Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons Announce Split

ET confirms that fashion designer and former model KIMORA LEE SIMMONS and her music mogul husband RUSSELL SIMMONS have split.

"Kimora and I will remain committed parents and caring friends with great love and admiration for each other," Simmons said in a statement. "We will also continue to work side by side on a daily basis as partners in all of our businesses."

Russell, 48 and Kimora, 30, have been married for nearly 8 years and have two daughters together, MING, 6, and AOKI, 3. The pair met in 1992 and married in December of 1998 on the Caribbean island of St. Bart's. Kimora is a former model for big name designers like CHANEL and now heads up Baby Phat, an offshoot of Russell's Phat Farm clothing line. Russell is the co-founder of Def Jam Records and is the head of Rush Communications.