As more Ashley Madison users’ names come to light, more celeb couples are bracing themselves for the fallout. Now that the affair-facilitating site has been hacked, reality stars like 19 Kids and Counting’s Josh Duggar, The Real Housewives of New York City Josh Taekman and Jionni LaValle, husband of Jersey Shore’s Snooki, are starting to see the consequences of their account-creating actions. While only time will tell what happens to these scandal-scorn couples, we were reminded of other celeb couples torn apart by alleged infidelity.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake
The darling duo of the late ’90s and early ’00s, Britney and Justin ruled both the charts and the tabloids. So, in 2002, when rumors that Brit cheated on JT with choreographer Wade Robson, fans weren’t sure what to believe. After three years, could one half of the greatest pop culture pair do such a thing? Collective hearts were broken when Justin released “Cry Me a River” in November of the same year. The song, a done-me-wrong cheating song, was accompanied by a video featuring Justin Timberlake spying on an unfaithful woman who looked very much like Spears.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner
After a 10-year marriage (a rarity in Hollywood) and three kids, the Garner/Affleck union seemed nothing short of stable. That was until July 1 (one day after their anniversary) when the couple announced that they had filed for divorce. Fans were stunned, but fingers immediately began to point at Affleck. The reformed bad boy had long suffered with “demons” of which many speculated Garner was the victim. Just weeks later, stories surfaced that Affleck had been carrying on an adulterous relationship with the nanny. Affleck’s reps immediately denied any wrong-doing. Some say the relationship (if it did happen) didn’t begin until Affleck and Garner had separated. Others speculate it began during the marriage.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart
At the height of the Twilight saga frenzy, fans couldn’t get enough of the reel life to real life love story of KStew and RPattz. Adding fuel to the fire, the “real” Bella and Edward flew under the radar with their relationship, often entering restaurants through back doors, traveling in groups to seem more casual and arriving to red carpet events solo. But as the films came to an end, so did the relationship. Stewart went off to film a new franchise, Snow White and the Huntsman, and found a new leading man: She was photographed cheating on Pattinson with the film’s director, the very married Rupert Sanders. Though Stewart tried to do damage control with Pattinson, the relationship ended (as did that of Rupert Sanders and his wife, Liberty Ross.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston
Arguably one of the most famous decouplings (and consequent couplings) in Hollywood, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had been together for five years when Pitt co-starred with up-and-coming actress Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The pairing would lead to one of the most talked about affairs in history, as Pitt and Jolie embarked upon an affair that would lead to the dissolution of his marriage to Aniston. Mr. and Mrs. Smith would go on to become Mr. and Mrs. Pitt. And Aniston found her happy ending when she married actor Justin Theroux in August 2015.
Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley
It was the solicitation heard round the world. In 1995, eight years into their 13-year relationship, actor Hugh Grant cheated on model-turned-actress Elizabeth Hurley with a prostitute named Divine Brown. While Hurley stood by Grant publicly after his arrest and the public apologies that followed, the cracks in the foundation of their relationship were beginning to show. The two parted ways for good in 2000.
