Katy Perry, Russell Brand Split

Dec. 30, 2011— -- Russell Brand has filed for divorce from singer Katy Perry.

The 36-year-old comedian released a statement today: "Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends."

The couple had recently been photographed without wearing their wedding rings after spending the holidays apart.

According to TMZ, which obtained the divorce documents filed in Los Angeles, Brand is citing "irreconcilable differences."

Perry, 27, and Brand were married Oct. 23, 2010 in India after a whirlwind romance. They have no kids.

A solo Perry was photographed before Christmas splashing in the surf around Hawaii, which could explain the absence of her wedding ring.

But then People reported that her husband Brand, who spent Christmas miles away in Britain, stepped out on a London street Thursday, also without his wedding band.

Reps for Perry and Brand did not respond immediately to ABCNews.com's requests for comment. And their normally active Twitter pages have been unusually mum on the issue.

Us Weekly reported that Perry and Brand had "a massive fight" just before Christmas and instead of flying her family via private jet to Brand's London hometown for the holidays, the singer changed course and flew to Hawaii with friends.

Earlier this month, Brand brushed off reports of problems, telling Ellen DeGeneres, "I am really happily married.... I'm married to Katy. Perpetually, until death do us part was the pledge. I'm still alive."

Brand gushed about Perry and married life when he appeared on ABC's "The View" and "Nightline" in the spring. He said, despite being A-list stars, the couple had a "normal" marriage.

He joked with the women of "The View" that he was more like Perry's butler now, whereas his life before her was "chaos, glass, blood, and madness."

Asked by "Nightline" correspondent Bill Weir what touched him about Perry, Brand responded: "I think I was growing up anyway, Bill. Eventually I wanted a companion, a friend. It's the most normal relationship I've ever had. The other day, seriously, we're getting ready, Bill, to go out, and she goes, 'Oh, you're wearing that shirt, are you?' 'Yeah?' Bill, I did not wear that shirt."

In Perry's most recent interview, with ABC's Barbara Walters for her "Most Fascinating People of 2011," the singer was asked if she has a happy marriage.

"I think that it's lovely so far," she said in the interview that aired Dec. 14.

When Walters asked Perry if she planned to have children, she replied, "Yes of course, I think that is one of the biggest reasons why you do get married."