Biggest celebrity breakups of 2023 from Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness to Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn
It’s been a big year for major celebrity break-ups, with some of the biggest names in entertainment and their significant others calling it quits — sometimes after decades of marriage.
For many fans, the biggest shock came when the seemingly rock-solid pairing of Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness ended.
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Others were stunned by the acrimonious dissolution of Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s relationship, while Charmed star Shannen Doherty claimed she’d discovered her husband was having an affair during her brain cancer treatment.
Here’s our rundown of the biggest bust-ups of 2023.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness
It was the biggest celebrity split of the year, shocking those people who thought Jackman and Furness had a bullet-proof Hollywood marriage.
In many eyes, they were proof that marriages could last even in the harsh glare of the celebrity spotlight.
So it came as a massive shock when, in September, they announced they were separating after 27 years.
“We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” they said in a joint statement.
“Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.
“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority.
“We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness.
“We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigate this transition in all of our lives.”
The pair have two children, Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18.
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas
In a messy tale that dominated tabloid headlines for weeks, Jonas Brothers star Joe Jonas filed for divorce from Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner on September 5, after four years of marriage.
In the divorce filing, Jonas described the marriage as “irretrievably broken”.
What followed was a nasty back and forth between the pair, with Jonas implying Turner was a poor parent and something of a party animal.
Turner vehemently denied those claims.
Speculation of a split began in August when Jonas was spotted running errands in New York without his wedding ring.
Sources later told Page Six divorce had been a “last resort” for Jonas, who “felt that he had exhausted all options to salvage the marriage”.
“He never wanted to break up his family but he had to take what he felt was the best course of action for his girls,” the source said, referring to the pair’s daughters, Willa and Delphine.
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari
Personal trainer Sam Asghari appeared in singer Britney Spears’ Slumber Party video in 2016, and the pair began dating the next year.
Asghari was the rock Spears leaned on as the battle to end her conservatorship made its way through the courts, and the couple married in 2022.
But it was all over by August 2023, with Asghari citing irreconcilable differences.
After filing for divorce, Asghari released a statement saying: “We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always.”
In her memoir The Woman In Me, released this year, Spears had some unkind things to say about past lovers, including Justin Timberlake and former husband Kevin Federline.
But she described Asghari as “a gift from God,” a force of stability in her otherwise chaotic life.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn
After six years together, Taylor Swift and English actor Joe Alwyn called it quits in April, about the same time the Shake It Off star started her worldwide The Eras tour.
A source close to the couple said their split was largely due to “differences in their personalities”.
“They’ve had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together,” the source said, noting the couple ultimately weren’t “the right fit for one another”.
The source added Swift’s superstardom was another factor in the split.
“Joe has struggled with Taylor’s level of fame and the attention from the public,” the source said.
Other than that, it seems, they had simply grown apart, despite earlier rumours they were keen to get married.
“Taylor didn’t see them working out in the long run,” one insider told People.
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner
Hollywood star Kevin Costner’s wife Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce in May after 18 years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
Costner’s representative confirmed the news in a statement to The New York Post.
“It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action,” the statement read.
“We ask that his, Christine’s and their children’s privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time.”
The pair have three children, all aged in their teens.
Earlier, a source told Radar that Baumgartner had given Costner an “ultimatum” in October 2022 to quit the hit Western drama Yellowstone, in which he had starred for five seasons.
Costner was away from the family’s LA base for months at a time to film the TV drama in Montana, Radar reported.
“It’s really knocked a hole in their family life,” the source said.
“She wants a firm commitment this is his last season — or he might have to hit the dusty trail.”
Despite this, Costner was said to be blindsided by the divorce, not really expecting Baumgartner to follow through on her ultimatum.
Tim and Monique Blackwell
Australian radio star Tim Blackwell and Monique, his wife of 14 years, announced their split in December.
The Nova star co-hosts with Ricki-Lee Coulter and Joel Creasey.
“Not all good things end, but this has,” Monique announced via Instagram.
“Thank you in advance for your messages of love, support and sadness at the news that Tim and I are no longer together.
“Our babes are forever supported by Tim’s and my love for them.
“And our friendship together is a source of strength for our family always, as we raise our children as best friends.”
The former couple are parents to Bo, 10, Alfie, 7, and Artie, 4.
Shannen Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko
Former Charmed and Beverly Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty discovered her photographer husband, Kurt Iswarienko, was cheating on her during her treatment for cancer.
The actress, 52, filed for divorce in April after learning her husband of 11 years had been having an affair for the previous two years.
Doherty was just about to go into surgery when she found out the devastating news.
“I went into that surgery early in the morning and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over, that my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years,” she said on her podcast Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.
“To not go in that surgery — even though, being very clear, he wanted to go — I couldn’t go into that surgery with him there.
“I felt so betrayed.”
Things then got very nasty, with Iswarienko denying the affair and claiming he and Doherty had been living apart for two years before her brain surgery.
He also claimed he and Doherty had agreed to have an “open marriage” — a claim Doherty later denied in a series of furious Instagram posts.
Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez
Pop star Ariana Grande first sparked rumours of a split when she was spotted without her wedding ring at Wimbledon in July.
“Ariana and Dalton have been having some issues for months now,” an insider told Us Weekly at the time.
“They were having issues, before she left for Wicked filming (in London), that they couldn’t resolve and the distance did not help.
“They haven’t been speaking and are separated, and a divorce is likely.”
The news they were divorcing after two years of marriage was confirmed in September.
According to TMZ, Gomez received almost $2 million upfront in the divorce settlement, with no ongoing spousal support, plus half the proceeds from the sale of the couple’s Los Angeles mansion.
Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith
British actress Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce from Joshua Jackson on October 2, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
Only months before, the pair had presented a united front as they posed on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.
The Queen & Slim actress and Dawson’s Creek star married in a low-key ceremony in December 2019 and have a daughter, Janie, born in 2021.
In an interview with The Sunday Times earlier this year, Jackson raised eyebrows by saying marriages could survive adultery.
“I think an affair can be forgiven,” he stated, adding: “We’re all grown-ups.”
Jackson has since hooked up with actress Lupita Nyong’o, who recently split from her partner Selema Masekela.
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer
Meryl Streep surprised everyone in October when she announced she was separating from her husband, Don Gummer, after 45 years together.
Even more surprisingly, she revealed they had already been living separate lives for six years.
Streep’s representative confirmed the news in a statement to People.
“Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than six years and, while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” the representative said.
The three-time Oscar winner and Gummer, a sculptor, married in 1978.
They are parents to four now-adult children, a son, Henry, and three daughters, Mamie, Grace, and Louisa.
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello
Modern Family star Sofia Vergara and Magic Mike XXL actor Joe Manganiello called it quits in July 2023.
The pair had married in a star-studded ceremony in November 2015.
But Vergara sparked rumours of a split a week before it was confirmed, partying in Italy with friends without her wedding ring.
“We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the pair said in a statement to Page Six.
“As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
A source told the outlet: “Sofia and Joe have been growing apart for a while now and are taking some distance from each other to contemplate their future.”
Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams
Downton Abbey favourite Hugh Bonneville and his wife Lulu Williams separated after 25 years of marriage.
Bonneville’s representative confirmed the news in September after the couple had not been seen together for months.
Bonneville was also spotted at a Downton Abbey event without his wedding ring, sparking speculation.
“I can confirm that Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams have separated,” the representative said.
The pair have one child, a son named Felix.
Williams was said to be extremely upset by the marriage breakdown.
“It’s clear that Lulu feels as if 20-odd years of marriage counts for nothing,” a source told The Sun.
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