Infidelities, addictions, and that damn "Hannah Montana" show.
These celebrity couples had plenty of reasons to break up, but not enough to stay away.
Megan Fox has never seemed too concerned with how her life appears in the tabloids,
and her relationship with ex-husband Brian Austin Green might just be perfect proof
of that. The pair met on the set of "Hope & Faith" when Fox was just 18
and Green was 30, but at first the elder of the two wasn't interested.
"I kept pushing her away
early on because I was like this isn't- you know I don't-I don't want a relationship."
As Fox revealed in an interview with Elle -
"I had to convince him that I was slightly more responsible
and well-spoken and had other things to bring to the table besides being 18."
Eventually, the bombshell won him over, and in 2006, the pair got engaged. They briefly
called things off in 2009 but got back together and married the following year.
In 2015, ET reported that Fox had filed divorce papers, citing irreconcilable differences. But
when the estranged couple got pregnant with their third child several months later,
they reconciled once again. However, Green confirmed that they had called
it quits once again on his "...with Brian Austin Green" podcast in 2020.
Just weeks after Fox announced her engagement to rapper Machine Gun Kelly in January 2022,
her divorce from Green was finalized. That February, Green revealed that he
and girlfriend Sharna Burgess were expecting their first child together.
A source told People of the amicable exes around this time, saying -
"As long as they're both on the same page with the kids,
he's good and happy for her. They're strictly co-parents."
With that, one of the hottest couples from the mid-2000s was officially a thing of the past.
In 2007, Pamela Anderson announced that she was engaged to an unnamed
professional poker player. A little digging by the press revealed the man to be none
other than Rick Salomon, Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend and co-star in her leaked sex
tape. It's unclear how long these longtime friends had been dating, but that October,
Anderson and Salomon quietly married at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
The wedding was reportedly a simple affair, squeezed into a break Anderson had between her
magic shows. However, according to a source cited by People, it appeared to be exactly
what the loved-up couple wanted — or at least, what they thought they wanted. Within months,
Anderson cited fraud when asking a judge to annul the marriage. She'd previously cited
irreconcilable differences when filing to dissolve their brief union that December,
but called off the divorce in the hopes of reconciliation. TMZ reports that her second
request to the court was granted, and the two went their separate ways. Except, not really.
During a 2013 appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Anderson admitted that she and Salomon
were, quote, "best friends... with benefits." In January 2014, they upgraded those benefits and
once again became husband and wife, with Anderson talking about round two to E! News and saying -
"We're very happy. Our families are very happy and that's all that matters."
Six months later, Anderson and Salomon filed papers to once again become ex-spouses,
temporarily called the split off, and re-filed for divorce in early 2015.
This on-and-off pairing was officially over that April.
"Well I've had a few ups and downs - it doesn't matter! Marriage is hard!
I'm not doing it anymore!"
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk's on-again-off-again relationship with Grimes has been ideal tabloid
fodder since the pair went public with their love in 2018. However, theirs isn't the only romantic
relationship the South African business magnate has seen splashed across headlines. In 2008,
after initiating his divorce from his first wife, Justine Musk, Elon began dating British
actor Talulah Riley. According to an interview Justine gave Marie Claire,
Elon texted her six weeks after their divorce was finalized to let her know he was engaged
to his new girlfriend. In 2010, not long after that text was sent, Musk and Riley got married.
Then, in 2012, they divorced for the first time. In a now-deleted tweet,
Musk demonstrated just how amicable the whole thing was, writing -
"It was an amazing four years. I will love
you forever. You will make someone very happy one day."
The sweet sentiment hit differently when, 18 months after their initial divorce was
finalized, the couple headed back down the aisle.
Unfortunately, that second round of happiness wouldn't last long,
and Musk filed for divorce again in 2015. In the filings,
he agreed to give Riley $16 million in cash as a part of a financial settlement,
as well as all of the property their premarital agreement entitled her to. However, he never ended
up paying that money out, as they called off the divorce seven months later. It wasn't until 2016,
when Riley filed for divorce, that they'd actually end their relationship for good.
If you've ever listened to a single Eminem song, you know the rapper's life has been tumultuous.
His relationship with ex-wife Kimberly Scott is a perfect example of this.
In the book "How Eminem Got Started," which is endorsed by Marshall Mathers himself,
author Ramses M. reveals that the rapper first met Kimberly Scott back in 1988,
when he was 15 and she was just 13. Later that year, Kim moved in with Eminem and
the couple began the toxic on-again-off-again relationship they'd share for the next decade.
In 1999, four years after their daughter was born, Eminem and Kim tied the knot for the first time.
The marriage didn't last long — both parties had volatile tempers, struggled with addiction,
and, according to Kim, who gave an interview to "20/20" in 2007,
Eminem was regularly being unfaithful. In 2000, Eminem requested a divorce for the first time,
but when Kim hit back with an emotional distress lawsuit, they called the whole thing off.
A few months later, in early 2001, Kim, seemingly having had a change of heart,
submitted her own divorce request, and their first union officially ended later that year.
The duo remained in touch as they co-parented their daughter, and in 2006,
Eminem's representative told People the couple had remarried. Fans were hopeful
things would work out this time around, as both Kim and Eminem were older and wiser.
But less than three months later, the rapper had filed divorce papers for a second time.
"I guess we could talk to each other about anything, I guess that was
a big thing in our relationship but I don't know if he was a good husband or not."
As of 2022, rocker Travis Barker may be happily married to Kourtney Kardashian,
but his previous relationship with former Miss USA Shanna Moakler wasn't nearly as joy-filled.
According to Life & Style, Barker met Moakler in 2002. A year after the relationship began,
Barker proposed to his girlfriend on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland.
A short while after that, they tied the knot in a "The Nightmare Before Christmas"- themed wedding.
Things were good for a while; the couple welcomed two children of their own and were
happily raising them alongside Moakler's daughter from a previous relationship.
But in 2006, it seemed the good times were over when Barker filed for divorce for the first time.
Of course, as is the case with all of the couples on our list, the relationship didn't
end that easily. The couple reconciled a number of times, even going so far as
to withdraw their divorce application after the plane crash Barker was involved in back in 2008.
Ultimately, they decided they just weren't going to be able to make things work
and finalized their divorce later that year. While the separation started out amicably,
things got dramatic when the couple began accusing each other of laziness and infidelity on MySpace
and through tabloids like TMZ. It likely didn't help that they were living in the
same house for the sake of their children while trying to move on from the relationship.
In 1991, before "Achy Breaky Heart" made him a household name, aspiring musician Billy Ray
Cyrus lived in his car and hung out at clubs on the weekend. It was in one of these Nashville hot
spots that he met his future wife, Tish Cyrus. In 1992, the couple welcomed their first child
together, future superstar Miley Cyrus — and a year later, they tied the knot in the living room
of their Franklin, Tennessee home. The duo soon added two more children to their blended brood as
both parties had kids from prior relationships, and eventually split time between The Volunteer
State and Los Angeles, where Billy Ray and Miley filmed their Disney Channel hit "Hannah Montana."
The series' success and family focus tricked many fans into believing the Cyruses were
just as happy off-screen as they appeared on-screen. In reality, Billy Ray told GQ -
"The damn show destroyed my family."
He and Tish filed for divorce in 2010, but reconciled mere months later in 2011,
with Billy Ray telling "The View" -
"I want to put my family back together."
Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long, and Tish filed for divorce again in 2013
and April 2022. It seems likely that the pair's separation would stick the third time around.
Although Billy Ray and Tish made it clear in a statement to People
that their amicable decision was made with no animosity towards the other.
TMZ cited court documents which revealed they'd been living separately since at least 2020.
In 1972, a 14-year-old Melanie Griffith met her future husband, Don Johnson,
for the first time while the young actors were filming "The Harrad Experiment" together. However,
Johnson was eight years Griffith's senior, and Griffith's mom Tippi Hedren, who also happened
to play the movie's female lead, had some understandable concerns about the age gap.
Despite this, the couple began a relationship almost immediately, moving in together the
following year, and getting engaged once Griffith turned 18. 1976 saw them marry in Las Vegas.
Their already tumultuous relationship, thanks to Johnson's many admitted affairs and both
parties' budding alcohol and drug addictions, didn't get any easier after exchanging vows,
and they divorced six months later. Fast forward to 1989: The couple reconnected
when Griffith phoned her then-sober ex for moral support ahead of going to rehab,
which led to the pair rekindling their connection. They tied the knot for a second
time at their ranch in Aspen that June, and soon welcomed their famous daughter,
Dakota Johnson. Speaking about the relationship, Griffith told People -
"I believe some relationships are fated,
and ours was probably one of them. I'll always love him. He was my first love."
But according to the Los Angeles Times, both Griffith and Johnson
had relapsed on their sobriety by 1994, and Griffith filed for divorce that March,
citing irreconcilable differences. She and Don Johnson have since remained amicable exes.