Robin Thicke and Paula Patton announce separation

They were childhood sweethearts who married nine years ago and became the proud parents of three-year-old Julian.

But Robin Thicke and Paula Patton confirmed the end of their 20 year relationship and announced their separation on Monday.

After standing by her man through numerous reports of his indiscretions, the catalyst that finally caused the couple’s split is unclear.

However Robin’s sudden and new found fame thrusting him into questionable situations he appeared to relish, without sufficient wariness of the media spotlight now on him, seems to have been a contributing factor.

The now estranged couple seemed to have one of the most successful relationships in Hollywood, a town where marriages are famously short and the price of their divorces eye-wateringly high.

Sadly, the pair were not immune to the curse of the industry, as they appeared stronger than ever until Robin catapulted from minor celebrity to fully fledged star last year.

He ended up getting caught behaving inappropriately on camera with two young women who were most certainly not his wife.

After the release of his unashamedly misogynistic song and video for Blurred Lines, everyone was talking about Robin and the former soul and R&B artist’s ‘creepy’ song with ‘rape overtones’.

Robin was far from unapologetic for creating a video in which he, Pharrell Williams and T.I. ogled nearly naked women and blew smoke in their faces.

But the star did reveal that he had the approval from his actress wife before going ahead with the project, and even claimed he wrote the track about her.

'I wrote it about my wife,' Robin explained back in October. 'She's my good girl. And I know she wants it because we've been together for 20 years.'

In September Robin said Paula encouraged him to pose on the cover or Treats! magazine with five nude models.

'It was very sexy and I like that, ' Robin revealed. 'At first I thought, ''Okay, let’s just do topless'' ...but, again, my wife and her friends were like, ''No way…go all the way.'' I think we definitely pushed the envelope.'

Of course, the 36-year-old’s notoriety was doubled after his extremely raunchy performance of Blurred Lines alongside Miley Cyrus at the MTV Video Music Awards in August.

Some think that Miley grinding up against Robin and dry humping a foam finger in nude latex lingerie was the final straw that led to the 21-year-old and her former fiancé Liam Hemsworth calling off their engagement.

But at the time, a source told TMZ that in contrast Paula, 38, 'couldn't be cooler' about the controversial performance.

Paula continued to play the good wife days later when a photograph emerged which appeared to show Robin grabbing student Lara Scolaro’s bottom after the VMAs.

Then last month, Robin's eye looked like it was wandering again as he was pictured dirty dancing and embracing a gorgeous mystery woman at a Parisian nightclub.

Perhaps this was what finally led to the couple’s once enviable relationship imploding, as it was just over a month following the release of the snaps that Robin and Paula announced their split.

'We will always love each other and be best friends, however, we have mutually decided to separate at this time,' the pair told People in a carefully constructed joint statement.

Robin has already been propositioned by 20-year-old Scolaro, who told TMZ: 'I'd love to grab a drink with him if he asked'.

She added: 'Robin acting like that with me makes me think there were many more. It's a shame because when you have a kid, it's upsetting.'