Scottie Pippen Files for Divorce from 'Real Housewives of Miami' Star Larsa After 19 Years of Marriage

Scottie Pippen has filed for divorce from his wife Larsa after 19 years of marriage, PEOPLE can confirm.

According to Florida court records, the NBA legend, 51, filed for divorce from the former Real Housewives of Atlanta star on Tuesday. Larsa was notified of the filing on Thursday.

“This is a very difficult time for Mr. Pippen. He is hopeful that the divorce will be swift and amicable,” Scottie’s attorney Roberta G. Stanley said in a statement to PEOPLE. “We are respecting his request to protect his privacy and the privacy of his children during the dissolution of marriage proceedings.”

“After careful consideration and 19 years together, Larsa and Scottie have each filed for dissolution of their marriage. Although they are no longer to be married, Larsa remains hopeful that she and Scottie will always do what is best for their 4 beautiful children and jointly raise them with love and respect,” a rep for Larsa said in a statement to E! “She would like to thank everyone for their understanding and kindly ask for privacy from the media during this difficult time of transition for her family.”

The couple, who wed in 1997, have four children together: Sophia Pippen, Scotty Pippen Jr., Justin Pippen and Preston Pippen.

Larsa is a longtime friend of Kim Kardashian West and attended the Keeping Up with the Kardashian star and Kanye West‘s Italian wedding in May 2014. In June, Pippen partied alongside Kardashian West in Las Vegas birthday and most recently, the mother of four shared an adorable picture of her daughter Sophia driving around in luxury toy cars with North West. “Sophia says ‘North where are we going?’ North says ‘hurry park let’s grab lunch,’ ” the 41-year-old captioned the sweet snapshot of the two girls.

Scottie Pippen, a retired NBA player and hall of famer, is best known for his time with the Chicago Bulls where he won six NBA titles in the 1990s along basketball legend Michael Jordan. He was named to the NBA all star team seven times and was awarded the game’s MVP in 1994. He was also part of the U.S. “Dream team” in the 1996 Olympics.

More to come.