Not all that surprisingly, LeAnn Rimes and her husband Dean Sheremet have separated. They let the world know via a “friend,” who was savvy enough not to announce their marital woes until after 5 p.m. on a Friday. What a PR knowledgeable friend. Of course the friend also insists Dean and LeAnn have been having problems long before she met and had an affair with Eddie Cibrian. Who – conveniently enough – just separated from his wife three days ago. All these coincidences…

Four months after reports surfaced that LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian were allegedly having an affair, a source tells PEOPLE that the country singer is no longer living with her husband, Dean Sheremet.

“Le and Dean have been separated for quite some time now, but they’re continuing to try and work through their relationship, a Rimes pal says.

The couple married in 2002, when she was only 19. Last August (six months before their seventh anniversary), they threw a “Seven-Year Itch” party to, as Rimes put it, “remember how blessed we are.”

News of their separation comes days after Cibrian’s wife, Brandi Glanville, said she and the actor were splitting.

“Eddie is a devoted and loving father first and foremost and the speed bump he and Brandi are experiencing needs to be worked out privately for everyone’s benefit,” his manager said in a statement.

Cibrian, 36, who is joining the cast of C.S.I. Miami this fall, has denied he was having an affair with Rimes, his costar in the Lifetime original movie Northern Lights, which they filmed last fall.

In March, the Rimes pal confirmed the singer and Sheremet were having problems in their marriage, but maintained Cibrian was “not the cause,” adding, “There have been issues brewing for months prior to meeting Eddie on set.”

[From People]

I certainly don’t find that last little bit a surprise at all. Kaiser’s theory is that LeAnn and Dean have always had an open relationship, which makes sense, especially given that they didn’t split up right away. However a lot of people think Dean is gay and he and LeAnn don’t have a sexual relationship. Unfortunately they have yet to confirm any of these rumors, but hopefully a Barbara Walters interview will happen soon and she’ll ask those tough, nosy questions that drive us crazy. It is absolutely none of my business, but I so want to know what the deal was between those two.

Regardless of all the requisite talk about working through things, remaining friends, having the utmost respect for one another (those last two will be coming in the next few weeks, I guarantee you), I’m sure we’ll be seeing LeAnn and Eddie “out and about” in Us Weekly in under a month. Maybe under the cover of sunglasses and out-of-date trucker hats, but there they’ll be. A month after that, they’ll be openly attending events together. “Working on it” as they all might claim to be, these marriages are kaput.

Here’s LeAnn leaving her house with a friend on Thursday. Images thanks to WENN.com . Header photo with Dean from February. Image thanks to Fame Pictures .