Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber Split

— -- Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber are ending their relationship.

The two actors confirmed to ABC News in a joint statement that they have separated after 11 years.

"Over the past few months we've come to the conclusion that the best way forward for us as a family is to separate as a couple. It is with great love, respect, and friendship in our hearts that we look forward to raising our children together and exploring this new phase of our relationship," they said. "While we appreciate your curiosity and support, we ask the press to be mindful of our children and respect their right to privacy."

Watts, 47, and Schreiber, 48, first connected at the 2005 Met Gala, he told Esquire earlier this year. Afterward, she invited him to a club, but made him wait to talk to her while she chatted with Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro. Feeling self-conscious, he told her he was going home, only to have her follow him outside.

“She... said, 'Don't you want my digits?’” Schreiber recalled.

“It was the first thing that came to me,” Watts added. “I’ve never said those words before in my life and never since.”

Schreiber continued that afterward, the couple went on their first date, which ended with a kiss.

"I decided I was going to make a family with this person. For better or for worse, I stepped into a partnership with somebody,” he said. “We were gonna bring kids into this world and try to love and respect each other.”

The two share two sons, sons Alexander, whom they call Sasha, 9, and Samuel, 7.