2011's celebrity breakups: Who came out on top?
Sure we all wept in October when we learned Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were calling it off after 72 days of wedded bliss. But theirs wasn't the only Hollywood fairy tale with an unhappy ending this year. Marsha Lederman looks back on five other celebrity splits that broke our collective hearts in 2011, and who came out on top
Demi Moore vs. Ashton Kutcher Hollywood’s most celebrated May-October partnership (she’s 16 years older than him) imploded this year after six years of marriage, as rumours flew of Kutcher’s infidelity. Most distressing for the Tweethearts was the need for Demi to change her Twitter handle from @mrskutcher (which, alas, remains on her to-do list). Verdict: Kutcher. He has twice the number of Twitter followers.
Jennifer Lopez vs. Marc Anthony In a summer shocker, the Latino power couple – and parents of three-year-old twins, Max and Emme – announced their marriage of seven years was on the (chopping) block. The divorce still hasn’t been finalized; they’re still trying to work out a settlement. That’s what happens when you own mansions and NFL teams and stuff. Verdict: J. Lo. She’s got a new 24-year old squeeze, and have you seen her abs lately?
Maria Shriver vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger Their marriage had long been rumoured to be on the rocks, but the scandal that finally terminated it after 25 years was a bombshell: Schwarzenegger had fathered a son with a member of their household staff. Word of the 13-year-old extramarital child leaked out days after the couple announced their separation. Verdict: Schwarzenegger. Shriver gets the sympathy vote now, but Arnold will be back: He’s already shot a film, and there’s reportedly an autobiography in the works.
Renée Zellweger vs. Bradley Cooper: He didn’t quite have her at hello, but several years after they met on the Vancouver set of the horror (and, by many accounts, horrible) film Case 39, the stars of the Bridget Jones and Hangover franchises hooked up in the summer of 2009. For almost two years, they managed to keep their relationship fairly private, but apparently at some point moved in together. Last March, sources confirmed their split to the tabloids. Did he put his career before his love? Was she anxious to marry and procreate? Did he step out with Sandra Bullock and/or Jessica Biel? We may never know what exactly got in the way of their journey to becoming Smug Marrieds. Verdict: Cooper. People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive > a pregnant Bridget Jones (yes, she’s signed on to do yet another sequel).
Blake Lively vs. Leonardo DiCaprio After five whirlwind months of international romance (Cannes! Italy! Australia! Disneyland!), the Gossip Girl and Titanic star disembarked in October. The tabloids cited various reasons, including distance, work commitments and Lively being just too young (24) for next steps. Verdict: Lively. The Gossip Girl has traded up, dating her Canadian Green Lantern co-star (and last year’s Sexiest Man Alive) Ryan Reynolds, whose divorce from Scarlett Johansson became final in July.