Billy Joel Picture 865585

Pic caption: *file photos* * BILLY JOEL AND WIFE SEPARATE BILLY JOEL and his wife KATIE LEE have split.. Reps for both have confirmed the sad news, explaining this decision is a result of much thoughtful consideration.. A spokesman for the pair adds, Billy and Katie remain caring friends with admiration and respect for each other.. Rocker Joel, 60, wed the then-budding chef in 2004.. It was his third marriage.. Questions about the couple's relationship hit gossip columns last month (May09) after photographs of 27-year-old Lee dancing with designer Yigal Azrouel, 36, appeared in the U.S.. tabloids.. Sources reported seeing the pair dirty dancing in Miami, Florida in January and have claimed that in unguarded moments Azrouel referred to Lee as my girlfriend.. But Joel's publicists insisted Azrouel was just a friend, and the musician's spokeswoman, Claire Mercuri, tells the New York Daily News, Their decision to separate was absolutely unrelated to Yigal.. (KL/WNV&NYDN/IG) Billy Joel and Katie Lee Joel New York Premiere of 'The Departed' at the Ziegfeld Theatre New York City, USA - 26.09.06