There was no shortage of heartache in 2018.
There was no shortage of heartache in 2018.
From broken engagements to seemingly perfect couples filing for divorce, let's take a look back at the biggest breakups of the year that had fans reeling.
Jennifer Aniston & Justin Theroux:
Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announced their split one day after Valentine's Day. They were married for two and a half years, and spent seven years together.
“In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation," Aniston and Theroux's joint statement to ET read. "This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year. We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship."
"Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly," the statement continued. "Whatever else is printed about us that is not directly from us, is someone else’s fictional narrative. Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another.”
Since then, the two seem just fine on their own, with Aniston sticking close to her gal-pals, and Theroux working hard on his fitness and spending more time in New York City as opposed to Los Angeles.
In August, Aniston said she wasn't "heartbroken" over their split.
"It’s pretty crazy. The misconceptions are 'Jen can’t keep a man,' ... Or that I’m sad and heartbroken," Aniston told InStyle. "First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken."
In September, Theroux said their breakup was as amicable as it could be.
“The good news is that was probably the most -- I’m choosing my words really carefully -- it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity,” Theroux told The New York Times. “In a weird way, just sort of navigating the inevitable perception of it is the exhausting part."
“Neither one of us is dead, neither one of us is looking to throw hatchets at each other," he continued. "It’s more like, it’s amicable. It’s boring, but, you know, we respected each other enough that it was as painless as it could be. It was heartbreaking only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day. But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of.”
A source told ET in October that the beloved Friends star is perfectly happy being single again.
“Jennifer has been doing incredibly well," the source said. "Her decision to move forward in life without Justin was one of the most difficult of her life but she now knows for sure, it was the right one. Since they split, her friends believe their plan to move forward in life without one another was the best decision for both of them. Neither of them is pining for each other but instead, finding themselves again."
Sean "Diddy" Combs and Cassie Ventura:
Sean "Diddy" Combs and Cassie Ventura were initially romantically linked as far back as 2007, after she was signed to Diddy's Bad Boy Records label. But after more than a decade of dating, a source told ET in October that the longtime couple had broken up.
However, they still remain friendly. In November, 49-year-old Diddy and 32-year-old Cassie were spotted together after the sudden death of his ex, Kim Porter.
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan:
One of the most heartbreaking splits of the year was Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan's breakup after eight years of marriage. The Step Up stars announced they were separating in April with a joint statement on their Instagram accounts.
"First off, it feels odd that we have to share this kind of thing with everyone, but it’s a consequence of the lives we’ve chosen to lead, which we also happen to be deeply grateful for," they wrote. "We’re living in an incredible moment in time, but it’s also a time where truth can easily get distorted into 'alternative facts.' So we want to share the truth so you know that if you didn’t read it here then it’s most certainly fiction."
"We have lovingly chosen to separate as a couple," the statement continued. "We fell deeply in love so many years ago and have had a magical journey together. Absolutely nothing has changed about how much we love one another, but love is a beautiful adventure that is taking us on different paths for now."
"There are no secrets nor salacious events at the root of our decision -- just two best-friends realizing it’s time to take some space and help each other live the most joyous, fulfilled lives as possible. We are still a family and will always be loving dedicated parents to Everly. We won’t be commenting beyond this, and we thank you all in advance for respecting our family’s privacy. Sending lots of love to everyone, Chan&Jenna."
In October, Dewan filed for divorce from Tatum, citing irreconcilable differences. According to court documents obtained by ET, she requested joint legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old daughter, Everly. She's also seeking child support and spousal support from Tatum.
The two have also moved on romantically. Tatum is currently dating British singer Jessie J while Dewan is dating Tony Award-winning actor Steve Kazee.
Paris Hilton and Chris Zylka:
Paris Hilton and former Leftovers star Chris Zylka called off their engagement in November after two years of dating, a source told ET. According to the source, the relationship moved too fast, and Hilton realized over time that Zylka wasn't the one for her and that their relationship just wasn't meant to be.
During her appearance later that month on The Talk, Hilton said she got swept up in the fairy tale of love.
"I just feel that, when I fall in love, I fall in love fast and hard and it was this whirlwind romance," she shared. "I've always been obsessed with Disney stories and love stories and I thought it was going to be my happy ending. I just realized after time it wasn't the right decision -- but I wish him the best."
"One day I would love to get married and have children, but for right now, I'm just focusing on myself and my work," she continued.
Kaitlyn Bristowe & Shawn Booth:
Bachelor Nation was heartbroken when Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth called off their engagement in November. Booth and Bristowe -- who got engaged on season 11 of the show in 2015 -- were the longest-running engaged pair to come out of the series.
“After three incredible years, we have decided to go our separate ways," their joint statement to ET read. "This difficult decision comes after thoughtful, respectful consideration. Even though we are parting as a couple, we’re very much committed to remaining friends. We have both evolved as people, which is taking us in different directions, but with the hope that we will continue to support each other in new ways. Due to the nature of how we met, our relationship has always been very public, and we have enjoyed sharing it with all of you, but we ask that you respect our decision and our privacy at this time.”
Before they announced the split, there were signs the couple wasn't doing great -- fans noticed they were appearing less and less on each other's social media, and Bristowe also previously revealed that Booth actually forgot their anniversary.
Bristowe shared what went wrong on her podcast, Off the Vine With Kaitlyn Bristowe.
“Sometimes you need to take a moment and take a step back to think about what you are fighting for and if it makes sense for your long-term happiness," she said about their breakup. “There were some important fundamental values that weren’t lining up ... We were left with no choice but to be honest with ourselves and each other."
JWoww & Roger Mathews:
The Jersey Shore couple was a favorite during the hit MTV show's run, but in September, Jenni "JWoww" Farley filed for divorce from Mathews in Ocean County, New Jersey, citing irreconcilable differences. The two tied the knot in October 2015, three years after getting engaged, and share two kids together -- 4-year-old daughter Meilani and 2-year-old son Greyson.
Although Mathews made it no secret he initially wanted to get Farley back -- even wooing her with a romantic carriage ride -- their split took an ugly turn earlier this month. Farley announced that she filed a restraining order against him after he shared a series of videos to his own Instagram account, alleging that she was "hysterically shouting" at him after the two got into an argument over the reality star "leaving again" to go to work.
"Jenni became completely uncontrollable emotionally, like she always does," he claimed in one of the videos, which he filmed in the back of a police car. "I got woken up at two o'clock in the morning, sound asleep, by two officers, who said she contacted a judge and filed a restraining order."
In Farley's own Instagram statement, she called the videos false and misleading.
“While Jenni has refrained from making any public statements relating to her impending divorce, in light of recent events we have decided to make an official statement," the post read. "Certain events transpired last night which led Jenni to involve the authorities, as she felt it was in her best interests, and the best interests of her children to do so. Any statements and social media posts depicting anything to the contrary are entirely false, misleading and intentionally designed to cast Jenni in a negative light."
"She is proud to be a hardworking parent who provides for her children," the statement continued. "While we have chosen not to comment further, we will note that a judge immediately ruled in Jenni’s favor and issued a temporary order of protection last night. Please respect Jenni’s decision for privacy in an effort to protect herself and her children during this time."
Pete Davidson & Ariana Grande:
Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson got engaged in June after just a few weeks of dating, but the whirlwind romance came to an abrupt end in October. Prior to their split, Grande was going through a tough time with the sudden death of her ex, Mac Miller, just one month earlier.
“Ariana made the final decision," a source told ET at the time of the breakup. "It was time to realize this wasn’t the right time for them and Pete is incredibly heartbroken. Pete is still so in love with her. He wanted his whole world to revolve around her but she was emotionally unavailable. He realizes she was at her limit with pressure from everyone and everything around her. There were days she just wanted to run away from the world just to get some peace and quiet and peace of mind. Pete had to give her that space out of love."
“They got engaged because they both felt this instant connection and even now after their split they are still deeply in love," the source continued. "But their timing has truly affected their plans and made it impossible for them to make it work at the moment. ... They have a very special connection, partly because Pete has been there for Ariana during a painful time in her life. She will forever and always be grateful to Pete."
The source noted that the constant attention on the couple affected their relationship.
“They felt constantly under a microscope," the source said. "They felt that they literally had no privacy and it really took a toll on their relationship."
Earlier this month, Grande said she was still there for Davidson after he posted an alarming note on Instagram that had fans worried he was suicidal. Previously, she also asked her fans to be more "gentle" with the Saturday Night Live star, who has been open about his struggles with depression.
"I'm downstairs and I'm not going anywhere if you need anyone or anything," she tweeted after his troubling Instagram note. "I know u have everyone u need and that's not me, but i'm here too."
Kourtney Kardashian and Younes Bendjima:
The May-December romance between 39-year-old Kourtney Kardashian and 25-year-old Younes Bendjima came to an end in August after two years of dating. A source told ET that it was the mother of three that initiated the split.
"Near the end of the relationship, the two weren't getting along and the age difference ultimately played a part," the source said. "Younes is young, and although mature for his age, he and Kourtney are at different stages in their lives."
But the breakup didn't appear so amicable when Kardashian's sisters, Kim and Kourtney, slammed him on social media in response to a message Bendjima posted to his Instagram Story. He claimed news outlets "wanna make me be the bad guy" after photos surfaced of him getting flirty with Jordan Ozuna, a former Hooters waitress who was previously linked to Tyga and Justin Bieber. However, a source told ET that Bendjima and Ozuna weren't romantically involved at the time.
Still, the Kardashian sisters weren't having it.
"Nice pics from your 'boys trip,'" Kim commented on The Shade Room's screenshot of the post, while Khloe commented, "Alexa play 'heard it all before' by Sunshine Anderson" on another screenshotted post.
These days, it appears Kardashian has already moved on with an even younger man -- 21-year-old model Luka Sabbat, whom she's been spotted showing PDA with.
John Cena & Nikki Bella:
The pro wrestling power couple -- who got engaged after a tag team match at WrestleMania 33 last April -- announced that they were splitting and calling off their wedding in April. The two had been dating for six years.
“After much contemplation and 6 years of being together Nikki Bella and John Cena announced today their decision to separate as a couple,” read a statement posted to Bella’s Instagram account. “While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another. We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives.”
A source later told ET that the two broke up over starting a family.
"Nikki and John truly love each other, but they will never have the same view on a perfect future," the source said. "Nikki has always dreamt of having a family of her own and John does not want children and that was the main cause of their breakup. They are both dedicated to their careers, but Nikki wants more than just that."
But in May, Cena poured his heart out during his appearance on the Today show and said he had changed his mind about having kids. He also said that he had his "heart broken out of nowhere."
“For anyone out there speculating on what I am doing with my life now, I still love Nicole, I still would love to marry Nicole, I still would love to have a family with Nicole," he bluntly said on-air. "There was an unfortunate set of circumstances where our relationship ended. There has been a lot of speculation recently about me being seen in public and everybody is thinking like, ‘Oh, John Cena is enjoying the single life.’ No, I was supposed to be married and having a honeymoon over these two weeks. It is the first time in 15 years that I have taken a vacation. I am in my house alone, surrounded by these emotionally strong memories and every day from 6-9, I get out of the house and talk to strangers as social interaction.”
"I don't want anybody else," he continued. "I love Nicole. I'm really trying to support her in her trying to find whatever it is she wants that made this fall apart in the first place, and in doing so, I'm also just trying to live. But I don't have any other hopes, other than one day that we can work it out."
Still, the public plea was not enough to get the couple back on track. ET spoke to Bella in September at the iHeart Radio Music Festival, and she said she was single and had not spoken to her ex-fiance recently.
"He's doing him and I'm doing me," she said of Cena, adding that she was taking this time to work on herself. "I just feel like I'm at that age where I'm discovering who I really am and what I want out of life and just, like, independence. It is scary and you do have these moments of like, 'What am I doing?' -- and fear. I just kind of am liking the challenge."
Kendra Wilkinson & Hank Baskett:
After plenty of very public ups and downs -- including infidelity rumors -- the former Girls Next Door star and former NFL player called it quits for good this year. Wilkinson officially filed for divorce in April, citing "irreconcilable differences" and listing the date of their separation as Jan. 1, 2018.
The two married in June 2009 at the Playboy Mansion. They share two children together -- son Hank IV, 8, and daughter Alijah, 3.
"I will forever love Hank and be open but for now we have chosen to go our own ways," Wilkinson wrote on Instagram shortly after the news broke. "I’m beyond sad and heartbroken because I did believe in forever, that’s why I said yes but unfortunately too much fear has gotten in the way. We are both amazing parents and our kids will be happy n never know the difference other than seeing mama smile."
"Sometimes love looks funny," she added. "We are told to make sacrifices in life if it’s true love well in this case it’s me. I want to see happy Hank again... i miss that. Marriage was just a piece of paper and a piece of jewelry but our hearts will always be real."
The two have indeed been keeping it amicable for their children, reuniting for their son's hockey game in May. ET spoke to Wilkinson earlier this month, and she appeared to be enjoying the single life.
"[A kiss under the mistletoe] is the last thing on my mind," she noted. "All this is just my joy right now, for myself and kids. Hopefully, by New Year's I have someone. But look, if not, I won't be crying about it."
Lena Dunham & Jack Antonoff:
The Girls creator and the Bleachers musician called it quits this year after five years of dating, her rep confirmed to ET in January. Dunham opened up about their breakup in an emotional essay she wrote for Vogue that was published in May.
"We sat in our shared kitchen of nearly four years and quietly faced each other, acknowledging what nobody wanted to say," Dunham wrote. "That obsessive connection had turned to blind devotion, and the blinders were coming off to reveal that we had evolved separately (the least shocking reason of all and perhaps the most common). That anger wasn't sexy or sustainable. That our hearts were still broken from trying so hard to fix it but no longer uncertain about whether or not we could. The finality nearly killed me, and I remember muttering, ‘But what if we still went on dates?' He laughed sadly. ‘Whatever you want.'"
In a recent interview with The Cut, Dunham talked further about their split.
“Our relationship probably lasted longer than it should have,” she admitted. “He’s a very loyal person, so he was not going to bail when the going got tough. He literally held my hand while I got an enema on New Year’s Eve while his family celebrated. But when you’re sick, so much energy goes into making sure the other person is well that you’re not even noticing maybe our schedules aren’t compatible. Maybe we want different things out of our lives. Maybe we have different attitudes about what family means. Maybe these essential questions that people have to ask themselves all the time are not being asked, because we just want to make sure that I don’t pass out at the grocery store.”
She admitted it hasn't been easy seeing 34-year-old Antonoff move on. He is currently reportedly dating model Carlotta Kohl.
“I thought I was kind of proving weird girls can have love too," she said. "And now he’s dating somebody who looks regular and normal and like girls are supposed to look.”
Michael Sheen and Sarah Silverman:
Michael Sheen and Sarah Silverman parted ways in February after three years of dating. Silverman took to Twitter to announce the sad news, also taking a page out of Gwyneth Paltrow's breakup playbook.
"The great @michaelsheen and I consciously uncoupled over Christmas. I mean, not 'over Christmas' -- like that wasn’t the fight that ended it. No fight," she shared. "We just live in different countries and it got hard. Felt we should just tell y’all so u stop askin, 'How’s Michael/How’s Sarah?'"
In an interview with The Telegraph in September, Sheen echoed that it was distance that killed their relationship.
"We both had very similar drives, and yet to act on those drives pulled us in different directions -- because she is American and I’m Welsh,” Sheen explained.
Sheen noted that Brexit -- the impending withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union -- and the 2016 U.S. presidential election happening back-to-back led both him and Silverman to want to become more politically active.
“That led to her doing her show, I Love America, and it led to me wanting to address the issues that I thought led some people to vote the way they did about Brexit, in the area I come from and others like it,” he said. "I felt a responsibility to do something.”
“It did mean coming back here [England] -- which was difficult for us, because we were very important to each other,” he continued. "But we both acknowledge that each of us had to do what we needed to do.”
Cardi B and Offset:
Earlier this month, Cardi B announced on Instagram that she was no longer with rapper Offset, after the two were consistently plagued with infidelity rumors. They secretly married in September 2017 and share daughter Kulture together.
"So everybody been bugging me and everything, and you know I've been trying to work things out with my baby father for a hot minute now," Cardi said. "We're really good friends, and you know we're really good business partners, and you know, he's always somebody that I run to to talk to and we got a lot of love for each other. But things just haven't been working out between us for a long time."
Shortly after, the Migos rapper took to his own Instagram to try to win Cardi back -- and admitted to "entertaining" cheating on her.
"I want to apologize to you, Cardi," he said. "I embarrassed you. I made you go crazy. I was partaking in activity that I shouldn’t have been partaking in, and I apologize. You know what I’m saying? For breaking your heart, for breaking our promise, for breaking God’s promise and being a selfish, messed up husband."
“I want to be able to spend the rest of my life with you,” he continued. “I apologize. I am sorry for what I have done to you. I didn’t f**k that girl, but I was entertaining it, you know what I’m saying? I apologize, and I love you, and I hope you forgive me. My birthday wish is just to have you back."
But it appears the two are far from reconciling. Offset crashed Cardi's show in L.A. on Dec. 15, rolling out a three-piece sign -- made entirely of roses worth $15,000 -- which read, “Take me back Cardi."
"I just wanna tell you I'm sorry, babe," he said, as Cardi appeared less than amused. "In person, in front of the world, I love you. Whatever I gotta do to show you, I will.”
Offset later apologized for the display -- though she defended him to her fans.
“All of my wrongs have been made public, I figure it’s only right that my apologies are made public too,” Offset tweeted. “A ni**a was just trying .....thank god I ain’t got no balloons sheeesh.”
To see the awkward moment, watch the video below:
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