Celebrity Breakups: Why the fall of fairytale romances keeps us hooked

It’s Valentine’s Week! Love is in the air—or is it? While we swoon over Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra’s dreamy romance or Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal’s picture-perfect love story, we’re just as obsessed when the cracks in celebrity relationships begin to appear.

“Are Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan really heading for divorce?” “Did Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma split, or was it just a rumour?” “What went down between A R Rahman and Saira Banu?” “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spending a lot of time apart — what’s the juice on that?

The curiosity doesn’t stop here. Jessica Alba and Cash Warren announced their separation after 16 years of marriage. Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even Oscar winner Meryl Streep and Don Gummer’s 45-year marriage ended in the autumn of their lives. Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic are reportedly co-parenting their son. What gives?

A fantasy we buy into

For fans, celebrities’ lives function like a glossy, high-definition reflection of our own. They have better skin, hotter partners, and more money, but their struggles feel oddly familiar.

Malliha Fatima, influencer, speaker, and brand strategist, says, "Somewhere, we feel ownership over celebrities—just as we do for friends and loved ones. So, when a celebrity breakup happens, it feels very personal, almost as though someone you know closely has broken up.”

It is all about optics nowadays. Social media and celebrity relationships go hand in hand, creating a fantasy that fans buy into.

If Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh can make it work, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us. But if Virendra Sehwag and Aarti Ahlawat couldn’t go the distance, what does that say about love itself?

“My clients, especially those in the public eye, want things to end amicably,” says Bindu G Naidu, a family lawyer and trained mediator who counts several celebrities among her clientele. “In most cases, there are children involved, and there’s no point staying in toxic relationships,” she adds.

Insane level of public interest

Still, speculation about celebrity divorces and endless debates over “why” it happened are nothing new.

Did you know that more than 3.5 million people (with a staggering 83.9 million hours watched) tuned in across various platforms to watch the verdict in the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial?

That’s an insane level of public interest in a private matter. In today's digital age, social media amplifies our fascination with celebrity relationships, especially when they end.

But why are reams of newsprint and endless horizons of digital space dedicated to celebrity gossip? And why do celebrity breakups grip us so tightly?

Power of optics and social media

Social media fuels this obsession by turning celebrity relationships into aspirational fairytales. “Celebrities themselves feed into the social media circus, so people become invested in their relationships,” explains Padmaja Konisetti, a Hyderabad-based communications consultant. “They present their perfect life together—romantic vacations, lovey-dovey posts. Then, when they unfollow each other or delete pictures, fans start speculating. It’s a cycle.”

And when relationships end, X and Instagram become battlegrounds for breakups. “Fans dissect every post, looking for hidden messages, while celebrities—intentionally or not—add fuel to the fire with cryptic captions, ‘likes,’ and unfollows. It’s not just about heartbreak; it’s about entertainment,” adds Padmaja.

Memes and trolls flood social media, turning these personal tragedies into viral content. From exaggerated reactions to savage one-liners, celebrity breakups quickly become internet phenomena. Whether it’s a high-profile divorce or a quiet separation, the online world ensures no detail goes unnoticed—or unmocked.

But the emotional attachment runs deeper than just social media. “People idolise celebrities, and this fascination stems from self-validation, self-identification, or social comparison,” says Radhika Acharya, consultant clinical and rehabilitation psychologist. “If their favourite celebrities succeed in relationships, they believe they can too. But when a seemingly perfect couple faces difficulties, it can be disillusioning.”

Escapism and shock factor

For many, reading about or watching celebrity divorce news is a form of escapism. “It allows people to momentarily forget their own struggles and feel entertained or reassured,” says Radhika. “This is why news about celebrity breakups garners widespread attention.”

Take Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's split or Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik ‘khula’—both shocked fans and dominated headlines for weeks.

“You hero worship people, then they separate—it’s the shock factor, the indignation. How is it possible that they are getting divorced?” explains Padmaja.

This emotional investment also explains why, even years after their split, we’re still fascinated by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s legal battle over French winery, Château Miraval.

Incessant curiosity and taking sides

The curiosity about who did what in a celebrity split often stems from a sense of betrayal. "I was fed something that wasn’t 100% true.” Padmaja says, “So when a celebrity breakup happens, the reaction is more intense.”

People get hooked on to celebrity divorces, which often mimic real-life relationship dynamics. Some take sides, some try to decode cryptic Gram and X captions, while others wait for tell-all interviews. The obsession doesn’t end with the announcement — it lingers. And, of course, no celebrity breakup is complete without an avalanche of memes and trolls mocking everything from their relationship timeline to their breakup statements.

So, why do we care so much?

“Knowing that even the seemingly perfect celebrity couple faces difficulties, it can be shocking for fans,” Radhika explains.

At the heart of this debate, the public obsession with celebrities reveals more about human nature than about the stars themselves.

We crave stories, we seek inspiration, and sometimes, we just need an escape.