Celebrity divorces through the years: from Lopez and Affleck to Taylor and Burton

Separations often sound like a Hollywood script, going on to shape both careers and the public's perception

This week, Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck after two years of marriage. AFP

The narrative of the celebrity couple, a concept deeply rooted in Hollywood history, is one of the most fascinating if not damaging that captures the public's interest. And despite having fairytale notions surrounding the honeymoon period of a famous couple, not all celebrity marriages endure.

With Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, aka "Bennifer", becoming the latest to split, they join a long line of others who have called time on their marriage. Here are some of the industry's biggest separations and why they fascinated the public so much.

1974: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

When Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962, their affair did more than spark intense media attention. Their passionate relationship also established them as one of the first true Hollywood celebrity power couples, which buoyed both of their careers and established a template that has drawn comparisons ever since.

When they met, Taylor was married to singer Eddie Fisher and Burton to actress Sybil Burton. After divorcing their spouses, the couple married in March 1964. The union fueled both of their careers and they collaborated across 12 projects. Films including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), directed by Mike Nichols, helped establish Taylor as a "proper actress" rather than just a movie star.

Despite their prolific union, they divorced a decade later only to reunite the following year in 1975 and then divorce again in 1976. Their relationship was marked and reported on for its dramatic highs and lows and yet, even after both divorces, the couple remained respectful and fond of each other.

1996: King Charles III and Princess Diana

While the royal couple are not from Hollywood, Buckingham Palace has arguably had the same influence over the public perception of marriage and relationships – and inspired a host of films and series in their wake, proving that the cultural idea of modern celebrity and royalty have evolved in tandem.

Even their union began as a live television broadcast. Millions worldwide watched their wedding at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981. The public was invested in the story of Princess Diana. The couple welcomed their first son, Prince William, in 1982 and then Prince Harry in 1984.

However, the pressures of royal life, their public image and infidelity, most infamously the affair between King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now queen, took its toll on the marriage. Charles and Diana separated in December 1992, and their divorce was finalised in 1996 after much public and media scrutiny.

While technically they were not the first British royal couple to divorce, the breakdown of their relationship was prominent and affected how the public perceived high-profile marriages.

2001: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman met in 1990 while filming Days of Thunder and married by the end of that year.

It was a whirlwind romance and a decidedly high-profile union. Despite starring in two more films together (with director Stanley Kubrick in particular deliberately playing off their public perception in his film Eyes Wide Shut) and adopting two children during their decade-long marriage their relationship began to unravel, leading to a separation and then divorce in 2001.

While Kidman has reflected in several interviews since on the difficulties of being in a high-profile marriage, no specific reason for the divorce has ever been shared.

2005: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston began dating in 1998, making their public debut as a couple at the 1999 Emmy Awards. They married in 2000 but only lasted five years, with Aniston filing for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.

Pitt and Aniston exemplified to the public the idea of the perfect couple, which was why their divorce was a shocking one, particularly for fans of the series Friends, which had starred Aniston and featured Pitt as a guest star. And while the couple have never commented publicly, the media and the public pinned the blame of the divorce on Pitt and his involvement with Angelina Jolie. Since their divorce, Pitt and Aniston have remained friends.

2012: Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

Cruise’s relationship and marriage to Katie Holmes is well-documented within pop culture history. Most notably his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005, where he expressed his love for Holmes before jumping on the couch enthusiastically, a moment that many believe to have harmed Cruise's career and changed the way that he presented himself to the public.

Cruise and Holmes had met, started a relationship and were engaged that same year. They welcomed their daughter, Suri in April of 2006 and were married in November of that year. They were together for almost six years when Holmes filed for divorce and she was awarded full custody of Suri.

2014: Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez

After several high-profile relationships including with rapper P Diddy and Affleck, Lopez started dating singer Marc Anthony in 2004. They were married that same year and welcomed their twins Emme and Max in 2008. While the couple worked together and enjoyed separate success in their careers, they separated in 2011 after months of tabloid reports of discord.

The two starred in the film El Cantante in 2006, a biographical film about Salsa singer Hector Lavoe, one of the highest-grossing musical biopics in history.

Anthony filed for divorce in 2012 citing irreconcilable differences and it was finalised in 2014. Their divorce was a disappointment to the Latin community who saw them as a positive representation and came as a shock to the general public as the divorce came at a time when Lopez was experiencing great professional success.

2016: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Jolie and Pitt’s start was not well received by the public. Many viewed the union as the reason why Pitt and Aniston’s marriage ended in divorce, despite there being no confirmation that this was the case after the two had met on the set of the film Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) while Pitt was still married.

In 2005 Jolie and Pitt adopted a child from Ethiopia, Zahara, then welcomed their first biological child together, daughter Shiloh in 2006, and then, adopted another child from Vietnam, Pax in 2007 and following that Jolie gave birth to twins Vivienne and Knox, in 2008.

The couple married in 2014 only for Jolie to file for divorce in 2016. Pitt though Jolie's divorce proceedings are yet to be finalised. The lengthy divorce has been marked by a contentious custody trial and abuse allegations by Jolie.

2017: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s marriage divorce has been this generation’s most publicly scrutinised and controversial relationship.

The couple met in 2009 while filming The Rum Diary. At the time, Depp was in a long-term relationship with French actress Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children. Depp separated from Paradis in 2012 and in 2013 he and Heard were photographed holding hands at a Rolling Stones concert.

The couple were married in 2015 but Heard filed for divorce in May 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. She then filed for a domestic violence restraining order, accusing Depp of being "verbally and physically abusive" during their relationship. Depp denied the claims and was cleared of charges.

In 2018, Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post where she described her experiences as a victim of domestic abuse. Although she didn't mention him by name, Depp sued Heard for defamation the following year, claiming the false portrayal of him as an abuser had cost him lucrative acting roles.

The six-week trial of the lawsuit was aired on television where the jury found that Heard's op-ed was defamatory and awarded Depp more than $10 million in damages, which she reportedly settled with a $1 million.

2024: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez

After two years of marriage, Lopez has filed for divorce from Affleck. The couple publicly rekindled their romance in 2021, more than 17 years after their first engagement in 2003. Theirs was a romance that has defined each of their public lives.

Aside from the fact that Lopez is a global megastar and Affleck is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, the extremely public nature of their union has shaped both of their careers, not to mention their cultural perception.

Earlier this year, Lopez released a documentary on Amazon Prime entitled The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which was a revealing look into their relationship. Since their divorce was announced, viewership has reportedly soared on the platform.