“Love is dead” — us every time our favorite celebrity couple calls it quits.
While it’s not uncommon for a couple to break up, especially in Hollywood, the heartbreak that comes along with it can hurt the public just as much as it does the stars.
Despite some of these breakups happening years ago, we are still mourning the loss. In fact, there’s a reason why we feel so heartbroken over breakups of people we don’t know (even though we feel like we do).
Psychologist Lindsay A. Henderson explained to EliteDaily that we model ourselves after celebrities, whether consciously or not; so when the couple stops dating, that part of ourselves is hurt.
“Our over-identification with the celebrity ends up causing personal discomfort, and because we have elevated them to having achieved such enviable success, their failings can sometimes be more troubling to us than those of the people in our lives that we actually know and have relationships with,” says Henderson.
VALLEY has compiled a list of what we believe are some of the saddest celebrity breakups. Grab some tissues before you keep reading.
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
The two met while filming the romantic movie “The Last Song” in 2009. After a decade of enduring an ‘on-again, off-again’ relationship, the two got married in December 2018. Cyrus even sported “Hannah Montana” style bangs that year, putting everyone in a major nostalgic mood. But sadly, less than eight months after their secret wedding, the couple filed for divorce. If you want to pretend it’s not true, just watch “The Last Song” on endless repeat instead.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
“Brangelina,” as their ship name was called, defined an era. The couple met while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston (an entirely different relationship to mourn in itself). Pitt and Jolie dated for 11 years before getting married, and their split became messy especially when it involved their six kids.
Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik
Gigi Hadid began dating the former One Direction member in 2015 after Hadid split with Joe Jonas (she and Taylor Swift must have so much to talk about). The pair were very much in love, showing off their relationship on social media until breaking up in 2018. Nevertheless, these two rekindled and even had their daughter, Khai, together in 2020. All seemed well, but unfortunately, the couple split again in 2021 after allegations of a physical dispute between Malik and Hadid’s mom.
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
Yes — they broke up in 2010, and no, we are still not over it. Zanessa was the IT couple of the early 2000s on Disney Channel. How could you not ship the real-life Troy and Gabriella? There is something about seeing a couple of stars in a movie together and then dating off-screen that just adds to the romance of it all. In a very depressing 2017 interview, Hudgens mentioned that she has “completely” lost contact with Efron. Better throw on a HSM marathon if you want to hold tight to any sort of hope.
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez
Once known as ‘Jelena,’ this famously fickle pair were ‘on’ and ‘off’ from the time they started dating in 2010 until the bitter end in 2018. Despite exploring other relationships during their time apart, the couple never failed to find their way back to one another. When they reunited after Gomez’s scary kidney transplant, fans online were posting about the relationship being “meant to be” after all those years of uncertainty. Nevertheless, the pair broke up sometime after March 2018, only for Bieber to get engaged that summer.
Everyone has a couple whose breakup felt a little too real. Which celebrity breakup hit YOU the hardest? Tweet us @VALLEYMAG on Twitter and let us know which couple has you in your feels!
