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2023 will likely go down in history as the turning point for AI, or else for that Trump mugshot. For many of us, however, it is the year of the celebrity breakup.
Whether it be breaking it off with a boyfriend who inspired five of your albums (like Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn), a messy divorce where your wife won’t leave the house (see Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner), or a transatlantic custody battle (a la Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner), it seems like every A, B, C, and D-Lister is nursing a broken heart at the moment.
British actress Jodie Turner-Smith and actor husband Joshua Jackson are two of the most recent celebrities to fall victim to the Celebrity Break Up Crisis of 2023 – so, who’s breaking up, who’s not, and why are so many celebs calling up divorce lawyers?
Who’s called it quits so far?
Perhaps the more important question is, who isn’t?
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Pop superstar Taylor Swift and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are amongst the many celebs involved in a breakup this year.
Perhaps it would be helpful if we retraced our steps and went back to when the year of the celebrity break up truly began – March 2023.
That month marked the first major celebrity break up to rock the industry and open the flood gates for others: the affair between niche reality telly stars Tom Sandoval and Rauqel Leviss of Vanderpumps Rules fame, who cheated on their respective partners to be with each other.
Weeks following the aptly named Scandoval, a stream of celebrities began to fall victim: Reese Witherspoon announced her divorce from Jim Toth, Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn called off their six-year romance, Cher dumped rapper Alexander Edwards, and Costner and Baumgartner later filed for divorce in early May.
July was more ruthless, claiming the loves of Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef, Sofia Vegara and Joe Mangeniello, Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro, Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez, and Britney Spears and Sam Asghari.
Then, in August, Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied called it quits, as did Pete Davidson and Chase Sui Wonders, and even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s marriage wasn’t safe.
September saw divorce announcements from Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, and Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams.
The list of celebrity relationships which met their end in 2023 includes, but is not limited to: Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford, Bella Hadid and Marc Kalman, Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, Jeremy Allen White and Addison Timlin, Noel Gallagher and Sara MacDonald, Taylor Swift and Matty Healy, Dominic Fike and Hunter Schafer, Billy Porter and Adam Smith, Glen Powell and Gigi Paris, Corey Feldman and Courtney Anne Mitchell, Rami Malek and Lucy Boynton, and Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert.
See all these names? Without celebrity couples, what will our water-cooler chat consist of now?
What’s with all these break ups?
According to one lawyer for the stars, it’s just that time of year.
Jordan Strauss/AP
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari filed for divorce in late July.
US family law attorney Nancy Chemtob, who has represented the likes of Mary-Kate Olsen and Louis CK, told Katie Couric Media she’s “had more divorce filings this August than I’ve ever had.”
Apparently, August is a popular time for divorce in the US (alongside January, when that New Year’s resolution to dump your partner is still at the top of your head) because of the summer heat in the Northern Hemisphere, and because it marks the time of year when children are flying the nest.
However, the months-long double Hollywood strikes may have also caused a few breakups amongst the out of work actors.
“All these incredibly smart, funny, dramatic, creative people aren’t working; all of a sudden they’re just at home, probably annoying their spouse,” Chemtob said.
Or, perhaps their partner isn’t too fond of fame.
“If you go through the celebrity couples getting divorced right now, in a lot of them, one of them is more famous than the other, who might not be a public figure at all,” Chembot said.
You could take Ariana Grande and ex Dalton Gomez for example – one’s an internationally famous pop star, the other is a real estate agent.
“More of those couples are getting divorced right now. If it’s two actors, I’m not seeing that as much, but I’m seeing more of the celebrity/non-celebrity couples getting divorced.”
Which celebs have survived 2023 (so far)?
Well, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are still an item, and, if you were wondering, Art and Matilda Green seem to still be going strong as well.
Perhaps in a sign that a celebrity summer of love is on its way, Taylor Swift has survived two breakups this year to end up cheering from the field sidelines for her NFL beau Travis Kelce alongside her gang of other broken hearts, which include Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman.
Keep in mind, there’s still three months of 2023 left.
