EXCLUSIVE: Susan Sarandon Didn't Dump Tim Robbins for Jonathan Bricklin, According to Rep

Dec. 24, 2009 — -- It's a Christmas shock: Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, until now one of Hollywood's rare enduring couples, have called it quits.

Wednesday, in a statement to media outlets, Teal Cannaday, Sarandon's publicist, confirmed that over the summer, the actress separated from her partner of more than two decades.

"Actress Susan Sarandon and her partner of 23 years, actor Tim Robbins have announced that they separated over the summer," Cannaday said in a statement obtained by ABCNews.com. "No further comments will be made."

ABCNews.com's calls and e-mails to Robbins' publicist were not immediately returned.

In addition, today, Cannaday refuted reports that Sarandon is dating her 31-year-old business partner, Jonathan Bricklin, an aspiring filmmaker and ping pong aficionado.

"The rumors are absolutely untrue," Cannaday told ABCNews.com. "Susan's relationship with Jonathan Bricklin is strictly a business one."

Sarandon and Robbins met on the set of the 1988 baseball movie "Bull Durham." They have two sons together, Jack, 20, and Miles, 17. Sarandon also has a daughter, Eva Amurri, from her 1980s relationship with director Franco Amurri. Before that, Sarandon was married to Chris Sarandon, whom she met in college.

Sarandon, Robbins Never Married

Though they never married, Sarandon, 63, and Robbins, 51, were noted for maintaining their relationship in an industry where hooking up and breaking up can seem as routine as a trip to the gym.

Sarandon, currently starring in "The Lovely Bones", and Robbins, famous for his role in "The Shawshank Redemption," excelled at their craft. She won an Oscar for 1995's "Dead Man Walking;" he scored an Academy Award for 2003's "Mystic River."

They also bonded over a shared passion for political causes, taking a stance against the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and many of the policies of former President George W. Bush. In their heyday, Sarandon and Robbins frequented fancy red carpet affairs as frequently as they did low key charity events and fundraisers.

Connected by their love for acting, activism and family, marriage never seemed a priority for the couple.

"I won't marry because I am too afraid of taking him for granted or him taking me for granted," Sarandon said in the past, according to People magazine. "Maybe it will be a good excuse for a party when I am 80."