Jessica Alba officially files for divorce from husband Cash Warren after 16 years of marriage

The 43-year-old actress filed in Los Angeles County court on Friday (February 7), citing irreconcilable differences. She listed their date of separation as December 27, according to the filing seen by People.

Alba married Warren, age 46, on May 19 2008, and the now former couple had three children; Honor, now 16, Haven, now 13, and Hayes, now 7. She has filed for joint custody. The actress also requested for her legal name to be restored to Jessica Marie Alba.

It comes just less than a month after Alba spoke about the break-up on Instagram. “I’ve been on a journey of self realisation and transformation for years – both as an individual and in partnership with Cash,” she wrote in a statement published on January 16.

“I’m proud of how we’ve grown as a couple in our marriage over the last 20 years and it’s now time for us to embark on a new chapter of growth and evolution as individuals. We are moving forward with love and kindness and respect for each other and will forever be family.”

Alba concluded the statement insisting that their three children “remain our highest priority”.

The actress met Warren in 2004, when she was starring as invisible superhero Susan Storm in Fantastic Four and he held the position as assistant to director Tim Story. She previously said Warren slipped her a note on the set, signed with a dollar sign – to match his name – that said: “I really, really like you.”

The news that Alba has officially filed for divorce comes as she shared a carousel of images to her Instagram page in which she gave her 20 million followers a glimpse of her “life lately”. The photo showed her spending quality time with her children, getting a massage and enjoying food. The carousel also included an image which said “it will work out if you want it to”.