The 15 most shocking splits of the year


Ava Gardner knew a thing or two about the agony of a celebrity divorce. With one of her divorces — maybe from Frank Sinatra? — the thrice-married actress rented a house in Palm Springs and “sat there and suffered for a couple of weeks.” She said: “When you have to face up to the fact that marriage to the man you love is really over, that’s very tough, sheer agony.”

Alas, there were a number of celebrity couples who presumably went through “sheer agony” in 2023. And, maybe one of the partners retreated to a glamorous resort destination to “suffer for a couple weeks.”

Were there more celebrity break-ups in 2023 than in years past?  It sure seems like it, given that a number of these splits felt genuinely shocking and dominated headlines for days, weeks, even months. Some involved A-list stars in seemingly happy unions. Others were particularly messy and litigious. In two notable cases, the shock came from the world learning that these long-term couples had separated years earlier but had yet to divorce.

Here’s a roundup of some of the painful celebrity uncouplings.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 01: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness attend "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala - O at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 01: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness attend “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Costume Institute Gala – O at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) 

Hugh Jackman & Deborra-Lee Furness

‘Our journey is now shifting’

Rumors always swirled around this amiable Australian duo: Jackman was younger than Furness by 13 years and so very handsome, charming and into musical theater.

Furness often laughed off the rumors that Jackman was gay, and the couple stuck it out for 27 years, long enough to lead many to conclude that theirs couldn’t be a marriage of convenience. They also had two children and always appeared to be loving and in synch when they appeared together in public.

So, news of their separation came as a genuine shock. They continued to show their love by describing their separation as the result of two people who simply grew apart. One could say that their breakup was a textbook “gray divorce.”

“Our journey now is shifting,” Jackson and Furness said in a statement. “We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness.”

Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner

Mom-shaming and transatlantic litigiousness until Taylor Swift swoops in

Joe Jonas, or his people, learned the hard way that you don’t try to bad-mouth the Queen of the North, especially when she has a powerful friend like Taylor Swift.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Joe Jonas (L) and Sophie Turner attend the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Joe Jonas (L) and Sophie Turner attend the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) 

Stunning news came in early September that the singer and the “Game of Thrones” star were headed for divorce after just four years of marriage. Things quickly turned ugly as Jonas filed for divorce in Miami, while Turner was in her native U.K. working on a TV series. People in Jonas’ orbit apparently leaked the idea that she was hard-partying 27-year-old and absentee mother who had left the doting father to take care of their young daughters while he and his brothers were on tour.

Turner hit back, filing a federal lawsuit, stating that she was the girls’ primary caregiver and alleging that her estranged American husband was “wrongfully” keeping their two young daughters in the United States.

By early October, temperatures had cooled, with the spouses reaching a temporary agreement to share equal time with the girls through the end of the year. Turner notably would be allowed to have the girls with her in England for the holidays. In a joint statement, the estranged couple said they looked “forward to being great co-parents.”

We’ll probably never know what prompted Jonas, especially, to back down. But perhaps Taylor Swift, whom he once briefly dated, had something to do with it. The most famous woman on the planet swooped in and anointed Turner her new BFF, let her stay at her New York townhouse and invited her to publicized power dinners with other famous women. Swifties were only too happy to rally for Turner and try to bury Jonas’ reputation on social media, reminding him that he probably was the inspiration for Swift’s lacerating song about a “casually cruel” boyfriend called “Mr. Perfectly Fine.”

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have dinner at Waverly Inn on October 15, in New York City. (Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images)
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have dinner at Waverly Inn on October 15, in New York City. (Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images) 

Taylor Swift & Joe Alwyn

Making room for Travis Kelce

Not a whole lot to say that hasn’t already been said, but Swift surprisingly ditched her very English boyfriend Alwyn after six years of dating, and, after a dalliance with another skinny Brit — singer Matty Healy — propelled herself into the arms of Kelce, a robust, 6-foot-5-inch American football hero. With the two-time Super Bowl winner, the billionaire pop mega-star and Time Person of the Year is poised to conquer new territory: The world of the celebrity super couple.

Kevin Costner & Christine Baumgartner

Life-styles of the rich, famous and acquisitive

When Christine Baumgartner, the “Yellowstone” star’s wife of nearly 19 years, filed for divorce in May, no one could have predicted that their divorce would get so messy, costly and embarrassing.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 30: Kevin Costner (L) and Christine Baumgartner attend Paramount Network's "Yellowstone" Season 2 Premiere Party at Lombardi House on May 30, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Paramount Network)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 30: Kevin Costner (L) and Christine Baumgartner attend Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” Season 2 Premiere Party at Lombardi House on May 30, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Paramount Network) 

During the nearly six-month court battle, Costner, Baumgartner and their high-priced attorneys battled over property, child support, legal fees, a prenuptial agreement and her avowed need to keep their three, teenage children in a lifestyle “to which they had become accustomed” — which included private-jet travel and resort vacations.

In the beginning of the mess, Costner had to get a judge to order Baumgartner to leave their $145 million Pacific Ocean-front estate near Santa Barbara, citing the prenuptial they signed before the 2004 wedding. She re-located to a $40,000-per-month rental home in Montecito, with a pool, jacuzzi and manicured gardens. But it still didn’t quite meet her specifications, as she revealed in court. She tearfully testified that her children wouldn’t be able to live on the water and enjoy Costner’s beach-club estate when they stayed with her in Montecito.

When she initially demanded $248,000 a month in child support, Costner’s team hit back with accusations that she’d use some of that money for a personal trainer and cosmetic surgery. Baumgartner at one point also asked for Costner to cover her $855,000 in legal fees and revealed he had a net worth of $400 million. Things got especially petty when the estranged spouses squabbled over exactly which pots, pans and other items she could remove from the house.

In mid-September, Costner and Baumgartner reached a settlement under terms which were not disclosed. But it’s understood that she’ll get around on $63,000 a month in child support — far less than she was asking — but more than the $1 million settlement outlined in the prenup.

Honoree Britney Spears (L) and Sam Asghari attend the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 12, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for GLAAD)
Honoree Britney Spears (L) and Sam Asghari attend the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 12, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for GLAAD) 

Britney Spears & Sam Asghari

More amicable than you’d expect 



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