and Moore had separated and the marriage ended because of Kutcher's "serial cheating." The Daily Mail also had photos of a woman who claimed she had a "fling" with the actor when he and Moore spent their sixth wedding anniversary apart.

The pair frequently used Twitter to communicate with each other as millions of fans followed along - even amid rumors of Kutcher's infidelity. The day before their sixth wedding anniversary, Moore ominously quoted philosopher Epictetus: "When we are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger."

Moore, 49, and Kutcher, 33, created the DNA Foundation, also known as the Demi and Ashton Foundation, in 2010 to combat the organized sexual exploitation of girls around the globe. They later lent their support to the United Nations' efforts to fight human trafficking, a scourge the international organization estimates affects about 2.5 million people worldwide.

Moore was previously married to actor Bruce Willis for 13 years. They had three daughters together - Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle - before divorcing in 2000. Willis later married model-actress Emma Heming in an intimate 2009 ceremony at his home in Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands that was attended by their children, as well as Moore and Kutcher.

Moore and Kutcher began dating in 2003 and married in 2005.

25 Photos

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore

[oh_henry_oh]

I get that Demi is angry. And she's right to be.

But what about all that she's done to promote promiscuity, those pictures of her back as she's kneeling, does she think that only married people go to the movies?

About Kutcher, he's made a mistake that's going to cost him severely.

[themooniac]

maybe she will find a husband with talent.

[cuffhead]

These stories interest only fat people sitting around all day eating Bon Bon and reading rag magazines.

[skithebumps]

Hey, at least it lasted longer than Kardashian's marriage.

[mecury69]

Well, it's her own fault. She insists on satisfying her own ego by marrying 'stars' for superficial needs and that is what you get.

There are PLENTY of really good guys out there that will honor their vows, love and care for you. But they may not be as good looking.

So, Demi you reaped what you sown.

[debbie1120]

Demi and Bruce forever!!!!

[jose_z1]

I guess Demi's odometer finally hit 100,000.. Time to trade up!
.
Somewhere in the U.S., Bruce is smiling.. maybe laughing
.
.
.

[nygal28]

It's ok Demi, perhaps you will find a real man, not some young boy still sowing his wild oats. I don't understand what you ever saw in him anyway.

[hush_puppy]

She saw her youth that has left her. A mommy complex of wanting to sleep with her own son.

[Jhihmoac]

To Ashton from Demi: "BUR-R-R-R-R-RNNNN!"

[kenodenis]

Big gap in the ages of the two - I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I hope they part friends. Each must go on with their life.

[markag55]

It's difficult enough when two people (read "celebrities") try to make a go of a marriage when one is much older than the other. I hope, as a number of people on this web site have indicated, that they can remain friends. Who would have thought, when they married, that Ashton would become so famous in his own right? That must have put a lot of strain on their marriage. And to Demi, why not let him "cut loose", as long as he was careful and discreet? I just don't understand heterosexual couples (and most homosexual couples) and their monogamist demands. Sex is sex. Period. Love and making love, is something different. When one gets married, or makes a vow, that vow should be something like "I may get laid, but it won't mean anything but sexual gratification. You are the only one to whom I am faithful, and I will come home and tell you that."

[Jhihmoac]

Does this mean he'll go crawlin' back to Jackie Burkhart?