PENELOPE CRUZ - CRUZ AND MCCONAUGHEY SPLIT

PENELOPE CRUZ and MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY have split up after dating from over a year. The sexy couple fell for each other while co-starring in the action adventure movie SAHARA in 2005, but the pressures of conflicting work schedules have pushed them apart. A joint statement released to American magazine People reads: "(Cruz and MCConaughey) have decided to take time off as a couple. Due to busy work schedules and so much time apart, they mutually decided four weeks ago that separating was the best thing to do at this time." Cruz recently won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival and is currently in Spain filming the bull-fighting movie MANOLETE with ADRIEN BRODY. Meanwhile, MCConaughey, who was named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine, is spending his summer in West Virginia filming WE ARE...MARSHALL.