Shocking A-List Splits
It seemed to be happily ever after - until these celebrity relationships hit the rocks
Getty ImagesWe can't get our head around this. Angelina Jolie has reportedly filed for divorce from Brad Pitt after twelve years together. It was reported that the actress, who first met husband Brad Pitt when filming Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004, has filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Angelina has apparently asked for custody over the couple's six children, but is asking that Brad have visitation rights. The pair have been together for twelve years but married for two. Love is dead.
Rex FeaturesBut we thought they were for reals this time! We guess Katy Perry and John Mayer were just never meant to be. Sad face. After spending Christmas together, attending Obama’s second inauguration and even hinting at marriage, the pop stars have parted ways for a second time.
PacificCoastNews.comThis is a shocking split by default, purely because they were a pretty shocking couple to begin with. We would never have paired Game Of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. And neither would they, apparently. According to reports, the “distance” between them eventually took its toll, and they split after a relatively short six-month romance.
PA PhotosRussell Crowe is rumoured to have split with Danielle Spencer, his wife of nine years, due to his heavy work schedule. The break-up is amicable but the split is surprising because they were considered one of Hollywood's strongest couples.
PA PhotosKatie Holmes' divorce lawyer confirmed that the actress was divorcing Tom Cruise in a statement. His spokesman said that the actor was "deeply saddened" but was planning to concentrate on his three children. The couple married in 2008 in an Italian castle.
PA PhotosJohnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis shocked fans when they confirmed their split after 14 years. The couple, who haven’t been seen in public together for two years, released a statement saying they had “amicably separated” and requested privacy for their children.
Rex FeaturesWe were gobsmacked when Russell Brand confirmed that he had filed for divorce from Katy Perry after just 14 months of marriage. The British comedian cited "irreconcilable differences" in the documents. In a statement, Brand said: "Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends." Rumours suggest that Brand tired of Perry’s hard partying ways. The pair did not have a pre-nuptial agreement, and now it is thought that Brand could bank up to £20million from the divorce, as Californian law dictates that spouses are entitled to a 50/50 split of each other's fortune. Yikes.
Rex FeaturesWe have to admit, we shed a tiny shiny tear when we heard that Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore had confirmed their plans to divorce in November 2011. The pair released statements announcing that their marriage was to end, following months of speculation. Hinting at Ashton's alleged infidelity, the Ghost actress said: "As a woman, a mother and a wife, there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life." The couple married in 2005, but their relationship has been rocked by allegations that the Two And A Half Men star cheated on Demi with party girl Sarah Leal on the couple's sixth wedding anniversary in September. We’re going to miss them...
PA PhotosKim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kris Humphries just 72 days after getting married. The pair cited "irreconcilable differences". They apparently have a pre-nuptial agreements already in place.
WennAlexa Chung and Arctic Monkeys frontman, Alex Turner, seemed like the perfect rock ‘n’ roll couple. So we were taken aback when it was announced that, after four years together, they had decided to part ways. It has been rumoured that, much like many showbiz relationships, work commitments and hectic schedules eventually drove a riff between them. The question now is who will Alexa date next?
Rex FeaturesJaws dropped when it was announced that Kate Bosworth had split from her long-term boyfriend, True Blood star Alex Skarsgaard, in July 2011. The oh-so beautiful couple – who had never openly spoken about being an item, even to confirm it – are understood to have been dating for just under two years. In keeping with the secretive nature of their relationship, they managed to keep the fact that they had parted ways from the public for quite some time before the split was inevitably discovered. An unnamed source revealed to reporters that the decision was “very mutual".
PA PhotoWe were gobsmacked when Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony released a joint statement confirming their ‘amicable’ split on 15 July 2011. But Anthony hinted that the decision was not his own during his concert in Colombia the following weekend, bitterly telling the crowd: "They say I'm a single man." It has since been reported that J-Lo broke up with Anthony the evening of the BAFTA Brits To Watch party. Friends of the couple have claimed that, while it came as a surprise to many, the split had actually been a long time coming. J-Lo's stylist, Phillip Bloch, said: "This is not a surprise. Marc is very controlling. In the beginning she liked that because he stood up to her, and in the early days he was very much in love with her and she was with him."
paTiger Woods and his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren divorced in August 2010, nine months after allegations of his infidelities came to light, following the golfer’s car crash. The couple had been married for over six years and have two young children together. The split was announced on the golfing champion's website. The pair plans to share custody of their children, with Elin rumoured to have received over £60m from the split.
Big PicturesReese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal broke up in December 2009, with the actress allegedly calling off their two-year relationship, even though Jake was keen for them to tie the knot. "It broke his heart. She felt pressured to wed again but she wasn't ready,” a friend of the Brokeback Mountain star claims. The couple met on set of the 2007 film Rendition, though the pair didn’t acknowledge their relationship until Witherspoon’s divorce from Ryan Phillippe was finalised.
Rex FeaturesSandra Bullock finalised her divorce from Jesse James in June 2010. The actress stated that their five-year marriage "has become insupportable" after the reality TV star cheated on her with several women during their marriage, the news of which emerged just after the actress took home the Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Blind Side. Bullock married motorcycle builder and TV presenter James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present.
PA PhotosCourteney Cox and David Arquette split in October 2010 after 11 years of marriage. The pair famously met on the set of the first Scream film, back in 1995, with the actress giving birth to daughter Coco in 2004. Talking about their break-up, the couple said: “The reason for this separation is to better understand ourselves and the qualities we need in a partner and for our marriage.”
Rex FeaturesOctober 2010 seemed to be a bad month for celeb marriages all around as Christina Aguilera and her husband Jordan Bratman also broke up. The couple met in 2002 and married three years later. After their spilt was announced, Christina released a simple statement, stating: “Although Jordan and I are separated, our commitment to our son Max remains as strong as ever.”
PA PhotosKelly Osbourne split up with model fiancé Luke Worrall in July 2010 amidst rumours he had cheated. The troubled couple had been dating for two years and were engaged to be married before rumours emerged of his infidelity. Celebrity gossip hound Perez Hilton was the first to report the split, when he noticed a fierce exchange of words between the pair on Facebook. Kelly posted "Luke Worrall makes me sick" on the social networking site before deleting all further comments.
PA PhotosJim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy seemed to have one of the most amiable splits in recent history. "[I] will always keep Jim as a leading man in my heart," said Jenny about the break-up, while the actor commented: "I'm grateful for the many blessings we've shared and I wish her the very best!"
PA PhotosWe thought it was all laughs in the household of Lenny Henry and Dawn French - but the pair weren't being funny when they announced the end of their 25-year marriage.
With their crazy outfits and ever crazier nights out, Jaime Winstone and Alfie Allen characterised London Cool. Unfortunately work committments finally got in the way of the fun and the pair called time on their three-year relationship.
PA PhotosWe were shocked and saddened to hear that Hollywood's golden couple, Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes were separating. The pair have been married for almost seven years and seemed like the picture of happiness. Their spokesman said the split is amicable and that they will share parenting duties of their son Joe, 6, and Mia, Kate's nine-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
Rex FeaturesAfter weeks of speculation and an absent wedding finger, Cheryl Cole confirmed that she was separating from her footballer husband Ashley, in the wake of claims that he had cheated on her. "Cheryl Cole is separating from her husband Ashley Cole. Cheryl asks the media to respect her privacy during this difficult time," her rep said.
Almost overnight Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen went from being devoted spouses to sworn enemies, as they battled over the custody of their two daughters. She said he was a drug addict, gambler, patron of prostitutes and negligent of his children, while he called her a “sad, jobless pig” and “evil and bad mom”. We just didn’t want to get in the middle.
Was it a gay dressage horse-rider, her drinking or a publicity stunt? All have been suggested as the reason for Katie Price and Peter Andre’s split.
We’re not sure why Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan decided to call it quits but the DJ certainly acted quickly; the day after she was rumoured to have changed the locks and looked into a restraining order.
With their glamorous lifestyle and successful careers, Rihanna and Chris Brown seemed like the perfect couple. On 7 February 2009, the fairytale fell apart after Chris allegedly assaulted the singer after a pre-Grammys party.
Mel and Robyn Gibson seemed to have one of the strongest marriages in Hollywood, but after seven children, and nearly 29 years together, the pair parted. The Gibson divorce may be one of the most expensive in Hollywood history – Mel is rumoured to be worth $900m.
Neither Tom Cruise nor Nicole Kidman has ever revealed the reason for the end of their 10-year marriage, but sources suggest Scientology had something to do with it.
We couldn’t quite believe what we were reading when it emerged that Raffaello Follieri, the boyfriend of our favourite girl-next-door Anne Hathaway, was being investigated for financial fraud. The pair split up and Raffaello Follieri is currently serving a four-and-a-half-year jail sentence.
We watched Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson argue on Newlyweds but we never thought they would actually call it a day just three years later.
What do pop stars do when they split? Write songs about it of course. Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me A River was a dig at his famous ex, Britney Spears.
WennAfter four years of dating and a two-year-old daughter, Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry split in May 2010. The 34-year-old model released a statement, pledging his continued support for the star and their daughter Nahla. "She is, and will forever be, one of the most special and beautiful people that I have ever known.” A source revealed that it was Gabriel who initiated the split: "Gabriel just felt it wasn't working anymore.”
Kim Basinger and ex-hubby Alec Baldwin found themselves in an acrimonious custody battle over their daughter, Ireland. The stress took its toll on Alec, who left a phone message on his daughter’s mobile calling her a “thoughtless little pig”.
The media was so convinced that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez would stay together they named them “Bennifer”. The pair split up in 2004 but Bennifer lived on as Ben married Alias star Jennifer Garner.
Princess Diana decided that royal life wasn’t for her when she divorced her husband Prince Charles in 1995.
After this couple got through the scandal of Hugh Grant’s run-in with a Hollywood prostitute, we thought they’d survive anything. We were wrong. Liz Hurley and Hugh called it quits in 2000 after 13 years.
He was Babyshambles’ enigmatic frontman and she just looked really good. Kate Moss and Pete Doherty’s on-off relationship had the tabloids in circles, but they finally ended it for good in 2007.
Kelly Brook and Billy Zane were engaged for four years but they never quite made it down the aisle. Kelly’s unwillingness to settle down is thought to be behind their break-up.
With Guy Ritchie, we thought Madonna had finally found a man who was her equal - but it wasn’t meant to be and, after months of rumours, the Ritchies went their separate ways.
Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ marriage seemed as strong as the Die Hard actor’s biceps, so we were in shock when they divorced after 13 years and three daughters.
Their Neighbours characters, Scott and Charlene, are still together, but Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan broke the hearts of a million little girls when they called time on their four-year romance in the ‘90s
Brian McFadden was Flying Without Wings when he married Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona in 2002. Despite being voted Celebrity Mum and Dad Of The Year, the pair called an end to their marriage in 2006.
Jerry Hall filed for divorce after Mick Jagger fathered a Brazilian model’s baby. To really wipe the slate clean, the model auctioned off her wedding dress for charity. Ouch.
In 2007, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe decided that they could no longer Walk The Line and finalised their divorce. Who would have guessed then that Jake Gyllenhaal was waiting round the corner?
Despite a 16-year age-gap, Billie Piper and Chris Evans seemed genuinely in love when they married in 2001. They might have gone their separate ways five years later, but the couple remain close friends.
When asked by Oprah Winfrey if there was a “betrayal of some kind” during her marriage to Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman admitted: “There was some stuff like that at the end. We were having a difficult time, and you know how the axe comes down and how people behave and how people express their unhappiness.” The identity of this mysterious third person was never revealed.
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were Hollywood’s golden couple until he signed up for Mr & Mrs Smith, met Angelina Jolie and learnt his way around adoption papers.
