Two months ago, the National Enquirer had a story that Sara Gilbert, 36 and her longterm partner Allison Adler, 44, had split up and were trying to figure out custody of their two children together. They have a son named Levi, 6, and daughter Sawyer, 4. Each of them is the biological mother of one of the children. Levi is Allison’s and Sawyer is Sara’s. Sara Gilbert’s rep just confirmed that Enquirer scoop to People Magazine. All they did was announce the breakup and claim the split was “completely amicable.” Maybe some people have amicable splits, but in my experience that’s rarely the case.

After 10 years together, Sara Gilbert and Allison Adler have ended their relationship, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

The Talk co-host and actress, 36, and Adler, 44, will share custody of their two children, son Levi, 6½, and daughter Sawyer, 4.

Gilbert and Adler, a television producer and writer, began dating in 2001.

A rep for Gilbert confirms the breakup. “It’s completely amicable,” the rep tells PEOPLE.

[From People]

The original Enquirer story on their split was pretty low-key and just said they were having problems due to conflicting work schedules. Plus Allison supposedly didn’t like the fact that Sara was airing some of their business by talking about their personal lives on The Talk. Allison works as a producer and writer and was just hired to work on “Glee.” Both of them are out but Allison is said to have wanted Sara to keep quiet about their lives. I wonder if Sara has been talking about this at all on The Talk, or if viewers have noticed that Sara hasn’t been discussing her family life at all.

Well this is sad but I guess it’s not unexpected given the rumors. As I mentioned in our July story on this, I hope they find a way to keep the kids together.

Photos are from 3/28/10 (family together, credit: Coqueran/Fame Pictures) and 7/2/11. (just the two of them, credit: WENN.) I’m pretty sure the woman with Sara alone is her now ex partner, Allison, as she’s wearing the same glasses and is the same height.

Sara Gilbert, 36, has been with her partner, producer/writer Alison Adler, 44, since 2002 and they have two children together: son Levi, six, and daughter Sawyer, who turns three next month. They each gave birth to one of their children: Levi is Alison’s biological child and Sawyer is Sara’s daughter. According to the National Enquirer, these two have sadly broken up due in part to busy work schedules. (I know it’s the Enquirer, but they usually get these stories about lesser celebrities right.) That means that things could get complicated working out custody, since each of their children has just one of them as their biological mother. I can’t figure out if their children have the same biological father, but that probably doesn’t matter at all in this case.

Sara Gilbert and her longtime partner, writer-producer Allison Adler, are splitting due to the demands of their thriving careers, sources say.

“Sara and Ali got so consumed with their work that their relationship crumbled,” and insider told the Enquirer.

“They have two children and were incredibly happy, but their careers got in the way. Ali was just hired as a writer and co-executive producer on the Fox show ‘Glee,’ while all of Sara’s time is taken up by ‘The Talk.’

“They don’t want to split the kids up, bu it’s an unusual situation because each of them is a biological mom,” explained the source. “They’re trying to work out a schedule to share custody.”

Besides their work issues, Ali was also said to be uncomfortable about Sara sharing details of their lives on “The Talk.”

“Neither of them was really in the closet about their sexual orientation, but Ali didn’t care for the fact that their private life was being gabbed about on national TV,” noted the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 21, 2011]

I did find a picture of Sara out with who I think must be Alison on 7/2/11. (In the photos with just the two of them.) It looks like she’s the same woman in the photo with their kids (that’s from March, 2010) and she’s wearing the same glasses and everything. So maybe their split came up suddenly, or maybe they’re still together. Those of you who watch “The Talk” might be able to let us know if Sara has talked about her home life much lately.

If this is true hopefully they’ll be able to work it out so their kids can still spend time together. I don’t think they legally have any obligation to do that, and it’s got to be hard on the kids.

I’m probably aging myself, but I’ll cop to remembering the first few seasons of Rosanne, and I also remember identifying with Sara Gilbert’s character Darlene. Darlene was smart and a little weird and she was often overshadowed by her older, prettier sister. She was pretty much the classic middle child – but that wasn’t what I identified with. I liked that she seemed different, and that it seemed okay. Since then, I’ve seen her on various shows – like as a rape victim struggling with PTSD on Law & Order: SVU – and I’ve always had a moment of “What ever happened to…?” Well, as it turns out, Sara Gilbert has been living a quiet life with her lesbian partner and their two kids. Sara spoke openly for the first time about being a lesbian while she sat down to promote her new talk show panel, based on The View, called The Talk.

This is no shocker, but Roseanne alum Sara Gilbert is officially a lesbian, it was revealed today at Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles. Gilbert’s sexuality was, for all intents and purposes, previously an open secret, like it is with so many other celebrities in Hollywood. (I’m not at liberty to publish names, but make a few guesses yourself — you probably won’t be wrong). In years past, publicists would ask that stories about Gilbert’s two children kindly didn’t mention her partner.

But hark! Today, Gilbert sat on a panel to talk about the new mother-rific riff on The View — called The Talk — that she’s executive producing and co-hosting with Julie Chen, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Sharon Osbourne, and Marissa Jaret Winokur, and she mostly didn’t sidestep the subject. When asked if she thought it’d be easier to be out in a talk show forum rather than as a character on a scripted show, Gilbert said, “This is a whole new world for me,” and added later, “I’m not an expert on this, or I don’t analyze these things. I’m just sort of living my life. I plan to put my heart and soul into this show, and I plan to continue acting, and I don’t think it will be a problem.” Being out, that is. “I don’t ever really think of things as out or in,” Gilbert said today. “I just think I am who I am, and when topics come up that are appropriate, I’ll talk about them and share when it seems right.”

To that, I say: Bravo to Gilbert! It was a tad strange when, last week, CBS sent out the press release about the new talk show and mentioned the husbands of the rest of the hosts, but only mentioned Gilbert’s children. Gilbert cleared up why there was no mention of her girlfriend, Allison Adler, a television producer. That decision to omit Allison, Gilbert explained, “came from me. CBS would write whatever I wanted.” And she added: “I’ve been acting my whole life, and I’ve never really discussed my personal life. This is a talk show” — one focusing on motherhood and parenting, no less, which she does with someone else. “So obviously,” she continued, “I’m going to be discussing my life more, and I felt that the first place I wanted to do it wasn’t in a CBS press release. It just seemed impersonal, and I felt like I’d rather come in person and talk to you about all that stuff here.” Classy move, truly.

Gilbert shared her pet peeve about Allison — specifically, that she’s taller and looks better in clothes because of it. And there’s lots more to come in that regard, judging by the candid format of this new show. I’m excited to hear more about the way Sara and Allison raise their two adorable children, mostly because they seem like good ladies and great representatives of lesbian moms everywhere. Does the news that Sara is officially out as a lesbian shock you? Will the fact that Sara loves the ladies make you tune in — or tune out — of The Talk?

[From Entertainment Weekly]

This isn’t quite as late an exit from the glass closet as Meredith Baxter, who publicly came out at the age of 62, but it’s still interesting, to me at least. I know I’ve gotten in trouble for talking sh-t about people like Anderson Cooper, but I really do feel that it’s every gay person’s right to choose the time and place in which they “come out.” My problem comes when they lie about it, or when everything becomes about the wink and the nod. Sara Gilbert wasn’t really famous enough to give a million interviews where she’s had to pretend that she’s straight – her glass closet seems more about the occasional omission rather than outright lies. But it’s good to see her come out and talk about it. Good for her!

Today is a sorta slow news day. Correction: today is a slow gossip day. So I’ll mention that if you’re into politics or fighting the forces of evil, you’ll be happy to learn that Karl Rove just resigned. In Entertainment news, here’s a little rundown of who’s had a baby in the last week or so.

Spice Girl Emma Bunton passed the title of “Baby” on to her new little boy this past Friday, August 10. Named Beau, the Spice Boy weighed in at 7 lbs, 15oz. The baby’s father is Bunton’s longtime boyfriend, Jade Jones.

“Pop singer Emma Bunton gave birth to her own Baby Spice on Friday — a boy called Beau.

“Bunton, 31, known as Baby Spice during her days with the Spice Girls, and partner Jade Jones’s first baby was born at 11:12 a.m. at London’s private Portland Hospital.

“’We just had a lovely baby boy,’ a beaming Jones told reporters outside the hospital. ‘Emma is doing very well … she’s just bonding with baby. We’re over the moon.’

“Jones said the first request the singer had following the birth was for Coca-Cola and flapjacks.

“Bunton and Jones, a former member of Nineties boy band Damage, have been together for eight years.

“Bunton is the latest member of Spice Girls, who announced in June that they are reforming for a comeback tour, to give birth.”

[From the Washington Post]

I think Emma’s held up the best of all the Spice Girls. She looks fairly natural, and very pretty.

Next up, Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene on “Roseanne” and has a continuing role on “E.R.” gave birth to a baby girl on August 2nd. She and her partner, Allison Adler, named the baby Sawyer. The two have a 3-year-old son named Levi, who Adler gave birth to.

“Sara Gilbert, the actress who came to fame portraying Darlene Conner on the hit ABC sitcom Roseanne, has started a family of her own. Gilbert gave birth to her first daughter back on August 2.

“32-year-old Sara Gilbert gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Sawyer, a week and a half ago, according to Variety. The announcement of the birth of Sawyer was made by Sara Gilbert’s publicist, though the publicist did not give any more details about the birth or the baby.”

[From Actress Archives]

That is one of the huge advantages of lesbian relationships. You can trade off birthing duties.

And, most relevant of all, Jordan Knight, he of “New Kids on the Block” and “The Surreal Life” fame, had a son in February. Why is this just getting reported now, you ask? Because it’s Jordan Knight, and if it gets mentioned within 18 months of it happening, he should consider himself pretty damn lucky. I mean even People Magazine only reported it this week. Maybe he was trying to keep it under wraps, so he wouldn’t be hounded by fans and the paparazzi.

“Knight’s wife Evelyn gave birth in February to the couple’s second child, Eric Jacob Knight. Older son Dante is now 7.

“’Right now, all Dante wants to do is take care of his brother, so we don’t have any jealousy issues,’ says his dad. “Dante is very protective, so it really bothers him when Eric cries. I think they’re going to be very close.’

“Unlike some new parents, Knight doesn’t mind midnight feedings or diaper changes. ‘I am a night owl, so that actually works out well,’ he says. ‘I like to stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning, so I can take care of him if he wakes up, and let my wife sleep.’

“After releasing his second solo album, Love Songs, last year, Knight is taking some time off to spend with his family.

“’There are a lot of doors open right now,” he says. ‘But I don’t want to do anything that will take me away from my family for very long. They’re only going to be young for so long, and I’d hate to miss this time in their lives.’”

[From People]

That’s kinda sweet. I’m pretty much only reporting this because I was supposed to marry Jordan Knight. At least my second-grade self was. The current self is glad he’s moved on and found someone else.

Picture note by JayBird: Here is Sara Gilbert at the Art of Elysium event in November, 2005 and Jordan Knight at the People’s Choice Awards in January 2005. Header image is Baby Spice at the Spice Girls press conference. Images thanks to PR Photos.