The Most-Shocking Celebrity Breakups We’ll Never Forget

Celebrities who have broken up and spoken up about it are many.

The Most-Shocking Celebrity Breakups We’ll Never Forget

A breakup is never easy, but when you add paparazzi, rumors, innuendo, highly public profiles and several millions in assets and income, there’s a good chance it will be messier and more prolonged than most. Celebrities who have broken up and spoken up about it are many.

We’ve chosen the worst celebrity breakups, not necessarily because they were messy or malicious, but for a variety of reasons. Perhaps, they were the worst because we were blindsided by a favorite couple splitting or because they were predicted years before actually happening or because they were the result of incessant media interference in their relationships. Whatever the cause, these 20 truly stung us all.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner

Started Dating: 2004
Married: 2005
Split: 2017
Divorced: 2018

Popular “Alias” star, Jennifer Garner, and her equally striking husband, Ben Affleck, met in 2000 on the set of “Pearl Harbor,” though it wasn't until co-starring in “Daredevil” a few years later that they fell in love. Affleck was in a relationship with Jennifer Lopez at the time, while Garner was married to Scott Foley.

In 2003, Garner split from Foley, and Affleck and Lopez broke off their engagement in 2004. Soon after, Affleck and Garner made their relationship public and were married in 2005 when Garner was four months pregnant.

Why They Split

With three children, the couple seemed idyllic until rumors of Affleck's affair with the children's nanny in 2015.

They officially filed for divorce in 2017, and Affleck has since sought treatment for alcohol dependency. They continue to co-parent Samuel, Violet and Seraphina Rose while dating new partners.

Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson

Started Dating: 2006
Split: 2017

Both actors with many indie films to their names, Diane Kruger and “Dawson's Creek” alumnus Joshua Jackson seemed entirely designed to go the distance.

They dated for about 10 years and denied that marriage was necessary to maintain their commitment to one another.

Why They Split

Two years before their split, Jackson told Glamour, "I don't feel any more or less committed to Kruger for not having stood in front of a priest and had a giant party. We're both children of divorce, so it's hard for me to take marriage at face value as the thing that shows you've grown up and are committed to another person."

Marriage or not, the couple didn't last. Kruger broke up with the actor in 2016 to pursue a relationship and subsequent motherhood with Norman Reedus.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams

Started Dating: 2004
Split: 2007

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were the cause of much heartbreak amongst the public when they announced their split in 2007.

They had first mesmerized on-screen as lovers in “The Notebook,” though director Nick Cassavetes reported that Gosling initially disliked McAdams so intensely that he wanted to kick her off the set. They announced their real-life relationship soon after the film was released in 2004, sharing a very public kiss on stage at the MTV Movie Awards in 2005.

Why They Split

Why did they split exactly? Gosling blamed their busy acting careers for calling it quits.

He has since had two daughters with actress Eva Mendes, and McAdams has since had her first child in her Canadian homeland with her screenwriter partner, Jamie Linden.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez

Started Dating: 2009
Split: 2015

The gorgeous couple with perfect teeth, chipmunk cheeks and impressive dance moves were first set up by their managers in 2009 and seemed destined for marriage.

At least their many teenage fans certainly held onto this dream.

Why They Split

While it technically lasted six years, their relationship was plagued with rumors of breakups and infidelity.

In 2015, the relationship was over for good, and Gomez went on to date The Weeknd for a hot second, with Bieber linked to a number of actresses. He has since married Hailey Baldwin.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

Started Dating: 2002
Married: 2003
Split: 2014
Divorced: 2016

The Coldplay singer and his actress wife met backstage at a Coldplay show in 2002.

They subsequently dated, wed and had two children, Apple and Moses.

Why They Split

After 10 years of marriage, the pair made a statement that they had chosen "conscious uncoupling" via Paltrow's Goop website in 2014. They continue to holiday together publicly with new partners and their children.

Paltrow has since married Brad Falchuk, and Martin has been in relationships with several actresses and musicians since the divorce.

Taylor Kinney and Lady Gaga

Started Dating: 2011
Split: 2016

The unexpected pairing of the eccentric musician and the television star piqued the curiosity of the public throughout their relationship.

After meeting in 2011 during the filming of Gaga's video “You and I,” the two were publicly photographed in steamy photos.

Why They Split

After five years, the pair announced the end of their engagement; however, at the time, Gaga suggested they may reunite in the future.

Gaga then became engaged to talent agent Christian Carino but called off that engagement in 2019. Maybe third time’s the charm? It seems she's now dating entrepreneur Michael Polansky.

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis

Started Dating: 1987
Married: 1987
Split: 1998
Divorced: 2000

After meeting in 1987 during a screening of the movie “Stakeout,” Moore and Willis married only four months later.

They had three daughters between 1987 and 1994. In the early 1990s, rumors of marital trouble plagued the couple with gossip about overworking and infidelity swirling constantly.

Why They Split

The couple divorced in 1998. Willis told Rolling Stone that the endless rumors and speculation around their marriage had taken their toll. “It’s difficult for any couple to keep their marriage intact under the best of circumstances, and our marriage was under a huge magnifying glass all the time,” he said. “So, it might have been a little more difficult for us.”

Moore and Willis have since established a friendship that sees them spending time with their current partners and children and speaking generously of one another.

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise

Started Dating: 1989
Married: 1990
Split: 2001
Divorced: 2001

The statuesque Australian actress and “Top Gun” actor seemed a perfect Hollywood marriage. Though they often appeared happy at movie openings and promotional events, behind the scenes, there was much friction around having children, Kidman’s career, and her ambitions and goals.

Kidman told Tatler that she'd wanted children from the moment she married Cruise in her 20s, but an ectopic pregnancy caused the loss of her baby when she was 23. They subsequently adopted both Isabella and Connor.

Why They Split

Married for 11 years, Cruise filed for divorce in 2001, citing irreconcilable differences.

Kidman went on to marry and have children with country music star, Keith Urban. Cruise married Katie Holmes, but that marriage ended in divorce with much speculation about the impact of Cruise's dedication to Scientology being the cause.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Started Dating: 2011
Married: 2015
Split: 2016
Divorced: 2017

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met while filming "The Rum Diary" in 2011. But it wasn't long after they got married in 2015 that their relationship became one of the most vicious and publicly exposed of the past decade.

"Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love," the actors said in a joint statement released after Heard dismissed her restraining order petition.

Why They Split

But divorce fraught with allegations of domestic abuse quickly followed. It was finalized in 2017, with the judge ruling that Depp pay Heard $7 million.

In 2019, though, Depp filed a $50 million defamation case against Heard, alleging that her claims of domestic violence were false and designed to take a massive chunk of his fortune and denigrate his reputation. He further alleges that, in fact, Heard was physically violent and that he was the victim of her attacks. Recent reports show that Heard admitted to this allegation.

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline

Started Dating: 2004
Married: 2004
Split: 2006
Divorced: 2007

The mega pop star with a global fanbase and her backup dancer. It's not the first time a relationship of this nature has eventuated (Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson and Madonna are all experienced), but it was one of the most well-documented divorces.

The couple initially had plans for a big, fancy wedding but chose to sneakily marry instead. They had known each other for merely a few months when they wed in 2004, soon after Spears' annulment from her Vegas marriage to Jason Alexander that lasted only 55 hours.

Why They Split

After having two sons and dealing with incessant criticism from the media and the public about her parenting skills and her career, Spears filed for divorce in 2006, asking for full custody. She alerted Federline via text message.

Spears has since been ordered to pay more to Federline in child support, though they share custody of their two sons. Federline has remarried and had more children, while Spears has been in a relationship with model and fitness professional Sam Asghari.

Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels

Started Dating: 2002
Split: 2010

This was an unfortunate end to a relationship that meant a lot to gay marriage supporters. The couple began dating in 2002, followed by a commitment ceremony in 2003 in Malibu, California.

The couple announced plans to get married in 2008 when the Supreme Court of California overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage, but by 2010, the couple had separated.

Why They Split

A two-year child support battle followed in which Etheridge's lawyers tried to argue that the couple's marriage was actually a nonbinding commitment ceremony, thus voiding Lynn Michaels' claims for support, TMZ reported. It became the first high-profile split in the era of gay marriage.

A messy and vitriolic affair, the end of Etheridge and Lynn Michaels' union involved battles over income and child support that saw accusations of child abuse and greed lobbed across battle lines. Lynn Michaels claimed she was owed much more than the $23,000 she was being provided monthly to cover expenses and child support. She persevered in posting contentious claims and opinions to her blog.

Despite the fallout, Etheridge has continued to tour and release new albums.

Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman

Started Dating: 2011
Married: 2012
Split: 2016
Divorced: 2016

Married in 2012 after a short engagement, Barrymore and Kopelman had two daughters.

After multiple marriages that lasted no longer than a few years at most, Barrymore’s marriage and children seemed to be the turning point and the happy ending.

Why They Split

But tension and disagreements over where to live brought the couple to a breaking point when they unexpectedly announced they were getting a divorce in 2016. However, they continue to co-parent and share photos of their outings and shared time on social media.

Barrymore has dismissed the idea of a fairytale marriage and what is or is not a failure of happiness, giving validation to the reality of many women’s lives. "Once upon a time ... I remember reading an article that said I had gotten my happy ending after all," Barrymore shared on Instagram. "Looking at this picture, it sure looks that way. And then, like many times in life for all of us, our plans change and our dreams are adjusted.

"But that doesn’t mean that every second wasn’t worth it. And if that DeLorean time machine pulled up every day, I would do it all over again. After all, I did get my dream. Two healthy girls. Will and I continue to marvel at what we made and try to be the best co-parents we can be. It’s not always easy and the point is … nothing in life is. But it doesn’t mean that any bitter outweighs the sweet!"

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston

Started Dating: 1998
Married: 2000
Split: 2005
Divorced: 2005

When the major movie star met the golden girl of TV, the match between the two seemed like a fairytale come true. The late 1990s and early 2000s were the golden era of the Pitt-Aniston partnership.

There were regular photographs of the pair on holidays in Mexico, dressed in matching outfits for events and even starring together in “Friends.”

Why They Split

Pitt starred with Hollywood's resident femme fatale, Angelina Jolie in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” which led to rumors and finally a confirmed romance between Pitt and Jolie. He subsequently divorced Aniston in 2005 and maintained that he had not cheated on her with Jolie, though Jolie was publicly lambasted for her role in the breakup.

In the past couple years, Pitt was spotted at Aniston's 50th birthday after a 14-year break, and they exchanged a much-talked-about hug at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards. There has been much speculation that the pair may reunite now that Aniston has divorced Justin Theroux and Pitt has divorced Angelina Jolie. But this has been refuted by both Aniston and Pitt.

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker

Started Dating: 2004
Married: 2007
Split: 2010
Divorced: 2011

When the diminutive star of “Desperate Housewives” wed basketball star Tony Parker, the event was celebrated on magazine covers worldwide.

Their four-year marriage ended in 2011, with the starlet telling Piers Morgan on CNN that the divorce had been humiliating.

Why They Split

There was widespread speculation of Parker's infidelity, even though Longoria refused to address this speculation and instead said she wanted him to be happy.

Longoria went on to marry and have a son, Santiago, in her late 40s.

Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger

Started Dating: 1990
Married: 1993
Split: 2000
Divorced: 2002

Who can forget the very public and nasty divorce of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger?

The two actors met in 1990 working on the movie, “The Marrying Man,” and got married three years later.

Why They Split

After about nine years of marriage, the two divorced in 2002, followed by a seven-year custody battle that became notorious after Baldwin left an angry voicemail on their daughter, Ireland’s, phone. He finally agreed to attend an anger management course after the voicemail was leaked to the press, revealing quite a different side of the “30 Rock” star.

Baldwin has since married Hilaria Thomas Baldwin, with whom he has four children.

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth

Started Dating: 2009
Married: 2018
Split: 2019
Divorced: 2020

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth met playing each other's romantic interests on the set of "The Last Song" in 2009.

They quickly started a notorious on-again, off-again relationship. They were engaged in 2012, called off the engagement in 2013 and then secretly got back together in 2016, which excited fans everywhere. It seemed Cyrus was finally calming down and growing up, and the two wed in December 2018.

Why They Split

But the marriage only lasted about seven months before the duo announced their split in August 2019. Apparently, Hemsworth learned about it through social media. Ouch!

And believe it or not, he was the one who Cyrus claimed was partying too much. It was even rumored that she wrote the song, "Slide Away," about him. Their divorce was finalized in January 2020.

Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins

Started Dating: 1988
Split: 2009

This one was rough. One of our favorite long-lasting celebrity couples who never wed, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins met on the set of "Bull Durham" in 1988.

They had two sons together, and everything seemed to be going swimmingly for this couple of 21 years, even with a 12-year age difference.

Why They Split

Unfortunately, the two announced a split in 2009, citing Tim Robbins' mid-life crisis as the key reason.

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe

Started Dating: 1997
Married: 1999
Split: 2006
Divorced: 2007

This other "it" couple of the late 1990s seemed to have a relationship similar to one of the era's popular rom-coms.

They met at her 21st birthday party, starred in "Cruel Intentions" the following year and got married in an intimate wedding in 1999 when Witherspoon was six months pregnant with their daughter. Then, they welcomed a son in 2003.

Why They Split

The blonde duo announced they were separating in late 2006, citing irreconcilable differences as the cause.

Both have since spoken out about the divorce saying that they were young when they got married, and they had problems like everyone else.

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith

Started Dating: 1995
Married: 1996
Split: 2014
Divorced: 2015

Another long-lasting couple, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith met on the set of "Two Much" and married the following year in London when Griffith was about five months pregnant with their daughter.

Why They Split

Irreconcilable differences again were the reason for their split about 20 years later, but he still considers her his "best friend," according to People.

Fun fact: Griffith has a tattoo of his name on her right arm.

Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman

Started Dating: 1996
Married: 1998
Split: 2003
Divorced: 2005

Another '90s couple that seemed to be perfectly quirky together were Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.

Meeting on the set of "Gattaca," the couple wed two years later and had two children together.

Why They Split

Unfortunately, the two split as allegations of Hawke's infidelity ramped up.

Today, both share proud-parent duties, recently praising their daughter, Maya, for her role in the third season of "Stranger Things."