A few hours after Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya announced their separation on Saturday, the actor's father and south star Nagarjuna issued a statement on Twitter, in which he wrote that "whatever happened between Samantha and Chaitanya is very unfortunate" and it is their "personal" matter. His tweet read: "With a heavy heart, let me say this - whatever happened between Sam and Chay is very unfortunate. What happens between a wife and husband is very personal. Sam and Chay, both are dear to me. My family will always cherish the moments spent with Sam and she will always be dear to us. May god bless them both with strength."

Naga Chaitanya is Nagarjuna's son with his first wife Lakshmi Daggubati. After their divorced in 1990, Nagarjuna married actress Amala in 1992. Their son Akhil is also an actor.

Samantha and Naga Chaitanya, who were married for over four years, called it quits yesterday by issuing a statement on social media but more on that later. See Nagarjuna's tweet about Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya's separation here:

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu dated for almost a decade before getting married in 2017 as per South India, as well as Christian wedding rituals. Rumours about the duo's separation were doing rounds on the Internet ever since she changed her social media monikers, which was earlier "Samantha Akkineni," to "S".

On Saturday, Both Samantha and Naga Chaitanya confirmed the split by issuing statements on their respective Instagram profiles. The statement by the actress read: "To all our well-wishers. After much deliberation and thought Chay and I have decided to part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths. We are fortunate to have a friendship of over a decade that was the very core of our relationship which we believe will always hold a special bond between us. We request our fans, well-wishers and the media to support us during the difficult time and give us the privacy we need to move on. Thanking you for your support."