The Irish singer Una Healy has split with her English rugby star husband, Ben Foden.

It is being reported that a devastated Una, whose mother says she's finding the split "tough", was the one who decided to bring the marriage to an end.

As she comes to terms with the split after six years of marriage, Una and her children (daughter Aoife, 6, and son Tadhg, 3) are back home in Ireland, staying at her mother's place in Tipperary. "It's tough. It's tough. It's really hard," Una's mother told a tabloid reporter during the weekend.

Una and Ben were married in 2012, after dating for four years. They were planning to move to the USA, where Ben – who was capped 34 times for England – is set to make the next move in his career with Rugby United New York. Tabloid newspapers have been reporting that another woman was involved.

"She has now decided it's over," a friend of Una's told the Sunday World. "She's utterly heartbroken and devastated, but she's very traditional in her outlook.

"She thought their marriage would be forever, but can't see a future for them anymore."

Una is one of the biggest female pop stars ever to emerge from Ireland. She found fame as a member of the hit machine The Saturdays, alongside Frankie Bridge, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King and Vanessa White. Their first No.1 was 'What About Us', released in December 2012, which went on to sell over half a million copies.

Una has released one solo album, the country-influenced The Waiting Game, which was a Top 20 hit in Ireland and reached No.28 in the UK. She is a niece of the Irish country music star, Declan Nerney.