LOS ANGELES - Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, announced Monday that they are separating.

The statement, issued by a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the two were working on the future of their relationship while living apart and would continue to parent their four children together.

"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," the two said in a prepared statement. "After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together."

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, finished his seven-year run as governor in January and has been travelling the speech circuit and pursuing various entertainment projects.

During Schwarzenegger's time as governor, Shriver and the couple's children never moved to Sacramento, preferring their secluded canyon estate in Los Angeles, a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Shriver, a member of the Kennedy political dynasty and the daughter of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, left her job as an NBC reporter when Schwarzenegger took office.

As the state's first lady, she ran an annual women's conference that attracted a long list of business, political and entertainment luminaries, along with an audience of thousands.

The separation announcement comes months after the death of Shriver's father, Peace Corps founder and former vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, in January.

Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said he wouldn't answer questions beyond what was said in Monday's statement.