New York Giants football legend and morning talk-show personality Michael Strahan and his fiancee of five years, Nicole Murphy, called it quits Friday.
The split was an amicable one as their busy careers ultimately doomed the seven-year love affair for the beloved Live With Kelly and Michael host.
"They love each other very much, but with the distance and work schedule it has been hard to maintain the relationship," Strahan's rep confirms.
Strahan, 42, and Murphy, 46, a model and star of VH1's show Hollywood Exes (her ex being Eddie Murphy) started dating in 2007 and got engaged in 2009.
The former duo had nine children between them, five of them Murphy's by Eddie. Strahan has four kids from two ex-wives, Jean Muggli and Wanda Hutchins.
The lovebirds' careers turned them into a bi-coastal couple, as Strahan spends most of his time in New York while Murphy travels back and forth to L.A.
Because of their hectic schedules, the two were thinking about eloping.
"We might just have to run off and elope," Murphy told talk-show host Wendy Williams in April. "We've been busy though, this has been crazy."
"The man's got 20 jobs right now," Murphy said. "He's just busy."
Too busy, it turned out, as they announced the breakup Friday.
Strahan became almost more high profile since he retired from the NFL after the 2007 season, when he helped lead the Giants to the Super Bowl title in his last game.
That legacy will be enshrined permanently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this evening, when New York's #92 receives the highest honor in his sport.
Michael played 15 seasons at defensive end, recording double-digit sacks in six, including 2001, when he set the single-season record of 22.5.
He finished with 141.5 sacks, the fifth-most in NFL history. He made seven Pro Bowl teams and ended his career with his first and only championship.
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