Vladimir Putin and wife split: 'there is no other woman' Mr Putin, 60, and Mrs Putina, 55, had only been seen at a few awkward joint appearances over the last five years. However, asked if Mr Putin had a lover, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Moscow radio station on Friday: "No that's not the case. It was a mutual decision Everything else is a series of gossip, rumours and conjecture. He added: "It's not difficult even for a non-expert to take a look at Putin's work schedule. And you will see that his life, perhaps unfortunately, is in no way tied to any family relationships, only to those responsibilities that he has as the head of state. Asked if Russia should expect a new presidential marriage like that of former French French leader Nicolas Sarkozy to singer and model Carla Bruni, Mr Peskov said it was not for him to answer, but added: "I can say with certainty that all that is rather rumours and gossip." Mr Putin and his wife made their announcement of a "civilised break-up" after attending a performance of La Esmeralda - a ballet in which the heroine is sentenced to execution - inside the Kremlin. The couple married in 1983 and have two children, Maria, 28, and Ekaterina, 27, who live completely hidden from public view. A friend of the family - who met them in Germany when Mr Putin was serving there in the KGB - quoted Mrs Putina in a book published in 2001 as saying jokingly of her husband: "Unfortunately he is a vampire." Four years later, the first lady painted a picture of Mr Putin as a stern and controlling partner, saying in an interview: "He has put me to the test throughout our life together. I constantly feel that he is watching me and checking that I make the right decisions.