“It has been a long time coming.”

Although Robin Thicke spoke of his strong relationship with his wife, Paula Patton, on Studio Q last August – and defended his hit “Blurred Lines,” saying it was “just entertainment” – it seems as if the “joke” has come to a head.

Patton and Thicke announced Monday that they are splitting after almost nine years of marriage, though sources say that they have been discussing it for some time now.

“Their marriage was unraveling for a long time,” an insider told US Weekly.

For a while, rumors have been rampant of Thicke’s unfaithful nature, especially after his controversial performance with 21-year old Miley Cyrus at the 2013 Video Music Awards.

On August 25, headlines claimed that Thicke had cheated on Patton after a picture surfaced of him groping a woman at a party. This woman later claimed that she and Thicke had indeed slept together after the photo was taken.

Robin Thicke is just Thick. How you gonna choose groupie life over wifey life ?? look at his hand smh pic.twitter.com/P6Q4cyOsMT

— 20L4 (@LadyLeshurr) February 25, 2014

Yet the couple defended their marriage, even after this scandal.

“The spice is not our problem,” he told Elle Magazine in October, 2013, bragging about their sex life. “We’re overspiced. We could probably take a few spices off the shelf.”

But, according to Yahoo News, the 36-year old singer was also seen “flirting with a big-haired beauty” in a Parisian nightclub in January.

Patton previously admitted that she hid “in the bushes outside Thicke’s house when she suspected him of cheating” in 2005 before they were married. Basked on this evidence, the couple’s recent decision to call it quits should be no surprise.

The 38-year old Mission: Impossible actress and Thicke started dating when they were teenagers and eventually married in 2005. In 2010, their son, Julian Fuego Thicke, was born.

“We will always love each other and be best friends,” the two said in a joint statement on Monday. “However, we have mutually decided to separate at this time.”

Image via YouTube