Why Did ‘Sherlock’ Stars Amanda Abbington, Martin Freeman Split Up?

“Sherlock” actress Amanda Abbington has revealed the reason she and Martin Freeman decided to break up after 16 years together.

In an interview with The Telegraph’s Stella Magazine, Abbington said that being away from one another for most of the year strained their relationship. “We’ve been apart a lot, and I think that’s one of the reasons it happened,” Digital Spy quoted Abbington as saying. “You can’t be away from people for too long, because you start to function on your own, you get used to being separate. You lose the connection and lose sight of it, in the end.”

Although their split was a shock to fans, the 42-year-old actress — who plays Mary Morstan on the PBS crime drama series — said that ending their relationship was a mutual decision. “It’s all totally fine,” she said. “Martin and I remain best friends and love each other, and it was entirely amicable. We [just] realized we’d come to the end of our time together. There was no hostility, really. We just said that we couldn’t live together anymore.”

The “Mr. Selfridge” actress added: “We’ve been really lucky to make it such a clean break, especially for the kids.” The exes, who first met on the set of the British TV show “Men Only” in 2000, share two children together, Joe (born 2006) and Grace (born 2008).

Freeman, who portrays Dr. John Watson on “Sherlock,” confirmed their separation to Financial Times last month, saying: “I’m not with Amanda anymore.”

“It’s very, very amicable,” the 45-year-old actor said of the of their breakup. “I'll always love Amanda.”

After “Sherlock” airs its three-episode Season 4, Abbington will be next seen in films “Crooked House,” “Another Mother’s Son” and “We the Kings.” Freeman, meanwhile, will star next in movies “Cargo,” “Official Secrets,” “Ghost Stories” and “Black Panther.”