Grimes and Elon Musk announce they're 'semi-separated'

The unconventional couple recently revealed their son calls his mum by her name. Photo / Getty Images

Grimes and Elon Musk are "semi-separated".

The 33-year-old musician – whose real name is Claire Boucher – and the billionaire entrepreneur have called time on their romance after three years together, but the pair aren't recognising their break-up as a full split as they "still love each other".

Speaking to Page Six, 50-year-old Elon confirmed: "We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms."

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO said distance was part of the reason for their split, as his work often takes him away from Grimes and their 16-month-old son, X Æ A-XII, who primarily live in Los Angeles.

He added: "It's mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or travelling overseas and her work is primarily in LA. She's staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room."

The news comes after the "Genesis" singer recently revealed her son calls her "Claire" rather than any variation of mother.

She said: "I think having a baby was a big rebirth for me, like artistically. Being a mother — feels weird to say. For some reason, I don't identify with that word. Which is also really weird because X, he says 'Claire,' but he doesn't say 'Mama'."

And Grimes thinks her son can sense her dislike for the maternal term, which is why he's never said it despite only being 16 months old.

She added: "It's so … I'm like, 'How are you…?' Like, maybe he can sense my distaste for the word 'mother'. I don't even know why I dislike the word, like I respect [it], I just can't identify with it."

Meanwhile, Elon previously admitted Grimes has a "much bigger role" in parenting their son than he does.

Speaking earlier this year, he said: "Well, babies are just eating and pooping machines, you know? Right now there's not much I can do. Grimes has a much bigger role than
me right now. When the kid gets older, there will be more of a role for me."