Sheryl Crow e Lance Armstrong Separam-se

The much anticipated wedding of Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow is officially off.

The couple, who released a joint statement through Armstrong’s spokesman to PEOPLE, are calling it quits after two years of dating and an engagement that lasted a little over five months.

"After much thought and consideration we have made a very tough decision to split up. We both have a deep love and respect for each other and we ask that everyone respect our privacy during this very difficult time," the statement said. Rumors of trouble began surfacing around Christmas, but the couple insisted there was no truth to them and that they were moving forward with wedding plans for this spring.

Crow recently tried on wedding gowns, including a Vera Wang with what she said was “a particularly absurd amount of meringue,” for a photo shoot for Allure magazine and told reporters that she would be marrying her cyclist boyfriend in Austin.

Armstrong, 34, a Texan, and Crow, 43, born in Missouri, shared a ranch in Austin and were said to be planning to live there together after their wedding.

The couple met at a charity event in October 2003 and began dating a short time later. "I knew pretty quickly that I was totally into him,” Crow told PEOPLE in November.

Armstrong proposed to her in Sun Valley, Idaho, in late August in a proposal Crow called “very romantic.”