AceShowbiz - Gay singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge is putting her heartbreak aside following her split from actress Tammy Lynn Michaels so the ex-couple can co-parent their two children.

Etheridge and Michaels announced their separation earlier this month - nine years after they exchanged vows in a commitment ceremony in California. Tammy gave birth to the couple's twins, son Miller and daughter Johnnie, who were conceived via an anonymous sperm donor in 2006. Etheridge also has two kids - Bailey, 13, and Beckett, 11 - with former partner Julie Cypher.

And the singer insists she's got a hold on her emotions, and is focused on being a good mum. She tells talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, "She'll (Tammy) always be in my life. We share two children. The children come first."