'Our children are our universe': Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman confirm divorce with joint statement 

Drew Barrymore and her husband of three years, Will Kopelman, have confirmed that they are to divorce.

In a joint statement the pair insisted that their daughters, Olive, three, and 23-month-old Frankie, will remain their top priority.

'Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family,' they told People magazine.

'Divorce might make one feel like a failure, but eventually you start to find grace in the idea that life goes on.

Split: Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman have confirmed their divorce with a joint statement; the pair are seen in 2014

'Our children are our universe, and we look forward to living the rest of our lives with them as the first priority.' 

As news of her marriage break-down emerged on Friday, thrice-married Drew was spotted back in her home town of Los Angeles.

Now it has emerged that friction over where to base their young family was one of the key issues that led to the breakdown of her marriage to New Yorker Will. 

'There was tension over where to live,' a source told People magazine, explaining that Drew was increasingly drawn to LA.

Moving on: Drew is pictured in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon; she is said to have disagreed with her husband of three years over where to base their family

The pair's marital home was on New York's Upper East Side, and it is here that Olive attends preschool.

It is thought they will remain on the East Coast while they work out their arrangements for the future.

The newlyweds initially picked their home as it was near art consultant Arie's family - his older sister Jill Kargman lives in the area with her husband and three children, while his wealthy parents are also in the city.

The 38-year-old, who is said to be 'devastated' by the breakdown of his marriage, is the son of former Chanel CEO Arie Kopelman and his wife Coco.

New life: Drew has taken steps to ensure her daughters had a stable upbringing; she is pictured with her baby daughter Frankie, now one

Dedication: Drew had the names of her daughters tattooed onto her wrist on Thursday night

Drew had grown close to her husband's family, finding a stability in them that she had never experienced during her own wild childhood.

But the pressures of living in a new city, and raising two small children, took their toll.

The actress had recently talked of experiencing postnatal depression following the birth of her youngest daughter.

Drew and Will married in June 2012 but the actress previously admitted there was no instant attraction when the pair met.

The 41-year-old said: 'It was never really love at first sight.

'Will struck a lot of my pragmatic sides. He was someone who was always reachable on the phone, someone who was a classy human being, someone who has this incredible blueprint of a family that I don't have.' 

Leaning on a pal: Drew was seen shopping with co-worker Chris Miller of Flower Films in December last year

Born into a famous acting dynasty, Drew was just seven-years-old when she starred as Gertie in E.T.

She had a wild childhood, and had been to rehab twice before she was 20-years-old.

That unstable past showed in the way she chose to parent her young daughters - whose names she had tattooed onto her wrist on Thursday night, in a move she documented on Instagram.

In contrast to her background Drew seemed determined to ensure her children had as normal an upbringing as possible.

She scaled back her acting commitments, and now runs a business empire that includes her own film production company, a cosmetics line and range of eye-wear.

As they were: The couple looked happy together at a charity event in New York in January

Back in October she talked of watching her husband become a father.

'Honestly, I don't know how it is for other couples but really I like watching him be a father,' she said. 

'I know everyone says you're supposed to put your coupledom first. But I really love it being all about the kids. 

'Maybe that's my compensating for not having parents myself or a childhood but right now, the focus is about how we're figuring things out as parents.'

Despite counting Steven Spielberg and Sophia Loren as her godparents, and coming from a family of successful actors, the Missing You Already star has revealed that she doesn't buy into the Hollywood showbiz circuit.

She told April's Marie Claire that so rarely is she seen looking glamorous these days it raises eyebrows when she does make an effort with her appearance.

'I went to parent’s night, and I wore some lipstick and concealer, and I thought the people at school looked at me kind of differently,' she explained to them.

'I normally come with acne, and Ugg boots, and I thought they were like: "Oh that’s nice, she made a little bit of an effort."'

Drew first tied the knot aged just 19, but the marriage to bartender Jeremy Thomas in 1994 lasted less than two months.

Her second wedding, in 2001, to her Charlie’s Angels co-star Tom Green fell apart nearly as quickly and the pair split after five months.

Exes: Drew's previous 2001 marriage to Tom Green, left, fell apart quickly and the pair split after five months while her first marriage in 1994 to bartender Jeremy Thomas, right, lasted less than two months