Just a day after Seal and Heidi Klum confirmed their separation, the singer appears on Tuesday's (Jan. 24) "The Ellen Show" to promote his new album, "Soul 2." He took a moment to talk about the split that surprised many of their fans.

Seal & Heidi Klum Announce Separation

"You can include us on that. We were shocked," he tells Ellen DeGeneres. "You go into these things with the greatest intentions. When you say, 'I do,' you say till death do us part and those vows hold value. They're not just words. But these things happen. We've pretty much said how we feel. I think we made it clear in the release statement."

The couple released a statement on Monday (Jan. 23) after reports surfaced over the weekend that Klum was filing for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences."

"You just grow apart after a while," Seal explains. "I mean you try and you work through it, but the thing that you quickly realize when you are married and become a parent is that you do the best that you can... The thing that I'm most proud about this great woman that I married -- and I really do mean that from the bottom of my heart -- is that together she's given me four incredible gifts, four beautiful children. She's still in my opinion, the most wonderful woman in the world."

The pair, who have three biological children, Henry, 6, Johan, 5, and Lou, 2, as well as Klum's 7-year-old daughter from her previous marriage, Leni, whom Seal adopted in 2009, were married on May 10, 2005.

"It's a shame. And, of course to say that neither of us were grieving would be an out and out lie and I don't mind telling you that," he admits. "But, the operative here is that we're civil to each other. We both have a tremendous amount of respect and love and we'll try and do this with as much dignity as we possibly can."

When asked why he's still wearing his wedding ring, Seal says, "It's a token of how I feel about this woman."

"We have eight years, eight wonderful years together," he continues. "And just because we've decided to separate doesn't necessarily mean that you take off your ring and you're no longer connected to that person. We will be connected in many ways for the rest of our lives -- for our children and also through this tremendous admiration, respect and love. Will we wear the ring for the rest of our lives? Who knows. For now, it feels really comfortable on my hand and I have no intention of taking it off anytime soon."