Katy Perry, Russell Brand Divorce

The couple looked awkward back
in December at a benefit in Los Angeles

• The actor looked sad and dejected as he left the Savoy Hotel.
• It has been said that Brand didn't approve of her partying lifestyle and new claims suggest that he told her to 'tone it down'
• Reports suggest divorce was agreed upon weeks ago, but both parties wanted to be out of the country when papers were filed

A year after their fairy-tale wedding in India, it seems Katy Perry and Russell Brand won't be living happily ever after. Brand, 36, filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Friday, citing irreconcilable differences. "Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage," he said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends." The Superior Court filing, which lists Perry by her given name of Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, does not list a date of separation.

Russell Brand looked dejected as he left
the Savoy Hotel in London after filing for divorce 
from pop star wife Katy Perry

The pair have been spotted without their wedding rings in recent days amid reports they spent the holidays apart, with Perry in Hawaii and Brand in the U.K. The California-born pop star, 27, and the British comedian-turned-actor began dating in 2009. Brand popped the question four months later, and they were married in October 2010 in a lavish ceremony – that included two elephants as well as acrobats and jugglers – at a luxury resort in northern India.

Official: The legal document refers to the
singer by her given name, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

In the early months of their marriage, the two were giddy in their compliments to each other. Perry called Brand her great man of God, while Brand said his spiritual and emotional connection to his bride made him "love everyone." In Redbook's April issue, Brand said he had been more than happy to give up his partying ways to settle down. "I think I was ready for it," he said. "If you're wild, like a wild animal, marriage won't contain you. I think that's how a lot of people get into trouble."

But in recent weeks, they faced a drumbeat of rumors of trouble in their marriage. Both laughed off the reports, with Brand telling Ellen DeGeneres earlier this month, "I am really happily married."

When Russell Brand announced on Dec. 30 that he was divorcing Katy Perry, it wasn't just their fans that were caught off guard. "I was shocked when I found out," a source who knows the couple tells PEOPLE. "I was really surprised that Russell filed for divorce so quickly – especially at Christmas time."

Continues the source: "I thought they would be together for a long time. Maybe not forever – but definitely not just 14 months." "They were always laughing," the source says. "They were very affectionate, always holding hands. They seemed like they were really in love."

The duo were much more tactile back in
January of 2010 at a pre-Grammy party

Another source who spent time with Brand, 36, and Perry, 27, tells PEOPLE that both of them "took marriage very seriously." "These aren't people who give up," the second source says. "I always thought they would work on their marriage if they had trouble."

Russell Brand wraps up on a chilly Christmas Day
at Coverack beach in Cornwall with friends
including an unnamed bikini-clad woman

Katy Perry and her husband Russell Brand 
spent Christmas 7,000 miles apart after having 
a massive argument, according to reports

The stability of their marriage was called into question when Katy Perry and Russell Brand decided to spend Christmas 7,000 miles apart. And now it has been suggested the couple's separation over the festive period was because of a huge argument. The source added: 'They haven't split up just yet, but things are not good. The fighting is getting worse.' Katy, 27, was seen lapping up the fine weather in Hawaii with a group of friends while comedian Brand was seen in a pub in Cornwall, England.