Etheridge to Oprah: Split with Tammy Was Mutual

Musician Melissa Etheridge says her separation from her partner, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels Etheridge, was mutual.

On Friday's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Etheridge told Winfrey the separation was "as mutual as those things can be." She also called the breakup "sad."

The 48-year-old singer calls 35-year-old Tammy Etheridge "a wonderful woman and an incredible mother" and said "she'll always be in my life."

The couple announced their separation April 15. They had held a commitment ceremony in Malibu, California, in 2003. Tammy Etheridge gave birth to twins - a son, Miller, and a daughter, Johnnie Rose - in 2006. The couple used an anonymous donor from a sperm bank.