20 of the Most Scandalous Breakups in Modern Hollywood History

Although the marriage is ancient history (Angelina and Brad were together far longer than Brad and Jen were), the scandal was so huge—Brad and Angelina reportedly began an affair while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith—that over a decade later, the “love triangle” still spawns the occasional tabloid cover. In 40 years, we will probably be talking about Brad, Jen and Angelina’s nursing home feud.

What seemed like an odd match from the start spun into a tabloid sensation and launched a thousand couple nicknames: Bennifer was certainly an original. The two flaunted their love and their extravagant gifts for the paparazzi, but crashed and burned quickly, cancelling their wedding just four days before the ceremony. They tried to keep the relationship going, but soon broke up (reportedly after Ben got a little too friendly with a dancer in a Vancouver strip bar).

The picture-perfect union of Ben and Jen had been dodging split rumours for months—his extra-curricular actives (like a well-documented love of gambling) was apparently causing major stress in the marriage. When the two finally did announce their separation, sadness turned to shock when it was revealed that Ben had been having an “inappropriate relationship” with the family nanny.

Just this week, rumour has it that these two have called off their divorce. Only time will tell...

Country’s reigning King and Queen had endured breakup speculation from the moment they started dating—jealousy, drinking, and fights about starting a family were the headlines. It seems the relationship was stamped with an expiration date from the get-go, as many fans noted that Blake and Miranda met when Blake was married and Miranda had a boyfriend. When they finally did announce their divorce, cheating rumours ran rampant, though they tried to keep it classy.

Halle and Olivier had quite a few bumps in the road, particularly in her custody battle with ex, Gabriel Aubry (Olivier and Gabriel got into a vicious fist fight outside of the couple’s home on Thanksgiving weekend in 2012). Halle originally wanted to move to France to raise her children, Nahla and Maceo, with Olivier, but a custody agreement made that impossible. Since then, the two have steered clear of nastiness, with the couple privately working out visitation and child support issues without any courtroom drama.

After being set-up by Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake and Taylor strolled the streets of Brooklyn looking like a J.Crew catalogue come to life. She was besotted with the handsome actor, but after a few months of dating he iced her out and she was reportedly left heartbroken. Cue the breakup ballads.

With the reality TV cameras rolling, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Yolanda Foster seemed to be focused on her battle with Lyme disease while heaping praise on her “king” David Foster. Who can forget the lingerie-clad cooking session? But all wasn’t as it seems in the Malibu dream world—Yolanda and David announced their divorce, shocking both fans and castmates who had no idea that trouble was brewing in the lemon grove.

RELATED: The Biggest Cheating Scandals to Rock the Real Housewives.

What is worse than young heartbreak? First Zayn dumped One Direction, and then a few months later (and after allegations of infidelity on his part), he dumped his fiance, Perrie Edwards. The former boy bander certainly shed his old skin, and has taken on a new bad boy image (while Perrie gained a lot of support on social media for handling the breakup so well).

The dollar store version of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had a breakup made in tabloid heaven. Eddie was caught cheating with his TV movie co-star, country star LeAnn Rimes. The evidence was so overwhelming (and on camera) that there was no denying it. Since then, Brandi, Eddie and LeAnn have been engaged in war of wards in interviews and on social media, trading low blows over parenting and child support.

Much like Yolanda and David’s divorce, the cameras rolled while Kelsey and Camille pretended to be lovey dovey (in reality, they were heading for a horrible breakup). When the two did split, Kelsey had to give Camille a massive financial payout, and he became so hateful towards her that he refuses to hear her name and, according to Camille, has cut off contact with their children.

There’s having an affair, then there’s having a secret love child with your housekeeper and not telling anyone about it for over 10 years. Obviously the revelation came as a huge blow to Maria, and she moved out soon afterwards. Arnold has expressed regret, but he also told Howard Stern that marriage counselling was “counterproductive” for their future relationship. So is having a secret son, probably.

Tom and Katie were never quite the fit they wanted everyone to believe they were—looking back now, it’s hard not to notice the forced smiles and vacant eyes. But at the time, TomKat was the biggest deal in celebrityland, working parties arm-in-arm and effusively talking about one another in interviews. Katie suddenly ended the marriage in 2013, and the two have not publicly acknowedged each other since.

When rumblings of a mysterious car accident outside of Tiger Woods’s house broke, no one could predict the avalanche of allegations that would be stirred up. It would lead to a parade of mistresses and one-night-stands that Tiger Woods tried so very hard to keep hidden from his wife (and his sponsors). He didn’t just cheat, he cheated in bulk.

Curiously, it’s not the breakdown of Mel’s longtime marriage to Robyn Moore that caused headlines for Mel, but his split from girlfriend Oksana. The two had a contentious battle over child support and custody, and Oksana secretly taped Mel saying some egregious and threatening things. The two ended the relationship in a drawn-out court battle.

Just weeks after Sandra Bullock thanked Jesse James from the Oscars' podium, it was revealed that the bike shop owner had been having an affair with a swastika-tatted “model.” Sandra was not only devastated for herself, but she was also a new mom to son, Louis. James entered rehab for sex addiction, but there was no way to salvage the relationship.

Gavin Rossdale had long been Gwen’s musical inspiration, and the two seemed to have settled into “domestic rock star” life. When the couple announced their split, a devastated Gwen immediately took to the studio and penned a few breakup songs, while Gavin battled rumours about a dalliance with…you guessed it… the nanny.

It seems very few couples can survive the reality show limelight (and that is x100 for the Kardashians). Kris and Caitlyn’s marriage dissolved into two people living separate lives, as Caitlyn puttered around the house and seemed increasingly exasperated by her family. Behind the scenes, it was a different story: Caitlyn was processing her gender transition, and since the divorce has forged a new relationship with her ex-wife Kris and many children.

How could documenting the early years of marriage go wrong? As Nick and Jessica’s pop careers wound down, the two were filmed getting married, setting up a home, and dealing with duelling finances and professional interests. The two suddenly announced a split, and friends on both sides accused the other of infidelity and partying too much.

While Ashton and Demi may not have been an obvious couple (she was a nearly-retired actress, he was a party boy on the rise), they did make one beautiful couple. That came to a halt when Ashton was accused of cheating on Demi while out of town (and his one-night-stand promptly sold her story to the tabloids). Demi confirmed the infidelity and the split in a statement shortly afterwords.

When two young movie stars fall in love, there is very little expectation of happily ever after, but Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart had such a rabid, intense Twilight fanbase that their breakup—fuelled in part by Kristen’s affair with married director Rupert Sanderson—caused a massive scandal that went on for months. Kristen even (very uncharacteristically) released a statement publicly apologizing to Rob. The relationship couldn’t endure the pressure, but we’ll always have Bella and Edward, right?