Strong family support has been a key part of Taylor Swift‘s success. But according to a recent report, Taylor’s parents may actually be separated. The story was posted at Radar Online and will appear in the next issue of the Star magazine.

It’s a deeply sad story, of course. According to the Star‘s source, Taylor’s parents, Andrea and Scott, ”haven’t filed for divorce because they don’t want it to damage Taylor’s career.” They have, though, “stopped wearing their wedding rings.”

Taylor’s upcoming new album will apparently reflect that sadness, according to the Star. “The new album will showcase the pain of her parents’ separation,” the source is quoted as saying.

The ‘sad’ nature of Taylor’s upcoming album isn’t news. She already spoke about that, most notably in her New Yorker profile last year, where, describing the new songs, she said: ‘They’re sad? If I’m being honest.’”

As for whether the story of the separation and divorce are true, Taylor’s management company and record label had no comment.

Taylor Swift and her father Scott Swift in 2011 (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)

Conversation threads on the subject have also appeared on the forums pages of Taylor’s website, but they have been deleted, with the message reading “That thread no longer exists.”

Taylor Swift recently took home five Teen Choice Awards. And while her new album release has not yet been announced, she did tease fans with a note on Facebook recently that implied it may be coming very soon.

- Kurt Wolff, CBS Local