Here Are 13 Of The Messiest Celebrity Breakups That Really Should Have Just Stayed Behind Closed Doors

You know, being single has its perks.

Yup, one thing about public relationships is that they often lead to a very public breakup. While a lot of these are fairly amicable, sometimes things can get a little messy!

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I've rounded some of the most memorable breakups...

1. Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas

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After images surfaced of Sophie and Joe appearing in public without their wedding rings on, rumours began to circulate that they had split. Shortly after, it was revealed that Joe had filed for a divorce, claiming "the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken.” Unfortunately, this then spiralled into claims that Sophie's "partying" was to be blamed for the split, which people have labelled as a poor excuse to display Sophie as a careless mother. It's been said that the pair are heading towards a trial in which they will discuss custody arrangements, so I can only imagine things are about to get messier.

2. Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson

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The couple were together for four months, even getting engaged in that short time span, before calling it quits in 2018. Although the split appeared cordial at the time, the pair did later take a couple of personal jabs at each other through various media appearances. In 2019, Ariana appeared on the front cover of Vogue and discussed her previous relationship with Pete. The singer admitted that the SNL star "was an amazing distraction. It was frivolous and fun and insane and highly unrealistic, and I loved him, and I didn't know him." Ouch.

Of course, Pete didn't take being labelled as a "distraction" too well. On his Netflix stand-up special Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, he responded with, "can you imagine if I did that? My career would be over tomorrow if I spray painted myself brown and hopped on the cover of Vogue magazine and just started shitting on my ex."

3. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt

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These two young Hollywood stars spent seven years together, five of which they were married. The split between this couple proved incredibly controversial, as Brad soon began dating Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie, with the pair starting their own family shortly after. 

In a 2022 interview with Allure, Jennifer revealed that it saddened her that the media claimed the end of the relationship was due to her not wanting children, when in fact, she had struggled with fertility issues:  "I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it," she says. "I would've given anything if someone had said to me, 'Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favour.' You just don't think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed." 

Although the pair seem to be in each other's good books when spotted sharing an embrace at the 2020 SAG Awards, we definitely won't be forgetting the frenzy that their split originally caused!

4. Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson

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Lindsay Lohan appeared on the cover of US Weekly where she discussed her "embarrassing split" from Samantha in 2009. In the interview, Lindsay alleged that Samantha hired five bodyguards to keep Lindsay away from the hotel bar she was in so that the actress didn't cause a scene after the couple had a fight. 

Lindsay also shared tweets on that same night that read: " Being cheated on does wonders to you. I'm doing this publicly because you and your friends call People [the magazine]. So you win, you broke my heart. Now go away. I loved you." Followed by: "PLEASE leave me ALONE. and stop staying in the room below me, you've woken me and my mother up. go to bed. keep cheating u win."

In the interview with US Weekly, Lindsay admits that this was the "worst night of my life", and honestly, who can blame her?

5. Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber

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The OG on-again-off-again couple have been involved in a lot of drama ever since they first started dating in 2010. Even two years after the media frenzy that followed their split, the pair still took time to take jabs at each other via social media. This started with Justin Bieber posting photos on his Instagram of him and his then-girlfriend Sophia Richie. Fans fled to his comment section sending hate towards Sophia, to which Justin responded by threatening to turn his Instagram private.

Selena Gomez then decided to enter the Instagram feud, commenting "If you can't handle the hate, then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol – It should be special between you two only," adding "Don't be mad at your fans. They love you and supported you before anyone ever did." Of course, Justin wasn't going to ignore this and instead responded by commenting, "It's funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love." Selena then followed up with: "Funny how the ones who cheated multiple times, are pointing the finger at the ones that were forgiving and supportive. No wonder fans are mad. Sad. All love." Yup, things were pretty heated.

6. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren

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These two had a *very* public and messy breakup after it was revealed that Tiger Woods had an affair with several other women, as well as a secret relationship with Rachel Uchitel. After finding text messages on his phone, it was alleged that Elin chased Tiger out of their house with one of his golf clubs, and used it to smash the windows on his vehicle. As a respected sportsman, this cheating scandal even affected his career, with sponsorships such as Nike, Gillette, and Gatorade all ending. They officially divorced in August 2010.

7. Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde

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In 2012, the couple got engaged, and two years later celebrated the birth of their first child. However, the engagement was called off in 2020 after several years together, with the pair stating that there was no "drama or scandal", they just didn't work as a couple anymore. 

While this all seems fairly amicable, the custody battle was less so. Olivia was on stage introducing the trailer for Don't Worry Darling before being interrupted by someone serving her custody papers. Of course, Jason had no say in when or where these papers would be served, but it certainly heightened the drama of it all. 

Jason ended up losing the custody battle, as the judge believed the children should stay in their Californian home instead of uprooting to New York. Olivia commented on being served the papers in an interview with Variety where she stated: "In any other workplace, it would be seen as an attack. It was really upsetting. It shouldn’t have been able to happen. There was a huge breach in security, which is really scary", before adding, "But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me, I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship."

8. Naya Rivera and Big Sean

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The stars dated for six months before getting engaged in 2013, which unfortunately only lasted three months before cheating scandals started to rear their ugly heads. In her autobiography "Sorry Not Sorry", Naya accused the rapper of cheating on her with Ariana Grande: "Guess what, little girl is sitting cross legged on the couch, listening to music? It rhymes with Smariana Schmande."

It was also alleged that Big Sean's hit "I Don't F*ck With You" was about Naya, a song which Big Sean admits he regrets making following her death in 2020.

9. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

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After a turbulent few years, with Kanye being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, Kim officially filed for divorce in 2021. She spoke candidly in an interview with Vogue about why she decided to pull the plug on their marriage: "I think it's important to be honest with yourself about what really makes you happy. I've chosen myself."

When Kim began dating comedian Pete Davidson, Kanye releases a music video for his song "Easy" in which a claymation form of Pete is being tied up and buried. This feud continued with a text exchange between Kanye and Pete, with the latter saying "in bed with your wife" to mock the rapper.

Since then, the drama seems to have quietened down, with the pair having equal co-parenting rights to their four children.

10. Evan Peters and Emma Roberts

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This couple have actually broken up three times, and been engaged twice, which is already pretty messy! They called off their first engagement in 2014 before getting back together two years later. This was, of course, after Emma was arrested for domestic violence claims against Evan when the police were called during a dispute between the pair, which resulted in Evan having a bloodied nose. Evan opted to not press charges, and we saw the pair publicly reunite soon after. Since 2019, these two have just been friends, and honestly, I think it should stay that way.

11. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

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The couple (who met on the set of Twilight) went public in 2009, but this all came to an abrupt end in 2012 when Kristen was caught cheating with Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders. After the very public cheating scandal, Kristen did release a public apology stating that she was "deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I’ve caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected." There were rumours that the pair attempted to reconcile, but seemingly they've just stayed friends!

12. Matt Damon and Minnie Driver

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These two dated for over a year before Matt publicly announced on Oprah that he was single. According to Minnie, she had no idea the pair had broken up until this moment and reflected: "I don’t care who you are, that is agony and it’s like a strange, surreal dream."

There were rumours that the split was caused by Matt's sudden rise to fame, and the public relationship became too difficult to maintain: "It’s so tricky, because it’s not deliberate, he couldn’t have helped how famous he became and how his life was being picked over, in the same way that mine was" commented Minnie. If I found out I was single via a TV show, there would be a riot, I promise that much.

13. Blac Chyna and Tyga

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Let's be honest, Blac Chyna doesn't have a great track record when it comes to amicable breakups, but this one with Tyga was definitely one of the messiest. Following their split, Tyga began dating Kylie Jenner, who at the time was just 17 years old. Blac Chyna had previously been friends with the Kardashians, but said after Tyga started dating Kylie they threw her to the side: "After that happened, that’s when, of course, the family kind of like, ‘all right, well bye, girl’ and threw me underneath the bus."

Blac Chyna also made texts between her and Tyga public on her Instagram, where the rapper was seen messaging her, saying he "wants to be a family again." Tyga didn't really respond to this, and since 2017 the feud between these two exes seems to have ended. Phew...

Is there another celeb breakup you can think of? Let me know in the comments!