Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri split

So much tragedy and heartache for the Jacksons is just hitting the headlines. This time its not about MJ but about his kid sister Janet.

She and her boyfriend of seven years, Jermaine, have decided to call it quits on their relationship.

I mean we have heard them say they were thinking of getting married and having their own babies, but guess they counted their chickens to early then. Even after she was regarded the great guardian for the MJ children, guess that did not help.

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On July 7, Michael Jackson’s family gathered to celebrate him at his much-watched memorial service.

Noticeably absent? Janet Jackson’s longtime music-exec boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri. (A pal says Dupri skipped the memorial because he “doesn’t attend funerals.”)

And for good reason. “His friends are telling people it’s over,” a source tells Us Weekly.

Echoes another: “They have been moving in different directions for a while.”

So what drove Jackson, 43, and Dupri, 36, apart after nearly seven years? “You shouldn’t mix business with pleasure,” a mutual pal explains. (Dupri produced several tracks on her last two CDs.) “Janet felt their lives were too crossed and they should have kept things sepa rate.”

Plus, the polar opposites were never too compatible. “Jermaine likes to be out there, mingling with everybody, and Janet’s more shy.” (And secretive: She kept her nine-year marriage to Rene Elizondo hidden until their 2000 divorce.)

Meanwhile, Jackson is still deeply mourning the death of her big brother.

“She’s devastated,” an insider says. “She’s busy caring for Michael’s kids. Janet’s the family’s backbone.”

Jackson’s rep couldn’t be reached.