Sad news, but not surprising news. According to Jessica Lange’s representative, Jessica and her long-time lover/partner/baby-daddy Sam Shepard are no longer together. The split isn’t recent either – they’re been over for nearly two years. Although they were often held up as an example of one of those famously unmarried couples who make it work year after year, Sam and Jessica’s relationship was always tumultuous, from what I’ve heard. And both have taken extended absences from Hollywood, allegedly to work on other projects, but probably to work on their relationship too. I’m just saying – they should be proud of making it work for so long, because I get the feeling that neither of them were God’s gift to relationships.

Actress Jessica Lange and her longtime partner, playwright and actor Sam Shepard, ended their relationship almost two years ago, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

The couple, who have been together since 1982, have two children, Hannah and Samuel, together.

“They both are pursuing independent lives,” says a source.

Lange, 62, who stars as Constance in FX’s hit series, American Horror Story, was just nominated for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She will be seen next in The Vow, costarring Rachel McAdams, in February.

A rep for Lange confirms the split – but has no additional comment. Shepard’s rep could not be reached.

[From People]

Now that Jessica has a new hit show (American Horror Story), I suspect that she’s been fielding some questions about her personal life, so this announcement has probably come out ahead of some tabloid report. Personally, I can’t wait to read any tabloid story about them – I’ve always thought Sam was incredibly sexy, but I have no illusions, he’s probably a bastard in real life. As for Jessica… well, if you told me she was flat-out insane, I wouldn’t doubt you. Here’s to a new beginning… two years later!

Photos courtesy of WENN, and Bruce Weber/Vanity Fair.

Jessica Lange on 1/15/08
I don’t want to knock a woman for getting work done. I’m 35, and in about fifteen years I will be getting a face lift despite my husband’s objections. I will age semi-naturally and not get a lot of injections and touch up work, but I’m planning on surgery. It already bothers me that I have lines around my eyes and my face is looking sort of old. My mother had a face lift after her best friend did it, and her best friend is in her 70s and looks like she’s 50 without any feline characteristics. To me it is a personal decision and it’s not a personal failing if you decide to get surgery and/or botox or restylane. You shouldn’t go overboard with it and it’s a fine line between having an operation or two and looking like you’re wearing a kabuki mask.

When you’re famous and it’s obvious, though, you should either admit to it, maybe in a roundabout way or in general terms like saying you’re not ruling it out, or you should not address it. If someone asks you, you can say you don’t want to comment. Don’t deny that you’ve had plastic surgery when we can all see the evidence.

Jessica Lange’s rep has denied that the 58 year-old actress has had plastic surgery. All I could think of when I saw her face up close in Big Fish was that she looked really pulled and strange. She’s a great actress, but she’s not doing herself any favors with this fib:

Jessica Lange in “Tootsie,” 1982

The National Enquirer recently speculated, with photos and commentary from a Michigan plastic surgeon, that Jessica Lange has undergone plastic surgery that didn’t necessarily result in a change for the better.

“It’s absolutely not true,” Lange’s PR rep Carrie Gordon told me from NYC on Tuesday. “And Jessica will not comment on it because it’s not true.”

In our first conversation, before Gordon presumably contacted Lange to say I was seeking a comment, Carrie asked how I could write this after admitting that I’m a huge fan of Jessica’s work. Because I’m not blind?

The Enquirer asked Detroit-area plastic surgeon Dr. Tony Youn to analyze before and after photos of Lange and her “Bonneville” co-star Joan Allen, who has suspiciously smooth skin.

Youn gave the Enquirer precise observations about Lange’s “overly arched brows,” and unnatural Catwoman-like appearance.

But haven’t Lange’s eyes always had a cat-like quality?

“To an extent she has,” said Youn when I interviewed him. “Are her eyes a little more tilted than the average person’s? Yes. But not to the extent that we see now in her.”

[From The Star Tribune via Huffington Post]

The article goes on to talk about how hard it is to cast these very plastic-looking women in films because they can’t play average older women. They could play more affluent older women who have had plastic surgery I guess.

They quote a radio personality as saying that if you have plastic surgery at “39, you never have to get it again. You’ve matured into your face and your bone structure and skin are good.” It also matters whether you got to a good surgeon who works on giving you natural results of course. Is that true? Not that I’m asking for personal reasons or anything.

Compared to Priscilla Presley and Kathie Lee Gifford, she’s looking pretty good. Looking through older photos of Lange, I would vote for bad plastic surgeon over too many face lifts.