Essence Atkins has decided to call it quits with her husband, Jamie Mendez, after seven years of marriage. The actress, who met her husband on the dating site Match.com, revealed the surprising news during an appearance on Hollywood Today Live.

"I am going to be entering the dating world after nearly a decade," she said. "I'm in the process of getting a divorce, sadly. It's weird because literally, three weeks after filing, I got this job where I'm playing a newly divorced woman who's co-parenting with her ex that she still loves, but they've somehow realized that they're not meant to be partners together anymore."

The "life imitating art" moment she speaks of is her feature in the upcoming comedy Marlon, starring Marlon Wayans, loosely based on his life. 

Despite going through a divorce, Essence says there's still love and humor there, in addition to their mutural love for one another for the sake of their children.

"Even in deconstructing a family, you're still figuring out a way to be a family," she said.

Atkins and Mendez got married in September 2009 after meeting on Valentine's Day back in 2008 through the dating site. They have since had a 4-year-old son together named Varro.

Watch Essence speak on her divorce in the segment, below:

Get the details on another recent celebrity divorce in the BET Breaks video, above.

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