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ARUBA TRAVELLER - Wednesday, July 22 2015  Blake Shelton
                                            and Miranda
                                             Lambert are

                                               getting a
                                                 divorce

                                           BLAKE Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Nashville’s su-

                                           perstar couple and two of the most powerful singers in
                                           country music, are getting a divorce.

                                           “This is not the future we envisioned. And it is with heavy
                                           hearts that we move forward separately,” the singers
                                           said via their representatives in a statement “We are real
                                           people, with real lives, with real families, friends and col-
                                           leagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compas-
                                           sion concerning this very personal matter.”
                                           The couple has been married for four years; both top-
                                           selling, award-winning country artists, with their lavish
                                           Texas featured in magazines in May 2011. 

                                           It’s a surprising conclusion for the couple that was very
                                           open about their relationship, even though they have
                                           been plagued by divorce rumors for years on gossip sites.
                                           However, whispers of trouble in paradise intensified in
                                           recent months — particularly when Lambert walked away
                                           from the Academy of Country Music Awards in April with
                                           various trophies and never once thanked Shelton during
                                           several acceptance speeches. She later blamed being
                                           nervous on stage.
                                           Shelton, 39, and Lambert, 31, famously fell for each other
                                           during CMT’s “100 Greatest Duets” special in 2005, where
                                           they collaborated on “You’re the Reason God Made Okla-
                                           homa” and had some noticeable chemistry.

                                           He was an established country music star and she had just
                                           released her debut album following a third-place finish on
                                           USA’s “Nashville Star.” Shelton was married at the time
                                           to his first wife, though they divorced the following year.

                                           Their showbiz split could have an impact on their ca-
                                           reers. While Shelton and Lambert are both extremely suc-
                                           cessful solo singers, there’s no doubt that they got a boost
                                           and many headlines from being Nashville’s golden couple.

                                           However, their fame took different paths in the last several
                                           years, and they frequently spoke about the challenges of
                                           marriage with constant travel and working on opposite
                                           coasts. Shelton became a TV star as a judge on NBC’s sing-
                                           ing competition series “The Voice.”
                                           At the moment, there’s no word from Shelton or Lambert
                                           individually on the news, though they’re deep in the sum-
                                           mer fair and festival circuit. Shelton is scheduled to play
                                           in Wisconsin on Friday; earlier today, Lambert announced
                                           plans for a small acoustic show in Nashville on Sunday,
                                           which sold out in less than an hour.

                                           17INTERNATIONAL
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