A lot of celebrity couples decided to split up in 2020 — with many calling off long term relationships and engagements, and others breaking up after finding love during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, divorce is a whole different level when it comes to ending a relationship, and many star couples decided to make their splits legal and permanent this year. In some cases, it was just two people who amicably drifted apart, while others went through tumultuous breakups. — These are the most shocking celebrity divorces of 2020:
Tyrese & Samantha Lee Gibson
On December 29, Tyrese Gibson and his wife Samantha Lee Gibson released a joint statement announcing their decision to split after nearly four years of marriage. The Fast & Furious star, 42, took to Instagram to make the revelation, alongside a red carpet photo of him kissing his wife on the cheek.
“We have decided to make a statement of a painful and significant development in our lives,” the couple, who tied the knot in February 2017, began in the statement. “After much thought, consideration, and prayer, We unfortunately have made the difficult decision to officially separate & divorce.” Tyrese and Samantha share one child together: 2-year-old daughter Soraya. The actor has a 13-year-old daughter named Shayla from a previous relationship.
Carly Waddell & Evan Bass
After three years of marriage, Bachelor nation stars Carly Waddell, 35, and Evan Bass, 38, decided to call it quits in 2020. The couple confirmed the news in a joint statement on December 23. “We have made the difficult decision to separate,” they told People magazine, explaining, “We will always cherish our time together and continue to have the utmost respect for one another as we focus on what’s best for the future of our family. We greatly appreciate everyone’s love and support and kindly ask that you please respect our family’s privacy as we navigate through this.”
Carly and Evan found love on season three of Bachelor in Paradise during the summer of 2016. They went on to said “I do” the following June, and welcomed a daughter, Bella, (now 2), and a son, Charlie, 1. Evan is also a dad to three sons from a previous relationship.
Erika Jayne & Tom Girardi
After 21 years together, Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi called it quits in early November. “After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi,” The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star said in a statement to E! News on November 3. “This is not a step taken lightly or easily,” she continued, explaining, “I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together. It is my absolute wish to proceed through this process with respect and with the privacy that both Tom and I deserved,” Erika said, adding, “I request others give us that privacy as well.”
Erika, 49, and Tom, 81, tied the knot in 1999 after meeting at Chasen’s in West Hollywood, where Erika was working as a cocktail waitress. The two instantly hit it off and were engaged six months later. Erika was previously married to Thomas Zizzo, whom she shares 26-year-old son Tommy Zizzo with.
Gleb Savchenko & Elena Samodanova
Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova‘s split wasn’t as amicable as others in 2020. In November, the Dancing With the Stars pro, 37, and the famed choreographer, 36, announced they were going their separate ways after 14 years of marriage. They share two daughters: Olivia, 9, and 3-year-old Zlata.
On November 6, Elena took to her Instagram Story to reveal, “After 14 years of marriage with my deepest sadness our road is coming to the end.” She made the revelation on top of a photo with Gleb during happier times. Elena also confirmed the split in a fiery statement to People, in which she alleged Gleb was unfaithful in their marriage.
For his part, Gleb confirmed the breakup, but denied his ex’s allegations of infidelity in a statement to People. He went on to set the record straight about his friendship with Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause, who was his partner on season (29) of Dancing With the Stars. “My relationship with Chrishell was and remains strictly platonic,” he said in the statement, noting that his friendship with Chrishell “was not the reason” for his split with Elena.
Malik Beasley & Montana Yao
Malik Beasley’s wife, model and former pageant star, Montana Yao filed for divorce from the Minnesota Timberwolves player (NBA) on December 9. HollywoodLife obtained the official court documents, which were filed in Plymouth, MN, where the couple shared a home together with their 2-year-old son, Makai. Yao filed for divorce after she was admittedly blindsided by photos of Malik holding hands with reality star Larsa Pippen at a Miami mall in late November.
Shortly after the PDA photos emerged, Yao took to social media where she claimed that she and her son were “told to leave our family home 10 days ago, and just like you all I’m pretty confused.” The model gave fans an update about the situation on December 9. “Hey y’all I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for your tremendous love and support during this time,” she wrote on Instagram, adding, “Things have been pretty rough, I’m not going to lie.”
Yao also alleged, at the time, that there was “no private or public addressing of the situation, nor any type of apology” since Malik was photographed with Larsa. Malik and Yao tied the knot in March, one year after welcoming their son. As of December 10, Malik has not addressed the situation.
For her part, Larsa has only shared cryptic messages to social media calling for kindness and love over hate. The former Real Housewives of Miami star is still legally married to her estranged husband, Scottie Pippen. The couple separated in 2015, and Scottie filed for divorce after accusing Larsa of having an affair. They later reconciled, but Larsa ultimately filed for divorce again in 2018. Their divorce has not yet been finalized.
Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green announced that he and wife Megan Fox had split up during a tear-filled May 2020 podcast. The couple were just one month shy of their 10 year wedding anniversary. By then the 34-year-old actress had been photographed out and about with singer/actor Machine Gun Kelly. After Brian’s revelation, Megan and MGK, 30, then poured on plenty of PDA and quickly fell deeply in love.
Megan made her split from the 90210 actor legal by filing for divorce from him on Nov. 25, 2020. It came three days after she and MGK became red carpet official, attending the American Music Awards as a couple. Megan and Brian have already agreed to share joint legal custody of their three sons Noah, 8, Bodhi, 6, and Journey, 4.
Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock
Kelly Clarkson caught fans by surprise when on June 4, 2020, she filed for divorce from husband of over seven years Brandon Blackstock. The singer had never given any indications of problems within her marriage, and even wrote moving songs like “Piece By Piece” about how Brandon’s love made her feel whole.
The 38-year-old daytime talk show host’s split began to turn ugly when Brandon demanded that their six-year-old daughter River Rose and 4-year-old son Remy live half of the time in Montana with him. A judge shot down that request on Nov. 30, saying L.A. is the main home the kids have known, thus giving Kelly temporary primary physical custody. Talent manager Brandon also demanded $301K a month in spousal support from his successful wife, and $135K a month in child support, even though he will only be with the children every other weekend.
Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler
Kristin Cavallari, 33, and Jay Cutler, 37, shocked fans when in simultaneous Instagram posts on April 26, the pair announced the demise of their marriage. “With great sadness, after 10 years together we have come to a loving conclusion to get a divorce,” the Uncommon James designer captioned a sweet vacation snap of the pair. “We have nothing but love and respect for one another and are deeply grateful for the years shared, memories made, and the children we are so proud of. This is just the situation of two people growing apart.”
Things went south fast, as in paperwork filed two days later, Kristin accused Jay of being “controlling and manipulative” throughout their nearly seven-year marriage. She also accused Jay of freezing funds so that she was unable to purchase a new home. Eventually the couple’s animosity died down and they are now able to co-parent their sons Camden, 8, Jaxon, 6, and daughter Saylor, 5.
Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich
Former Dancing with the Stars pro and later judge Julianne Hough and retired NHL player Brooks Laich had a really complicated relationship. The pair loved each other deeply, but just couldn’t make married life work. They tied the knot in a romantic 2017 wedding ceremony, after four years together. But Jules revealed in an Aug. 2019 interview with Women’s Health that after just a few months of marriage,“I [told him], ‘You know I’m not straight, right?’ And he was like, ‘I’m sorry what?’” the star recalled. “I was like, ‘I’m not. But I choose to be with you,’” she said.
Julianne and Brooks spent most of 2020’s home quarantine in different states, and announced in May that “We have lovingly and carefully taken the time we have needed to arrive at our decision to separate.” While the pair later reunited for a seemingly romantic vacation in Idaho four months later, Julianne filed for divorce on Nov. 2.
Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum
One of Bachelor Nation’s biggest success stories is no more. Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum fell in love during 2011’s season seven of The Bachelorette, and went on to marry and have two children. The 35-year-old reality star announced on Oct. 14, 2020 that the pair was divorcing “after months of separation.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that, after months of separation, JP and I have amicably decided to go our separate ways,” Ashley told fans in an Instagram post. The Bachelorette star continued, “We created the most beautiful children [Fordham, 5, and Essex, 3] and shared memories that will never be forgotten.” But she added, “Our differences have taken a toll on our relationship and after years of attempting to repair the damage, we’ve decided that it is in our family’s best interest to create new and separate lives for our children.”
Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly
Country superstar Kacey Musgraves, 32, and singer-songwriter husband Ruston Kelly, 32, called it quits after less than three years of marriage. “With heavy but hopeful hearts we wanted to put our own thoughts into the air about what’s happening. These kinds of announcements are always met with scrutiny and speculation and we want to stop that before it even starts,” they said in a joint statement on July 3 amid divorce rumors.
“We believe that we were put into each other’s lives for a divine reason and have both changed each other infinitely for the better. The love we have for each other goes far beyond the relationship we’ve shared as husband and wife. It’s a soul connection that can never be erased,” they continued. “We’ve made this painful decision together — a healthy decision that comes after a very long period of trying the best we can. It simply just didn’t work,” the pair added, saying “we will remain true friends for the rest of our lives.”
Dianna Agron and Winston Marshall
Dianna Agron and Winston Marshall chose to end their marriage after three years together. The former Glee star, 34, and Mumford & Sons band member, 32, were always incredibly private about their relationship, and they were equally low key with their split. They had reportedly been living apart since 2019, with Dianna allegedly already back on the dating scene.
The couple married in October 2016 in a beautiful, intimate ceremony in Morocco, after getting engaged over the holidays in 2015. They have yet to publicly address their split or any divorce details, despite the news of their breakup becoming public in Aug. 2020.
Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers
After 10 years of marriage, actor Armie Hammer, 34, and wife Elizabeth Chambers, 38, called it a day on wedded life. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. star shared an Instagram post on July 10, with a photo of the couple in younger, happier times. “Thirteen years as best friends, soulmates, partners and then parents,” Armie wrote in his lengthy caption. “It has been an incredible journey, but together, we’ve decided to turn the page and move on from our marriage.” He added that daughter Harper Grace, 6, and son Ford Armand, 3, remained the pair’s “priority.”
The shock split came less than two months after Elizabeth gushed about the couple celebrating their milestone 10th wedding anniversary. “TEN years married, twelve together, thirteen years as best friends. Happy Anniversary, my love,” Elizabeth gushed in a May 25, 2020 Instagram post with a photo from their wedding day. “I’m beyond grateful for you, this decade, our family and the dreamiest Friday night anniversary sunset,” she wrote at the time. Elizabeth filed the divorce paperwork on July 10, the same date as Armie’s announcement and listed their separation as four days prior on July 6.
Jaime King and Kyle Newman
Actress Jaime King split from director hubby Kyle Newman after nearly 13 years of marriage was one of the messier and sad breakups of 2020. She filed for divorce in L.A. on May 18, requesting a temporary restraining order from Kyle. That came despite the fact that he had been living across the country on his family’s Pennsylvania farm with the couple’s two young sons since home quarantine went into effect in March 2020.
A judge agreed to allow Kyle to keep 7-year-old James Knight and 5-year-old Leo with him out East. “Kyle was deeply saddened by Jaime’s attempt to obtain court orders based solely on false claims without providing him any opportunity to respond. As a result, he was extremely pleased that the judge nevertheless permitted their children to remain in his care,” a spokesman for Kyle told HollywoodLife.com. He also added Jamie needed “help.” “Kyle continues to solo parent, as he has done throughout this pandemic, he remains entirely focused on putting the children’s stability and welfare first. Kyle wants nothing but the best for his whole family and hopes that Jaime can find the peace and help she needs,” his rep added.
Vanessa Morgan and Michael Kopech
Yet another sad and shocking 2020 divorce involved Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan, 28, and Major League Baseball pitcher Michael Kopech, 24. They literally married, got pregnant, and divorced within six months. The couple wed on January 4, 2020, in a gorgeous wedding at the Historic Walton House south of Miami, after gettting engaged at a romantic Arizona waterfall on July 4, 2019.
Michael filed for divorce just over six months later, on June 19, 2020. Vanessa then revealed to fans in a July 24 Instagram post that she was pregnant and expecting a son, showing her enjoying a gender reveal party with a noticeable baby bump. During the post she included a slide of a positive pregnancy test, dated May 20, writing “Morning I found out, so glad I kept this picture.” Almost one month to the day later, Michael had filed to divorce Vanessa.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy
COVID-19 got in the way of Mary-Kate Olsen‘s first attempt at divorcing 51-year-old French banker Olivier Sarkozy. She filed on April 17, claiming “The relationship has broken down irretrievably.” But her request was denied, as New York courts were not accepting divorce filings other than emergency applications due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Row designer re-filed for divorce on Monday, May 25, the day courts in New York City reopened. The former Full House child star had been with Olivier since 2012, tying the knot in an intimate ceremony at a private residence in New York City in 2015. The two do not share any children together.