Hamasaki Ayumi announces her divorce from her second husband

Hamasaki Ayumi announced through her official fan club website's blog that she has divorced her second husband who is a American 10 years younger than her. The couple who had been living in Los Angeles, announced their engagement in December 2013 and registered their marriage in March the following year but details of their married life have been shrouded in mystery to date. Hamasaki's ex-husband was said to be a medical student at UCLA at the time of their marriage so she had been shuttling between the US and Japan in recent years.

In Hamasaki's statement titled "Tsutaetai koto" (Something I want to tell), she revealed that she and her partner for the last three years will be heading their separate ways. Rather than letting the media break the news, she preferred to tell her Team Ayu (TA) fans directly. She pledged to continue working hard on the rehearsals for the TA concert tour and recording for her new song but did not go into details on when the divorce application was submitted.

This is Hamasaki's second divorce to date. She was previously married to Australian actor Manuel Schwartz who was based in the US where they announced their marriage via Twitter on New Year's Day in 2011 after a four-month courtship. However, they parted in January the following year when it was revealed that they had only registered their marriage in the US but not in Japan so Hamasaki was still legally single at that time. As for her second marriage, it was formalised legally in Japan.

When asked about the news of her divorce, Hamasaki's agency said that this is her private matter so they will refrain from commenting on it.

Hamasaki is due to begin her nationwide fan club tour from 30 September and will appear on TV Asahi's "Music Station" on 19 September.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo