Actor Russell Crowe and his wife of nine years, Danielle Spencer have separated.

Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer in happier times

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the split is due to Crowe’s busy film schedule, which has kept him away from his family in Sydney for most of the year. The actor has six films coming out in the next 12 months, including “Man with the Iron Fists,” “Les Miserables,” “Broken City,” “Man of Steel,” “Noah” and “Winter’s Tale.”

The separation is said to be amicable and the couple’s number one concern is raising their sons.

Crowe and Spencer met 22 years ago while working on the movie, “The Crossing,” before he became a household name and hit it big in Hollywood. After dating Spencer for a number of years (and cheating on her with Meg Ryan), he returned to Australia and proposed in December 2002.

The couple have two children together, sons Charles, 8, and Tennyson, 6.