You might have heard today over the Interwebs that Brangelina is no longer. Angelina Jolie filed for divorce after two years of marriage and ten years of partnership with Brad Pitt. They join the list of surprising and sad celebrity breakups along with Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck and Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale.
There will be rumors over why they split.
We create memes about their demise. We guess about what happened, place blame on whose fault it was, make assumptions about who was cheating or if someone is an alcoholic or has anger issues or whatever. Looking for similarities in our own experiences, we glean something we didn’t know before that might help us navigate our own lives. We want to blame someone or something, to justify what happened.
But in real life break-ups are not simple, and are not based on one wrong move. They are emotionally wrenching, complicated, and heart-breaking experiences; the result of years of misunderstandings and harsh words spoken. When two people disrupt a marriage, break a bond, it takes time, and it’s even sadder when children are involved.
A break-up cannot be summed up in a meme or a blog post.
Last week, I wrote a piece about what we can learn from celebrity breakups for Digital Romance. This article focused on Taylor Swift and her infamous rocky relationship history. Now obviously we aren’t buds so I can’t really comment on what went on, but Taylor and Angie are no different from the rest of us in terms of heartbreak and processing such difficult emotions.
There are sad and messy experiences all of us deal with in life, and the end of a romantic relationship is one.
We all make mistakes, we all learn, we all grieve and eventually move on. Hopefully we are better for it in the end, and move on to happier, more fulfilling relationships.
To read my article on lessons we can learn from celebrity break-ups, click here.
In the meantime, be good to each other. Pass along kindness over blame. Love trumps hate.
XO,
Kelly
About Kelly Seal
Kelly is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. She blogs about dating, relationships, personal growth and what "healthy living" means to her. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter @kellyseal or through her website www.kellyseal.com.
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