16 Hollywood Marriages You Didn't Think Would End

Hollywood is a place for romance… or at least we think it is. You see glamorous couples on the red carpet and living a life of luxury. They are often young, beautiful, wealthy, and in love. What could go wrong?! They have everything money could buy, and most are in great shape, too. Well, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to keep a marriage running smoothly. It's easy to think that when you say goodbye to money issues, things are easier, but there are trust issues, baggage from previous relationships, and having higher exceptions thanks to lavish tastes and lifestyles. There is a ton of pressure on Hollywood marriages… and then there's the fact that you live out your days in the eyes of the paparazzi who capture your every look, word, and facial expression. That's why sometimes celebrity marriages do end. So why are we so surprised? Is it because they seem to have it all since on the outside, these couples seem happy and everything seems perfect? We tend to live vicariously through celeb marriages and relationships, that's for sure. Here are 15 Hollywood marriages that you never, ever thought would end.

16 Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie

These two seemed to be the epitome of a successful and powerful Hollywood couple. They are beautiful, smart, wealthy, and parents to six great children. They've kept their careers going strong and done a ton of charity work, all while jet-setting around the world with their active broad. These two have always said they put their kids first and they seemed so happy. Literally, everyone said, "Wow, these two have it all." Of course, things obviously weren't that great because, in fall 2016, we were all shocked by headlines saying that Angelina was filing for divorce. There was speculation that he had been verbally and physically abusive to one of their kids, but that was later proven false (thankfully!). After that, all kinds of stuff about their relationship was discussed in the media, including talk about family therapy sessions, before records were sealed in order to protect the children who are minors. Many of us cried for those kids and for the marriage we thought was perfect. We're definitely not over it!

15 Brad Pitt And Jennifer Aniston

Brad Pitt's first marriage not working out was super shocking for most people. Talk about a gorgeous couple! Sure, there was speculation about things not going well since they didn't have any children, and there seemed to be some tension there, but they seemed super happy. It was shocking when Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston. There was speculation that he was having an affair with Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the internet exploded when that turned out to be exactly right! People were angry, that's for sure. Some people were pro-Jennifer or pro-Angelina and some were just plain angry at Brad. Most of all, we just couldn't believe that this seemingly picture-perfect marriage was all but a mirage or a dream. Even Jennifer Aniston was surprised when she found out her marriage was over. This showed us, what do we really know about Hollywood marriages after all?!

14 Jennifer Garner And Ben Affleck

Now this was a biggie! These two praised each other all the time. Ben talked lovingly of Jen's sacrifices for him and his career while she took time off from her acting career to take care of their three children, Jennifer gushed about Ben's kindness, talent, and the causes he cares about as well as the wonderful human being he is. They put family first and they're still doing that now as they're still living together under the same roof for the sake of their children. This is not easy by any means, of course, but they are pretty brave to do this. So when we learned that their marriage was collapsing and fast, we were so shocked and upset. How could such a sweet and caring couple not make it work?! Rumor has it that an affair and addiction issues are to blame, and that's super hard to believe since we tend to think that famous couples have it all. But as we've learned, that's just not always true.

13 Seal And Heidi Klum

Another couple that seemed to have it all… until they didn't! An exciting music and modeling career. Beautiful children. But apparently, it was Seal's volcanic temper that was the final straw in ending their seven-year marriage. Heidi was worried about his hard partying lifestyle and how that would affect their children. No one in the public eye saw this. They appeared to be another happy Hollywood couple. Appearances make all the difference and play a huge role in making couples seem happier than they actually are. They even renewed their wedding vows on their anniversary. How many couples actually take the time to do this? It is intensive and sweet and romantic, and though this couple obviously tried, it was not enough to stop the divorce from happening. The rest of us are left to wonder, what hope is there for us in the dating world if top notch celebrities who do so much to keep the romance alive still fail? Back to the drawing board!

12 Gwen Stefani And Gavin Rossdale

Gwen totally loved him and he definitely felt the same way. She sings about her lost love in a song from her latest album and how heartbreaking it was to watch him walk away. She never wanted that to happen, but she knew that it was for the rest. Infidelity was suspected, but it is hard to know. They were married for thirteen years, which is a long stretch for anyone, celebrities or not. They were, and still are, loving and devoted parents, and they are doing their best to make the separation go as smoothly as possible for the kids. It is never easy for anybody, but with hard work, things can turn out okay in the end. Whenever we read an interview with either Gwen or Gavin, their love and respect for one another is so clear and we are truly shocked how it could all have ended. Another marriage no one saw ending anytime soon.

11 Gwyneth Paltrow And Chris Martin

This was a long term marriage and meeting of the minds that no one saw dissolving, either. The fact that they are doing the whole “conscious uncoupling” thing to make the split easier on their kids makes us love them more and ask, why? What went wrong in this picture perfect marriage? Even now that they are divorced, they are closer than ever, taking family vacations together so that everyone is on the same page. When asked about her marriage, Gwyneth has admitted she never saw her marriage ending and wanted to be married for life, but stuff happens. The couple tried to make things work in therapy for years and admitted the marriage was hard. All of this was kept away from the public eye for awhile. It just goes to show that even love, therapy, and having good intentions and trying really hard, is sometimes still not enough to save a marriage of ten years.

10 Courteney Cox And David Arquette

This power couple seemed so happy and relaxed together. Only after many years of their marriage did Courteney Cox reveal the difficulties of being married to someone who is your polar opposite. She talked about trying to make it work, and how much she respected David as an actor and person, but that they just couldn't stay married. Despite the sadness, many people felt when the two got divorced, Courteney explained that the relationship had simply run its course and that they were better off as friends than lovers. They are now co-parenting their twelve-year-old daughter Coco amicably and have accepted that sometimes things don't work out. As hard as it is to see a marriage not work out, we need to try to understand that sometimes things don't work and that there is a reason for it. Thankfully these two seem to be doing pretty well since their split.

9 Mariah Carey And Nick Cannon

This pair seemed to have it all in the music and entertainment world. Their marriage seemed perfect and they have two beautiful twins together. Still, once again, under the surface tension was brewing and the relationship did not work out. The couple tried and wanted to make it work for the kids as everyone does, but things just didn't work that way. The public was left reeling again. Are no marriages safe?! This is a rough question to answer in Hollywood. Mariah has spoken about feeling sad for her kid and Nick has talked about how hard it is for someone to get to know him on the inside. In the end, that inner work is probably what makes a lot of marriages end (or maybe the lack of that work?). Hollywood celebrities have it all the worse with the whole world watching. So maybe the world needs to give them their space to figure things out.

8 Jennie Garth And Peter Facinelli

Jennie and Peter tried for years to make their marriage work and even went to therapy, but like with many non-celebrity couples, they could not. They were and continue to be loving parents and respectful of one another, but a successful marriage just wasn't in the cards for this famous duo. Since they were away from one another a lot thanks to work and family obligations, the couple grew apart emotionally. Both were unhappy, but it was not something the public saw. Couples try to patch things up and grow with therapy and other things, but sometimes it is not possible. Now, both are happily moving on with others and we have moved on too as hard as it was to see another long term Hollywood marriage bite the dust. Sometimes these things happen. Jennie has talked about how hard it was for her when Peter said he did not want to be married to her any longer but admits how much she was suffering in the marriage too.

7 Christina Aguilera And Jordan Bratman

She married her best friend who later became the love of her life. They had a beautiful son together who is still the love of their life. Where did it go wrong?! Well, according to Christina, they both started growing and they no longer saw eye to eye on things. He was not very encouraging of her music career and they were fighting a lot, which is something she did not want Max growing up around. As the child of parents who were divorced, she definitely knows what that feels like. This is why she and Jordan decided to get divorced. These are very similar divorce reasons that a lot of non-celebrity couples face too, but we were still surprised by their decision to separate and kept hoping the couple would change their mind. They tried, but as Christina says, it is better for their child to grow up in two happy homes than in one miserable one.

6 Melanie Griffith And Antonio Banderas

This was a marriage that lasted eighteen years and was very loving. Sure, they had their ups and downs like any couple, but for the most part, it seemed to the public eye like all was well. So what happened?! There was speculation that Antonio Banderas' now girlfriend caused the break up which was not actually the case. Both Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith have explained that they simply grew apart from one another like many couples do in a marriage and had decided that it was best that they remained friends and went their separate ways. This is not an easy decision to make for anyone, including celebrities, but it has to happen. Antonio also traveled a lot for work whereas Melanie was based at home so they did not see a lot of one another. We forgot as individuals who see the stars at their best that we do not see into their homes and loneliness.

5 Billy Joel And Christie Brinkley

Both Billy and Christie have worked hard to keep their private life private and, as Christie says, “making the divorce work” for the sake of their daughter Alexa. They both agreed early on to stay on good terms and not say bad things about one another. Divorce is hard enough as it is on kids and the adults, but being mean about it will only make things worse. Couples outside of Hollywood try and do this too, though it is not always easy. That is why we are shocked when we see good examples of couples being positive and co-parenting together. It makes us wonder how two such sensitive souls would even get divorced, but things happen, as they say. People change, grow, and move away from each other, and sometimes when you have been with someone a while it can get boring too unless both of you adapt.

4 Madonna And Guy Ritchie

This was a match fixed up by none other than Sting who thought the two were perfect for each other since they are both artists. For a while, this relationship seemed to be going well. They had a child together and adopted another, but the two of them have talked about the issues in their relationship ranging from control, dramatic behavior, and the inevitable loss of romance that comes after having been married a while and having children together. Madonna and Guy have both openly talked about how marriage was not what they had thought it would be, though neither regrets their time together. Recently there were issues of child custody (or where son Rocco would want to live) and they have both had to weather some pretty intense storms in their personal lives. This issue is difficult for many ex-couples whose children prefer to live with one parent over another. It is a hard choice, and both parents must be strong and civil to one another.

3 Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony

This was a match made in heaven! The two were said to be good friends, and then after having both been in relationships that had given them a lot of pain and hardship, found solace in each other. They came from similar backgrounds and had twins together. But as with many other celebrity marriages, the couple was so busy with work and children that they didn't work on making time for each other. We know too much about this in the non-Hollywood world too, and often marriage is not taught to us as being hard work. When a woman and man see that it is, they are not prepared to deal with the emotional bond that needs to be loved and tended to in a marriage. Couples who make time for their partner (as they do for kids and a career) will stand a better chance at marital success. Sometimes it is also that one person is disappointed in their definition of what marriage or who their partner are supposed to be.

2 Tom Cruise And Nicole Kidman

This was a biggie due to the suddenness of it all. One minute, they were the fairy tale couple from the movies, and the next minute they are divorcing. There's shock, hurt feelings, and contradicting accounts of what happened. We were too, wondering what could have caused the anger and divorce. Tom and Nicole both kept the real reasons to themselves so that they could raise their children without a lawsuit, but there have been lots of rumors as to what could have caused it. In public, they always appeared happy, and in control. There was no hitch in the armor, but it was obviously there. Nicole has talked about how young they both were, and Tom has stayed quiet as he does with everything else. People thought they had the best family and love life, but as with many things, you cannot see what really goes in in people's homes.

1 Bruce Jenner And Kris Jenner

Bruce and Kris Jenner were married for a long time aka 23 years and they always put family first. They seemed to have great love and respect for each other. But things weren't working out and they knew that no matter how much they cared about their kids and their family in general, they had to move on. Of course, later it became clear that Bruce Jenner was not happy and he has since transitioned to becoming Caitlyn. The family has been super supportive and encouraging. We've been impressed with how the family handled this. It's hard for us to imagine that celebrities have their ups and downs in relationships just like we do, but it is true. We all do the best we can with the tools we have to manage our marriages, but sometimes things just cannot work out due to differences and life circumstances. All we can do is try and hope for the best.