Divorce #2 For Michael Jackson

The wife of pop singer Michael Jackson filed for divorce Friday, ending a nearly three-year marriage that produced two children.

Papers filed on behalf of Deborah Rowe Jackson in downtown Los Angeles County Superior Court cited irreconcilable differences. It said the couple had been separated since July 15.

The divorce petition said both parties reached a confidential agreement regarding property and debts. They did not indicate whether a custody agreement had been reached for the couple's children, 2-year-old Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and 1-year-old Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson.

Jackson and his wife "mutually agreed to end their marriage," spokesman Howard J. Rubenstein said in a statement.

"Michael and Debbie remain friends, and they ask that the public respect their desire not to further comment or speculate upon the reasons for their decision," his statement said.

The superstar's hits include Thriller and Billie Jean.

In April, Jackson told a London tabloid newspaper, The Mirror: "I love my wife, and we have a happy marriage."

Jackson, 41, married Rowe, a nurse in his plastic surgeon's office, on Nov. 15, 1996, the same year he and Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, ended their two-year marriage.

At the time of his marriage to Rowe, Jackson said: "I fell for the beautiful, unpretentious, giving person that she is, and she fell for me just being me."

The reclusive Jackson, known for his trademark sequined glove, has long been a tabloid target because of his alleged eccentricities.