Heartbreak in Hollywood: the break-up edition

My very first Ting Talks column was written off-the-cuff, in a moment of desperation — it was a late night at the Gatehouse, and one of our writers had fallen through. At the time, I was obsessed with Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair," and I wrote about how epic that song was and continues to be.

I also wrote about how much I loved the entire Smith family and how much I admired the relationship Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith had with each other, as well as with their children. I thought Will and Jada would last forever. Their sex life certainly seemed to.  

While other Hollywood couples seemed to come and go, Will and Jada fooled the world into thinking that theirs was a marriage that would keep on truckin'. So when several entertainment blogs broke  the news on Jan. 4 that the two were getting a divorce, I had a teeny-tiny heart palpitation.  

The Smiths weren't the only power couple who were facing rough times. Heidi Klum and Seal announced their separation on Jan. 23, much to the dismay of Project Runway, Victoria's Secret and music fans alike. The German supermodel and British "Kiss from a Rose" singer were often cited as a functional Hollywood couple, and their decision to separate shocked the industry.  

Of course, the rumour mill would have us believe that infidelity lies at the root of both the Pinkett-Smith divorce and Heidi and Seal's separation (interestingly enough, sources have been quite careful to call the break-up a separation and not a divorce).  

While speculation of the stars' unfaithfulness will most likely prove true, there is something slightly unbelievable about the Marc Anthony — Jada Pinkett-Smith rumours, which have a suspicious Will Smith walking in on the pair having sex and bursting into tears.

So why is it that Hollywood blames all failed relationsahips on cheating? Maybe when you have a high concentration of beautiful people in the same area they go berserk. Maybe their egoes blow up to truly astounding sizes.  Maybe it is as Seal says — couples really do grow apart.  Who knows to what extent the complicated network of celebrity-agent-press-consumer reaches?

All I know is that the avid Hollywood voyeur in me both detests and adores the drama of break-ups and illicit affairs. Certainly, they provide fodder outside their primary roles as actors, singers, entertainers, etc. whether or not they signed up for this fishbowl environment when they signed those shiny celebrity contracts.  

The dissolution of my two favorite couples has left me wondering what will happen to the Hollywood crowd, who are notorious for their short-lived flings (think Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian). If couples who we thought were built "Ford Tough" — built  to last, that is — I wonder how the celebrity set will deal with the failure of two such long-standing exemplars of stable, apprently healthy romantic relationships. Will anyone rise to take their place, or are they all doomed to failure?