The 20 biggest celebrity divorces that defined the decades - Los Angeles Times
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The 20 biggest celebrity divorces that defined the decade

Celebrity divorces of the 2010s
Big-name couples including Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, left, and Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez traded their “I do’s” for “No, we do not’s” in the 2010s.
(Getty Images)
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It’s been a whirlwind decade for high-profile celebrity divorces, with Hollywood’s elite golden couples breaking the hearts of millions upon going their separate ways.

In some cases, these celebrities’ dissolving marriages created buzz (and protracted court battles) that lasted longer than their unions and served up plenty of fodder for gossip blogs and mags.

They also generated their own pop-culture lexicon, with terms such as “conscious uncoupling,” TomKat and Bennifer entering and exiting the vernacular — and the all-too-familiar “irreconcilable differences” popping up in nearly every divorce petition.

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Although far from all-inclusive, our list includes the major celebrity divorces that defined the decade and kept news outlets’ entertainment ink flowing. It’s organized by the date the erstwhile couple announced their split, separation or intention to divorce.

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Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson (2010)

Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson
(Peter Foley / EPA)

Before he became Deadpool and she embodied Black Widow, this super pair was married for just over two years. They announced their split in 2010 after rumors they’d grown apart. Their joint statement even bore some of Reynolds’ signature wit: “While privacy isn’t expected, it’s certainly appreciated.”

How they’ve moved on: They both remarried with kids, and Johansson divorced again (baby daddy Romain Dauriac in 2014). Reynolds married actress Blake Lively, with whom he costarred in 2011’s “Green Lantern,” and they have three daughters. Johansson is engaged to “Saturday Night Live’s” Colin Jost.

3

Jesse James and Sandra Bullock (2010)

Sandra Bullock and  Jesse James
(Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

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Coming off her triumphant Oscar win, Bullock learned that her reality-star husband of five years had cheated on her with multiple women. She stayed essentially admirably silent during the scandal and filed for a Don’t Mess With Texas-style divorce that was finalized in only 60 days.

How they’ve moved on: James got engaged to tattoo artist Kat Von D, but they called off the wedding, and he’s since married his fourth wife; Bullock has adopted a son and a daughter, was nominated for a second Oscar and is in a relationship with photographer Bryan Randall.

4

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (2011)

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
(Hermann J. Knippertz / Associated Press)

On the weekend of their sixth anniversary, Moore premiered a new movie in New York and Kutcher, her 15-years-younger husband, cheated on her in San Diego. Moore announced the next month that they were divorcing. The split was finalized in late 2013, with him paying her a bit more than was legally required.

How they’ve moved on: Kutcher married his “That 70s Show” costar Mila Kunis in 2015 and now has two kids. In September, Moore, who released a buzzed-about memoir this year, told WSJ Magazine, “I’m focusing on my relationship with myself.”

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5

Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez (2011)

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

The Latin-pop power couple married in 2004 and reportedly clashed over personal and professional issues before announcing their split in 2011. However, they’ve remained amicable in the public eye as they co-parent twins Max and Emme.

How they’ve moved on: Their divorce wasn’t finalized until 2014, which gave both stars ample time to begin other significant relationships. Anthony married model Shannon de Lima in 2014 and divorced her in 2017. The “Hustlers” star dated former backup dancer Casper Smart on and off and is now engaged to baseball legend Alex Rodriguez.

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Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian (2011)

Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian
(Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

Kardashian’s marriage to NBA player Humphries, her second partnership, came and went in 2011, lasting only 72 days. Humphries accused Kardashian of fraud and wanted an annulment but ultimately agreed to a divorce. Finalized in 2013, the split took eight times as long as the union.

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How they’ve moved on: Well before her divorce was final, Kardashian announced she was pregnant with Kanye West’s child. They married in 2014 and have four kids. Humphries auctioned off Kardashian’s engagement ring in 2013 and announced his retirement from the NBA this year.

7

Russell Brand and Katy Perry (2011)

Russell Brand and Katy Perry
(Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

Perry and Brand hit it off in September 2009 while rehearsing for the MTV Video Music Awards. They started dating and he popped the question that New Year’s Eve during a trip to India. A traditional Hindu wedding, also in India, came in October 2010, followed relatively swiftly by the couple’s reported realization that they had different priorities in life.

So yeah, they clashed, and she was out on her California Dreams tour for almost all of 2011. Two years to the day after getting engaged, Brand texted Perry to say he was filing for divorce.

How they’ve moved on: Brand declined to take any of the $44 million Perry had earned during their marriage, despite being entitled to half. In 2017, Brand married Laura Gallacher, whom he had dated on and off since 2007, and they have two daughters. Perry dated John Mayer and Diplo before meeting Orlando Bloom in 2016. They got engaged in February and said they would marry in December.

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8

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise (2012)

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
(MJ Kim / Getty Images)

Cruise and Holmes got engaged after dating for a whirlwind seven weeks in 2005, then welcomed daughter Suri and had a Scientologist wedding ceremony in Italy the next year. Five and a half years later, Holmes surprised him by filing for divorce. The couple, who had a prenup, had a signed settlement 11 days later.

How they’ve moved on: Holmes, who has returned to the Catholic Church, has primary custody of Suri and was romantically linked to Jamie Foxx on and off for six years; since his third divorce, Cruise has released eight movies, with a “Top Gun” sequel set for 2020.

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Caitlyn Jenner and Kris Jenner (2013)

Caitlyn Jenner, left, and Kris Jenner.
(Dimitrios Kambouris /Getty Images for Yeezy)

After more than two decades of marriage, the “momager” and the 1976 Olympic gold medalist known as Bruce Jenner announced in late 2013 that they had been living apart for a year. Their union was over. The next year the terms of their split were set, and in early 2015 they were officially unmarried.

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How they moved on: Caitlyn Jenner announced her transition in April 2015, did two seasons of the docuseries “I Am Cait” and stayed part of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” into 2017. Kris Jenner has been dating Corey Gamble, 25 years her junior, since meeting him at a 2014 party in Ibiza, Spain.

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Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom (2013)

Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom
(Evan Agostini / Associated Press )

The two dated for a month and were married for four years, then Kardashian filed to end her marriage to Odom after the former NBA star’s struggles with drugs and women got to be too much. But two years later, after he almost died at a Nevada brothel and was looking at a long rehabilitation, they retracted the divorce papers, which had been stuck awaiting a judge’s signature. The divorce was eventually finalized at the end of 2016.

How they moved on: Kardashian had a daughter with basketball player Tristan Thompson in 2018 then broke up with him this year amid a cheating scandal involving half-sister Kylie Jenner’s former best friend. Odom, who had had a couple of relapses after his 2016 trip to rehab, got engaged in November to health and life coach Sabrina Parr after three months of dating.

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (2014)

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
(Colin Young-Wolff / Invision / Associated Press)

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Paltrow and Martin’s split introduced the widely panned term “conscious uncoupling” to millions. The Oscar winner and Coldplay frontman announced their unorthodox split after more than 10 years of marriage on Paltrow’s website Goop in a very Goopy way: “We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.”

How they’ve moved on: The two remain publicly amicable, even sibling-like, as they co-parent daughter Apple and son Moses. He’s since dated a bevy of stars, including actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Dakota Johnson, and she married “Glee” and “The Politician” showrunner Brad Falchuk in 2018.

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Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey (2014)

Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

They of the repeated, over-the-top vow-renewal spectaculars went their separate ways in 2014. The Grammy-winning songstress and the former “America’s Got Talent” host wed in the Bahamas on April 30, 2008, weeks after they started dating. Exactly three years later, they welcomed “dem babies” — twins Moroccan and Monroe.

How they’ve moved on: The Queen of Christmas is busy setting all kinds of Guinness World Records. She was also briefly engaged to billionaire James Packer. He seemingly hasn’t moved on too much, publicly professing his love for his ex-fiancee this year by saying that he’d only ever remarry his “dream girl” Carey.

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13

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck (2015)

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The picture-perfect “Daredevil” costars announced their split nearly 10 years after tying the knot. The actors, who are parents to daughters Violet and Seraphina and son Sam, had been separated long before a nanny scandal erupted and questions about Affleck’s sobriety surfaced. Garner has continued to help the “Justice League” actor through a few stints in rehab. They’ve remained amicable even when she infamously shaded him in a 2016 Vanity Fair interview, saying, “When his sun shines on you, you feel it. But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”

How they’ve moved on: Garner keeps endearing the at-home cooks with her “Pretend Cooking Show” on Instagram and has been linked to businessman John Miller since 2018. Affleck has dated “Saturday Night Live” producer Lindsay Shookus on and off.

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Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert (2015)

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

It was the abrupt and unexpected divorce that shook the country-music community to its boots — and a Twitter-verse that had grown accustomed to the longtime couple, married for four years, playfully shutting down tabloid rumors about their relationship online. Many questioned if love was even real after this split and pointed fingers at a bevy of unsubstantiated cheating rumors.

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How they’ve moved on: Mama’s (and papa’s) broken heart didn’t last all that long. Shelton quickly began dating his “The Voice” costar Gwen Stefani, who was also going through a high-profile split, and is still dating her. Lambert secretly married NYPD Officer Brendan McLoughlin in early 2019.

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Michelle Rounds and Rosie O’Donnell (2015)

Michelle Rounds and Rosie O'Donnell
(Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images)

O’Donnell began dating executive-search consultant Rounds in mid-2011, and that December the talk-show host announced to her studio audience that they were engaged. The couple married in New York the following June, right before Rounds got surgery to remove gastrointestinal tumors, but separated in November 2014. O’Donnell filed for divorce, and it was settled by October 2015. After a court battle, the comic had full custody of the child they’d adopted together.

How they’ve moved on: In late 2019, after a one-year engagement, O’Donnell split from Elizabeth Rooney, the Army veteran 23 years her junior whom she’d been quietly dating since 2017. Rounds married Krista Monteleone in late 2016 and had a child with her, then died by suicide in September 2017.

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Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani (2015)

Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Not long after Shelton and Lambert called it quits, this ’90s music power couple announced their breakup after nearly 13 years of marriage. The No Doubt frontwoman and the Bush rocker came to the mutual decision that although they would “no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment.”

How they’ve moved on: Stefani was quickly linked to her “The Voice” costar Shelton, who has stepped into the pseudo-stepdad role quite nicely. The two also released a few duets together, including “Nobody but You” earlier this month. Rossdale has been linked to model Natalie Golba.

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (2016)

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Just as Pitt and Jolie’s A-list pairing began with a bang on the set of 2005’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” the union abruptly dissolved in the same manner. The longtime couple got engaged in 2012 and wed at their French chateau in 2014 — at the behest of their six children. But the union devolved, was dissected along with Jolie’s 2015 directorial effort “By the Sea” (that costarred the couple) and was capped by allegations of abuse in 2016. The decision to divorce was made “for the health of the family,” they said.

How they’ve moved on: They really haven’t. Not completely anyway. When she filed for divorce in 2016, Jolie requested full physical and joint legal custody of their brood, which Pitt objected to. The mega celebrities have yet to finalize the complicated split despite saying they would do so privately.

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18

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard (2016)

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
(Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

Depp and Heard were married for only 15 months when she filed for divorce in May 2016. Days later she got a temporary restraining order, alleging he’d physically abused her. The TRO expired and the couple reached an agreement in August, with Heard announcing she would donate her $7-million divorce settlement to two charities. Then she got upset when Depp sent it directly to the charities himself. Their divorce was official in January 2017.

How they’ve moved on: Heard has dated several people since the split, including Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder. Depp, 55, was reportedly dating Polina Glen, a 24-year-old Russian dancer he met last year, but she dumped him in November. He has also sued his ex-wife for defamation, seeking $50 million in damages.

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Anna Faris and Chris Pratt (2017)

Anna Faris and Chris Pratt
(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

This one hurt all the goofballs and fans of “Take Me Home Tonight” out there. The “Mom” star and “Parks and Recreation” alum announced their separation in August 2017 after about eight years of marriage and settled their divorce in late 2018. They share a son, Jack.

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How they’ve moved on: Faris was linked to cinematographer Michael Barrett shortly after announcing her split and has repeatedly shared her reluctance to remarry. Pratt has continued his ascent into superstardom, headlining major franchises such as “Jurassic World,” “The Lego Movie” and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. He officially joined the Kennedy dynasty last summer when he married Katherine Schwarzenegger, the daughter of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux (2018)

Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

After 15 months of dating and a three-year engagement, Aniston and Theroux got hitched in August 2015 at a birthday party for him that turned out to be a surprise wedding. The marriage didn’t last as long as the engagement, but they said they were still “best friends” when they announced their split in December 2018.

How they’ve moved on: They’ve remained good friends. The East Coast guy and the West Coast girl follow each other on Instagram. He was at her “Friendsgiving” party the day before Thanksgiving this year. And their individual dating lives, if they exist, haven’t been made public. It’s all good.

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Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth (2019)

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Cyrus and Hemsworth started dating in 2008 when they costarred in the Nicholas Sparks movie “The Last Song,” then dated off and on until they got married in December 2018, just a month after the Malibu wildfire destroyed their home. The next August they split, announcing that they “still remain dedicated parents to all of their animals they share.”

How they’ve moved on: Hemsworth has moved back to the Australian town where older brother Chris lives and has been spotted with several women. Cyrus had a fling with Kaitlynn Carter, Brody Jenner’s ex-wife, and is now coupled with singer Cody Simpson, another Aussie.

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