Wow, hard to believe that 2010 is almost over! I mean - 2010!!! I remember when we were all bracing for Y2K and here we are, a decade into the new millennium already. 2010 was a great year in entertainment and all this week I’m going to be counting down my Top 10 lists of hook-ups, most over-exposed, and moments in pop culture. But first I’m gonna kick off my countdown to 2011 with this year’s biggest and most surprising breakups in entertainment news. Here’s the breakups that shocked me the most – let me know if you agree!
10. Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco
I love The Big Bang Theory – so it came as a huge shock to me when the stars of the show, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco, who play Leonard and Penny on the show, announced that they had broken up. Wait – what?! We didn’t even know they were dating! That’s right; these two managed to keep their TWO YEAR relationship a secret, and only confirmed it when they decided to announce their split. And people say you can’t keep anything a secret in Hollywood!
9. Blake Lively and Penn Badgely
These two Gossip Girl co-stars had been dating for over 2 years before the announced their breakup this year. Shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone – Blake’s star is on the rise after a role in ‘The Town’ this year and Penn’s star is perfectly still after a few lacklustre movie performances. It’s not pretty, but in Hollywood who you date is almost as important and who you know, and with Blake being linked to Ryan Gosling (believe what you want) it’s obvious her management team needs her dating someone a little more high profile. Sorry lonely boy.
8. Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry
The couple who might very well have been the most attractive couple on earth called an end to their relationship this year, but did so on seemingly good terms. The couple have a 2 year old daughter and seem to agree that she is a priority for both of them. Halle has since been linked to Olivier Martinez while Aubry – a Canadian model, was linked to Kim Kardashian. But don’t hold that against him.
7. Mark Salling and Naya Rivera
Oh those crazy kids! Salling and Rivera both star on Glee – as Puck and Santana, and had been rumoured to be hooking up off set as well. Rivera got wind that Salling wasn’t a one woman kinda guy and decided to go all old school high school jealous on his ass and key his car! Wonder if we’ll see that on an upcoming episode of Glee?
6. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
I include them on my list because of my incredible love of High School Musical! This Disney dream couple were actually really cute and really sweet and I loved that they were together for so long, but they announced their breakup only at the beginning of the month, leaving them both available for a new year with new opportunities. Rumors have run rampant that Efron is ready to make a move into more ‘leading man’ roles, even though Charlie St. Cloud tanked at the box office, and being single allows the studio to link him with more leading ladies. Sucks to be Vanessa Hudgens.
5. Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson
I have to admit, I never bought these two as a couple, and maybe that’s because I really wanted him and Alanis Morrisette to get married and have babies and be the ultimate Canadian couple (especially since Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams broke up). Just over 2 years into their marriage the couple have called it quits, surprising really no-one.
4. Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman
This Fall season found a ridiculously large amount of celebrity break-ups, and the split between X-Tina and her music exec husband Jordan Bratman was one of those that came as a surprise. Not as surprising as her apparent ability to move on, already being photographed with a new boy toy and prompting pregnancy rumors at the same time. I guess time will tell.
3. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker
When there’s smoke there’s normally fire, especially in Hollywood, so when rumours started that Eva Longoria Parker had filed for divorce from her basketball player husband, which she quickly denied, you knew that something was up. Sure enough only a day later official papers were filed signalling the end of the marriage. But it was what caused the split – namely the fact that Tony was involved in a ‘sexting’ scandal with the wife of a fellow teammate that really shocked. These two seemed like a pretty solid couple, and rumors have it that Eva thought the same. Good for her for dumping his cheating ass!
2. Courteney Cox and David Arquette
While always a bit of an odd couple, these two seemed to weather the Hollywood storm pretty nicely together, so it was a bit of a shock when they announced that they were separating. And while both of them made it clear that they weren’t divorcing – just separating, all signs seem to be pointing to a permanent split. Arquette confirmed that he had an affair with a young woman while he and Courteney had separated, he spilled way too much information about their personal life to Howard Stern and he seems to be sowing as many wild oats as he possibly can right now. Arquette isn’t completely without blame here either though, with Arquette accusing his wife of having an ‘emotional’ affair with her ‘Cougar Town’ co-star Brian Van Holt. I have a feeling that these two just might work things out though!
1. Sandra Bullock and Jesse James
While their union was considered odd by most Hollywood watchers, it seemed to work for them. So while it didn’t come as much of a surprise that these two split, it was why they split that seemed to cause the most shock! Hot on the heels of Bullock having what looked to be the year of her professional career – with Golden Globe and Academy Award wins for her role in ‘The Blind Side’ – Bullock was blindsided when she learned that James was having an affair with Michelle ‘Bombshell’ McGee, and who knows who else! Bullock held her head high, divorced James, became a single mother of her new son Louis, and proved that she would not be defined by her ex-husband’s actions.
So there you have it – my Top 10 Breakups of 2010! Let me know what you think, and check back tomorrow for my Top 10 Hook-ups of 2010!
Scene and Heard
Confessions of a Pop Culture Mummy
Printer-friendly version