Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney said Wednesday they are separating after nearly four years of marriage.

A statement issued by McCartney and his second wife said they had "found it increasingly difficult to maintain a normal relationship with constant intrusion into our private lives."

The brief statement said that "with sadness" the couple agreed to "go our separate ways" but said the parting was "amicable."

He married Mills in June 2002, four years after his former wife, Linda McCartney, died of breast cancer. McCartney and Mills had a daughter in October 2003.

"Separation for any couple is difficult enough, but to have to go through this so publicly, especially with a small daughter, is immensely stressful," the statement said. "We hope, for the sake of our baby daughter, that we will be given some space and time to get through this difficult period."