Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green, Kelly Clarkson & Brandon Blackstock: The biggest celebrity breakups of 2020
You learn a lot about a person when you’re stuck in quarantine together, so it’s no wonder there were quite a few celebrity splits in 2020. While the coronavirus pandemic isn’t to blame for every celebrity relationship ending, it may have sped a few of these along. Here are some of the Hollywood couples that broke up this year.
Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis
After nine years together, the actors’ breakup was a shock to fans. Wilde and the Ted Lasso star share two children and were engaged for more than seven years, but never walked down the aisle. According to People, the Booksmart director and Sudeikis’s drama-free split happened at the beginning of the year and they have been amicably co-parenting.
Kristen Cavallari and Jay Cutler
In April, the Very Cavallari stars made the surprising announcement that they were splitting after seven years of marriage. While their divorce seemed acrimonious at first — Cavallari accused the former NFL player of “marital misconduct” — the couple quietly reached a temporary custody agreement and are co-parenting their three kids.
Stacey Dash and Jeffrey Marty
Dash announced their separation in April, days before filing for divorce. Married for two years, their relationship wasn’t without some (big) issues. In 2019, the Clueless star was arrested for alleged domestic violence following a dispute with her husband, but no charges were filed. Marty is seeking an annulment as he claims he was hypnotized into marrying her.
Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star confirmed in May he and Fox were separated after she was photographed with Machine Gun Kelly amid California’s stay-at-home order. The actors, who share three sons, were married for a decade and were together the better part of 15 years. Fox filed for divorce in November and has very publicly moved on with the musician.
Jaime King and Kyle Newman
The longtime couple split after 12 years together — and it has not been amicable. King filed for divorce in May along with a domestic violence prevention petition and was granted a temporary restraining order. He accused her of being “a chronic drug addict and alcoholic” in court documents. A custody battle of their two children is ongoing.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy
The super-private couple broke up after less than five years of marriage, with some details spilling out in the press. Olsen, who filed for divorce in May, reportedly ended things when Sarkozy invited his ex-wife, Charlotte Bernard, to move into their Hamptons home amid the pandemic.
Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich
Hough and Laich announced their decision to separate in May after nearly three years of marriage. But COVID-19 seemed to put things on hold as the pair sparked reconciliation rumors over the summer. The actress ultimately filed for divorce in November.
Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock
The Voice coach filed for divorce in June after six years of marriage citing “irreconcilable differences.” However, their breakup seems more complicated. Clarkson, who was awarded primary custody of their two children, is suing her estranged ex and his father for fraud. While she has called divorce “horrible,” Clarkson said she won’t go into details about why she left the union out of respect for her kids and stepchildren.
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse
The Riverdale stars called it quits earlier this year after nearly three years together. “What an incredible experience I had, I’ll always feel lucky and cherish that I had the chance to fall in love,” Sprouse wrote in an Instagram post. “I wish her nothing but the utmost love and happiness moving forward.”
Dr. Dre and Nicole Young
This is a split that’s anything but amicable as the estranged spouses, married 24 years, fight over money. In June, Young filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences and requested nearly $2 million in spousal support, arguing their pre-nuptial agreement is void. The rapper accused Young of embezzlement. She has also alleged “rampant and repeated marital misconduct,” and that Dre may have fathered a child outside of their marriage.
Jennifer Grey and Clark Gregg
After quietly separating in January, the couple released a joint statement in July they “recently made the difficult decision to divorce.” The Dirty Dancing star and her actor-screenwriter husband were married for 19 years. “We remain close and are deeply grateful for the life we've shared and the wonderful daughter we've raised,” they wrote on social media, adding that they were “totally crying as we post this.”
Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly
The Grammy-winning singer and her musician husband announced their separation in July via their reps. “We’ve made this painful decision together — a healthy decision that comes after a very long period of trying the best we can. It simply just didn’t work,” they said, vowing “to remain true friends for the rest of our lives.”
Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick
The sports stars called it quits after nearly two years of dating, confirming in July they went their separate ways. The news was surprising as they reportedly moved into a $28 million mansion together in December.
Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers
After 10 years of marriage and 13 years together, the couple announced their separation. Chambers filed for divorce in July and requested primary physical custody and joint legal custody of their two children. The actor responded in October asking for joint custody — and for his wife to return from the Cayman Islands with their kids. It’s where she and Hammer quarantined at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tracy Morgan and Megan Wollover
The 30 Rock star and Wollover, who share one child together, announced in July they were divorcing after almost five years of marriage. They wed in an emotional ceremony just 14 months after Morgan nearly died in a highway crash. The couple didn’t elaborate as to why they split, just noting it’s “a challenging time for all involved.”
Jennifer Garner and John Miller
It was reported in August the Golden Globe winner and businessman broke up after nearly two years of dating. The pair kept their relationship private over the years, so it’s no surprise their breakup was hush-hush, too.
Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson
After a very public 10-month courtship, the singers went their separate ways in August. Cyrus said there was no drama involved. “Right now, two halves can't make a whole and we're individually just working on ourselves to become the people that we wanna be, like everybody else at this age,” she told fans.
Demi Lovato and Max Ehrich
Lovato’s relationship with The Young and the Restless actor ended as quickly as it began. The stars were first linked in March, flaunting their romance on social media throughout quarantine. Ehrich proposed in July, but the singer called things off just two months later after reportedly feeling his intentions weren’t genuine. She has kept a good sense of humor about the whole thing, though.
Scott Disick and Sofia Richie
After being on-again, off-again for more than three years, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, 37, and 22-year-old model ended their relationship in August. (For now, at least.)
Karamo Brown and Ian Jordan
The Queer Eye star revealed in September he and Jordan postponed their wedding — indefinitely. Together for 10 years, the couple got engaged in 2018 and were planning to get married over the summer. “We went to virtual counseling. We did a lot of things,” Brown said, explaining there was no cheating or drama. “But eventually I was like, this is a moment where I need to decide ‘Is my happiness important?’”
Christina and Ant Anstead
After nearly two years of marriage — and one year after welcoming a son — the HGTV star announced they made “the difficult decision to separate.” What led to the split is unclear, but Ant made it known it was Christina’s decision to end the marriage. Christina started dating the British television personality after she and ex-husband, Flip or Flop star Tarkek El Moussa, divorced in 2018.
Taraji P. Henson and Kelvin Hayden
The Empire star confirmed in October “it didn’t work out” with the former football player. It’s unclear when the private couple called off their engagement. Henson and Hayden first sparked romance rumors in 2015 and he popped the question in 2018.
Ashley Hebert and JP Rosenbaum
Bachelor Nation was stunned by the news that Hebert and Rosenbaum, one of The Bachelorette’s great success stories, were separating after eight years of marriage. “Our differences have taken a toll on our relationship and after years of attempting to repair the damage, we’ve decided that it is in our family’s best interest to create new and separate lives for our children,” they said in a joint statement in October.
Erika and Tom Girardi
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 49, announced in November she was filing for divorce from the 81-year-old lawyer after 21 years of marriage. Citing “irreconcilable differences,” the pair disagree on whether Erika should receive spousal support, but that’s the least messy part of this breakup. Tom has been hit with multiple lawsuits over allegations that he misappropriated settlement funds that belong to the victims of a 2018 plane crash. Erika was also sued.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
