John Mellencamp and his wife Elaine Irwin Mellencamp are splitting after 20 years together and 18 years of marriage.  The 59-year-old rocker and Elaine met on a photo shoot when she was a supermodel.  Elaine was hired to appear on the cover of Mellencamp’s 1991 album cover Whenever We Wanted (see the cover below).  They were engaged 10 weeks later and married the next year. 

The couple announced through a spokesman on Thursday that they are “calling it a day as a couple”. 

“John and Elaine Mellencamp are proud of their 20 years together and are very happy with their accomplishments both as parents and as a family,” the statement reads.

The couple will continue to raise their two children, sons Hud and Speck, in his home state of Indiana.