Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler announced separation from his wife of 17 years, Teresa Barrick. 56-year-old Tyler, who lives in Boston with his wife and two teenage children, asked the public to respect his family's privacy in a statement released through the band's publicist, Mitch Schneider.

"Before the tabloid media makes more of this than it is, I am announcing that my wife Teresa and I are currently separated," Tyler said. "We're just a family trying to work through a difficult time. A little privacy and sensitivity for Teresa, my children and myself would be nice."

Barrick is a fashion designer, responsible for much of Tyler's rocker wardrobe, and the mother of his 16-year-old daughter Chelsea and 13-year-old son Taj.

The couple married in a quiet ceremony in Barrick's hometown of Tulsa, Okla in 1988. This week Tyler has been allegedly telling friends he and Barrick were considering breaking up. "He is difficult, there isn't just one thing that led to this," a source told New York Post. "It's been coming for a while."

Tyler is also the father of model and actress Liv Tyler, 27, from a previous relationship with model Bebe Buell, and plus-size model Mia Tyler, 26, from a previous marriage to actress Cyrinda Fox.