Splitting up with someone can make or break a person but it’s even worse when it’s done so publicly. These stars took the breakup bull by the horns and bounced back better than ever.

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Katie Holmes
With Tom Cruise, she looked like a Stepford wife, but after she divorced him and escaped with their daughter Suri, Katie hasn't looked back. Sure, freedom tends to do that to a person, but so does a healthy relationship, like her rumoured-but-unconfirmed four-year romance with Jamie Foxx.

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Shania Twain (and Frederic Thiebaud)
After Shania's husband, Mutt Lange, cheated on her with her best friend Marie-Anne Thiebaud, she ended up bonding with Marie-Anne's husband, Frederic. That led to love and marriage. Ahh, revenge has never been so sweet.

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Gwen Stefani
The singer's divorce from Gavin Rossdale wasn't easy but neither was his reported infidelity. She has since moved on with Blake Shelton and the two couldn't be happier. At least according to all their posts on social media.

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Kourtney Kardashian
Her relationship with Scott Disick reached its rockiest stage a couple summers ago when he was photographed cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend. The mom of three didn't let it get her down, though, and has been having her own fun, with young model Younes Bendjima.

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Jennifer Aniston
Her marriage to Brad Pitt came crashing down when the actor fell for his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star. He and Jen divorced, he and Angie got together, they eventually got married and became parents of six kids. But it wasn't happily ever after for the Brange as they, too, came to an end. Which leaves us with Ani, who has since married Justin Theroux and the two are doing just fine, thank you very much.

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Anne Hathaway
The actress ended things with ex Raffaello Follieri after he was investigated by the IRS for fraud and money laundering in June 2008. And her life only benefitted from it. Professionally, she won an Oscar and continues to be on Hollywood's A list; personally, Anne and Adam Shulman have been married for five years and are parents to son Jonathan.

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Reese Witherspoon
Back in 2006, Reese Witherspoon earned all kinds of awards for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. It was that year's Oscars that marked one of the last times she and then-husband Ryan Phillippe went public. They split shortly after, due to his affair with Stop-Loss co-star Abbie Cornish.
Witherspoon went on to marry Jim Toth, with whom she had another baby, and is now one of the most in-demand actresses in the game. All the points to Reese.
Witherspoon went on to marry Jim Toth, with whom she had another baby, and is now one of the most in-demand actresses in the game. All the points to Reese.

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Robert Pattinson and Liberty Ross
Kristen Stewart's affair with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, resulted in the demise of Sanders' marriage to Liberty Ross, but R-Patz also said bye-bye. Edward and Bella found their way back to one another, to promote the final Twilight movie, but after that was done, so was their relationship. He has since found love with FKA Twigs, while Ross married Jimmy Lovine in 2016.

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Selena Gomez
Her on-off relationship with Justin Bieber finally stayed off, and while Biebs has enjoyed success professionally, Gomez has bounced back with her own hit albums, some acting gigs, as well as new boyfriend, The Weeknd.

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Sandra Bullock
Things should have been golden for Sandy who, in 2010, won her first Oscar. But days after the Academy Awards, news broke that her loser husband Jesse James was a cheating pig. They split, obviously, Bullock went on to adopt her main man, Louis (who she and Jesse were going to adopt together, ugh), and she continues to not only shine in her film choices but she's been happily dating Bryan Randall since 2015.

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Amber Heard
Her divorce from Johnny Depp was a messy one, so TBH anything after him and his allegedly abusive tendencies towards her are an improvement. The actress moved on and her acting career has been booming. She also dated Elon Musk for a few months but they recently split, yet we wouldn't be surprised if these two found their way back to one another.

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Russell Brand
Rusty's ex-wife documented their split in Katy Perry: Part of Me but he hasn't looked back, and is now remarried to lifestyle blogger Laura Gallacher and the two have a daughter, Mabel.

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Britney Spears
After she and fiancé Jason Trawick split, Britney moved on with her Las Vegas residency, new music and looking like she did a couple decades ago.

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Jennifer Garner
Because she and cheating ex-husband Ben Affleck kept it super-amicable for the sake of their three children, we all couldn't help crossing our fingers that Jen wouldn't take him back. Not only did she not take him back but she gave a candid interview, calling the 12 months post-split was her "year of wine" and that despite Ben's affair with the nanny, they were going to split anyway. His vices are no longer her concern, exactly how she prefers it.

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Emma Thompson
During her marriage to Kenneth Branagh, he had an affair with Helena Bonham Carter. Emma and Kenneth split in 1995 and he moved on with HBC for five years. Depression hit Thompson post-divorce but she soon found love with Sense and Sensibility actor Greg Wise, with whom she shares two children, continues to get all kinds of yummy roles, and has even made peace with Carter. Branagh, not so much.

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Kim Kardashian
Her 72-day fake marriage to Kris Humphries not only didn't stop her from finding true love with Kanye West, but they formed a beautiful family together too. Aw.

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Mary-Louise Parker
It was 2003 when Parker and longtime boyfriend Billy Crudup were expecting their first child. When she was seven months along, he dumped her for Claire Danes. If that's not a douchebag move, we don't know what is. Despite the breakup, Mary-Louise bounced back in a big way, not only taking home awards for her part in Angels in America, but she an even bigger prize waiting for her at home: son William. She then went on to become one of the most famous fictional (hey, and real-life) MILFs in TV history on Weeds.

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Nick Lachey
The singer got over his divorce from Jessica Simpson with his single "What's Left of Me," his highest-charting single to date. But the bonus from that came from the making of that music video, in which he met his future wife and mother of his children, Vanessa Minnillo who, ironically played the Simpson character.

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Taylor Swift
If turning breakups into chart-topping hits is a form of bouncing back, then T-Swift is the reigning champion. She takes the jokes about her often-mocked love life and laughs right along with the haters, refusing to be defined by the tabloids' and public's perception of her personal affairs.

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Melissa Rycroft
She may have won her season of The Bachelor but weeks after the finale, it was revealed that Jason Mesnick dumped her for runner-up, Molly. Oy. But Rycroft rebounded like no other, marrying her former boyfriend (with whom she has three children), took part in two seasons of Dancing With the Stars (winning the all-star season), and scoring sweet TV hosting gigs because of her likable personality. Brava.

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Jennifer Lopez
She's the queen of recovering after a breakup. It doesn't matter if her exes are remarried or dating, who she's marrying or dating, her career continues to be red-hot, as does J.Lo herself.
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