Let’s be honest: a lot of 2017 was a total dumpster fire. We thought 2016 was bad, but then 2017 came and knocked it out of the park. We had a lot to deal with, including and not least of all, the multitude of celebrity splits from couples we thought were meant to be together. Some only stuck it out for a year or two while others were together for a couple decades, but no amount of time lessens the sting, even though we don’t personally know any of the parties involved.
With walks on the red carpet and paparazzi photos, we’re given an inside look into how celebrity couples interact and how in love they are with one another, so it feels like we know them – and thus, hurts to see them part ways. Maybe it’s because we pin our own hopes and dreams about love onto them and figure that if they can make it and find one another, there’s hope for us, too. Some we just like seeing together since they seem so perfect for one another, we can’t imagine a universe in which they’d be apart. There have been a lot of terrible things about 2017, but these 15 celebrity breakups truly destroyed our idea of love.
15 Jennifer Lawrence & Darren Aronofsky
We know that a lot of people didn’t see this couple working out in the long run, due to the 22-year age difference and Jennifer Lawrence’s habit of dating her costars (see Nicholas Hoult), but they seemed to really connect, which made us a little sad to see them split in October after over a year together.
Relationships between actresses and directors don’t always pan out, on account of a bit of a power imbalance, but things seemed pretty solid between Lawrence and Darren Aronofsky, who filmed her in the controversial flick mother!. After Lawrence’s high-profile and tabloid-heavy relationship with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, this seemed like a more stable pick for the Oscar winner. Alas, it didn’t last, and we think it’s probably only a matter of time before Lawrence is swept off her feet again.
14 Heidi Klum & Vito Schnabel
After her messy breakup with husband and father of her children Seal, we really wanted Heidi Klum to find love again, because she deserves it. Unfortunately for her, that love was not to be with art dealer Vito Schnabel: the two called it quits at the end of the summer after three years together.
Or did they?
Sources differ on the state of the couple’s relationship, with some saying that the two are simply “taking time apart” on account of their busy schedules and Klum’s commitment to her kids. Schnabel, who we’ll admit we don’t know that well, seemed at ease with his supermodel girlfriend’s jet-set lifestyle, and they looked like they fit into each other’s lives well. Since this sounds like it’s all up in the air, there’s still hope for them yet!
13 Nicki Minaj & Meek Mill
Ah, our hearts! The remarks these two made to each other is what really has us reaching for the tissues. After a rollercoaster of a relationship that saw Nicki Minaj forced to pick sides between boyfriend Meek Mill and best friend Drake, we thought these guys might be able to see things through. Instead, Nicki announced her new arrival into singlehood in a tweet on January 5, saying that she was focusing on her work and looking forward to sharing it with her fans. Minaj, however, is not someone who is easily forgotten in the eyes of her exes, and Meek dished as much as recently as July – seven months after the couple split: “I wanted Nicki my whole life,” he said in a radio interview. “Of course breaking up with anybody you love is a loss, period.” Brb, crying forever.
12 Robert Pattinson & FKA Twigs
They were an oddball couple, but one that seemed to work, thanks in part to their dedication to their careers (and each other) and their refusal to be in the spotlight. Just look at how loved-up they are! The notoriously camera-shy Robert Pattinson seemed to have hit the jackpot with his musician fiancée FKA Twigs, who he was with for three years. After the cheating scandal that occurred with him and Twilight costar Kristen Stewart, it was good to see Pattinson happy and relaxed in the throes of love.
Trouble in paradise for the two was always on their heels, though, with an on-and-off engagement that had people wondering what was up when, in July, the actor said he and FKA were “kind of” engaged. Obviously, things fells apart, they announced their split in October, and while things are reportedly amicable, it wasn’t long before FKA was spotted getting snuggly with a male model.
11 Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom
Who saw these two getting together in the first place? One an actor, the other a pop star, it didn’t seem that their stars would cross much outside of the awards show circuit – which is exactly where they hit things off. Both gorgeous and talented, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom had a silly, fun relationship that saw them get seriously into one another in the multitude of paparazzi shots that were published. (Including the infamous one of a nude Bloom showing off exactly what he was packing while paddle-boarding!)
After a little over a year together, though, the brunette beauties called things off in February, in a joint statement. However, in the manner in which most Hollywood couplings happen, these two might be back on, if rumours are to be believed, and considering how damn good they both look together, we can only cross our fingers and hope it’s true!
10 Scarlett Johansson & Romain Dauriac
It’s always sad to see a couple split up when there’s a child involved, especially one as young as three-year-old Rose, the daughter of actress Scarlett Johansson and French journalist Romain Dauriac. Johansson doesn’t seem to have the best luck in love, unfortunately, despite being one of the most gorgeous actors in Hollywood, with this being her second failed marriage after just two years (she was previously hitched to Ryan Reynolds from September 2008 to July 2011).
Unlike some of the other couples on this list, Dauriac and Johansson had a bitter custody dispute over their daughter, with both of them seeking primary physical custody. (The case has since been settled.) Johansson, who once called the marriage “irretrievably broken” has since moved on with Saturday Night Live cast member and Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost.
9 Selena Gomez & The Weeknd
Like your best friend who always makes poor decisions, we have Selena Gomez, who, over the summer, seemed so in love with boyfriend The Weeknd that we all breathed a sigh of relief that she had finally seemingly gotten over on-again off-again boyfriend Justin Bieber. They took trips together, they snapped cute photos for Instagram, and he was a shoulder to cry on during her ongoing battle with the autoimmune disease lupus. Unfortunately, the bliss didn’t last, and the musical pair ended things after 11 months together, citing differing schedules.
That would be sad all on its own, but then Gomez had to get back on her s**t and hook up with Bieber, canoodling over breakfast and attending church services together. Considering how healthy and loved-up her relationship seemed with The Weeknd and how volatile things were with Bieber, we can only hope for the best for her sake – and expect the worst.
8 Amy Schumer & Ben Hanisch
One of the saddest parts of Amy Schumer’s recent book, Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, is, in retrospect, her remarks about then-boyfriend Ben Hanisch, a furniture designer from Chicago. Full of sweetness and love, Schumer describes Hanisch as supportive and everything she had wanted in a partner before, and how thankful and happy to have finally found it in Hanisch. She even included him in her stand-up routine! Their meeting was so normal, via the dating app Bumble, and they stayed together for a year and a half before splitting up in May. Now, those sweet comments about her then-love are sadder and leave us a little misty-eyed. Unlike most celebrity breakups, we have no intel as to the cause behind the split, although the apparently still remain friends, at least according to Schumer’s rep.
7 Chris Evans & Jenny Slate
Striking one for awkward girls, funny girls, and nerdy girls everywhere, many of us were living vicariously through Jenny Slate when she unexpectedly hooked up with her Gifted costar and Captain America himself Chris Evans. According to everyone who was on set with the pair, their chemistry was undeniable and they spent most of their time together between takes joking around and trading laughs, and ended up staying together for almost a year. Following the dissolving of their relationship, Slate’s comments were heartbreaking: “We’re not on bad terms but we haven’t really seen each other, spoken a lot. I think it’s probably best. I’d love to be his friend one day, but we threw down pretty hard. No regrets, though. Ever.”
A tiny maybe-bright spot to the story though? They might be back together!
6 Olivia Munn & Aaron Rodgers
These two just seemed so damn likeable together! Brains met brawn with a heaping dose of good looks shared between them, Olivia Munn and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers called it quits after three years in April, and just two months after rumours abounded about a possible engagement between the couple. According to Rodgers, dating someone so high profile was difficult, because it thrust their relationship into the limelight and under a microscope. Rodgers’ issue with fame isn’t unfamiliar to those who know him – just look at how his family reacted when little bro Jordan scored JoJo Fletcher on The Bachelorette!
Since their split, which was said to be amicable, Rodgers may or may not be dating a new someone who isn’t famous and thus will allow him to keep his love life under wraps.
5 Jesse Williams & Aryn Drake-Lee
Fame can do a lot to a person, but it seemed that dreamboat and woke man Jesse Williams didn’t need the Hollywood glitz and glamour that came with his Grey’s Anatomy gig and continued to be happily married to his wife of almost five years, real estate broker Aryn Drake-Lee, who he met when he was working as a schoolteacher. (Sigh!)
With two children between them and an app they co-created, the split is said to be amicable by some, but not if you believe the tabloids, who have reported that Drake-Lee is furious at Williams for introducing possible new lady-love Minka Kelly to their children. While Drake-Lee constantly faced incredulity and scrutiny for bagging such a hottie when rude reports said she didn’t “measure up”, we loved their down-home love story and are sad to see them split.
4 Fergie & Josh Duhamel
Who saw this coming? None of us, that’s who! Fergie and Josh Duhamel seemed like a pretty random pairing, but they definitely worked – at least for eight years, until they announced their imminent split in September. These two seemed so in love up until the last moment, like when Duhamel said in April that “seeing my wife and boy together” is what made him happiest (the couple share a son, Axl, together), and Fergie was still distraught over the split when she was asked about it in an interview in October, saying, “I wanted to stay married forever,” before breaking down in tears. The fact that these two were proof that opposites attract and still couldn’t make it work for the long haul easily makes it one of the most devastating breakups of 2017.
3 Rachel Bilson & Hayden Christensen
For a couple that has been off and on for over nine years, we were really hoping that Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen would be able to work things out, but they were “completely, officially done” by September.
Having met on the set of Jumper back in 2008, the two became engaged later that year, before calling things off in 2010, reconciling three months later, and becoming parents to daughter Briar Rose in 2015. Like so many other celebrity couples, it was distance that tore these two apart, with Bilson residing full-time in LA and Christensen in Toronto. While they’re no longer together, they are able to co-parent their daughter – although in separate places on different coast. These two spent almost a decade together and while they were pretty low-key, we were definitely rooting for them until the very end.
2 Ben Stiller & Christine Taylor
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor were one of those super-solid couples we never thought would ever split up, but here we are, putting them as our second most heartbreaking celebrity split of 2017.
After almost two decades together and two children, Stiller and Taylor announced their split in May, which came as a shock to their many fans and culminated in a collective Twitter meltdown that had us all certain that love was indeed dead. The actors frequently collaborated together in funny flicks like Tropic Thunder and Zoolander, the latter in which they played an unlikely couple, and one would think that their separation would be a messy one thanks to how many ties they share. Fortunately for all parties involved, things seem to be progressing smoothly, but it doesn’t make us hurt any less to no longer see the funnyman and the beauty together.
1 Anna Faris & Chris Pratt
Easily the most devastating breakup on this list, the split between Anna Faris and Chris Pratt had us all crying into cartons of ice cream when they announced their separation after eight years of marriage in August via shared statements on social media. “We tried hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed,” the statement read. Sob!
We were so used to seeing photos of the crazy in love couple with their young son Jack that it came as a shock, but it may have been a long time coming, according to some. When the pair met, Faris was the more famous of the two, but as Pratt’s star rose with the release of blockbusters Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, and as his career took him further away from home for longer periods, cracks began to fissure the marriage, which had us all wondering if love ever existed, or if it died when these two broke up.
