Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss have ended their four-year engagement.

Jackson posted a joint statement to Twitter on Tuesday night.

"With mutual love and respect, we have decided to end our engagement," the statement began. "With the nature of our professional obligations and the geographic distance between us, sustaining the relationship has been difficult. We have shared many wonderful moments through the years, and we expect to remain supportive of each other."

Buss later tweeted from her account: "Nothing but love and respect for this man."

In a follow-up tweet, Buss wrote, "The love of my life is the Los Angeles Lakers. I love Phil & will always. It's not fair to him or Lakers to not have my undivided attention."

Jackson and Buss began dating in 1999.

An NBA official acknowledged in March 2014 that the league had put parameters in place to make sure the high-profile relationship didn't create any issues.

"The Knicks' hiring of Phil Jackson is subject to the league's conflict of interest rules," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN.com at the time. "To avoid even the appearance of a conflict, we have addressed the issue with the Knicks and Lakers to ensure that the relationship between Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson will not affect how the teams operate."