Breakups Hollywood Style
By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
14-DEC-05
Apparently, 'tis the season for celebrity marriages to suddenly fall apart. In the past month alone, many famous couples have announced their splits - Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey; Nicole Richie and DJ Adam Goldstein; and Christina Applegate and Johnathon Schaech. And these breakups are just a few of many recent notable separations, coming on the heels of the divorce of Jamie-Lynn Sigler and AJ Discala and, more prominently, the ongoing saga of Hollywood royalty Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. These celebrities are facing the distinct challenge of managing their reputations and careers through public spin control while simultaneously dealing with their private turmoil. So how are some of our favorite celebrities faring?
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey
No celebrity couple has ever let the public into their relationship in the way that Nick and Jessica did. Depicted as the Lucy and Desi of the younger generation, the couple?s every move was captured by cameras during their first years of marriage, creating MTV's hit series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Each week we dissected the deliciously trivial drama between Nick and Jessica, as we were privy to their petty fights, heartwarming makeups and distinct brand of love. And though the final installment of episodes revealed significantly more tension than in prior seasons, we attributed it to the arrival of Jessica's oh-so-grating personal assistant/high school best friend CaCee Cobb, who was irritating enough to cause stress in any marriage. So though rumors of strife preceded the breakup by at least a year, it still came as an enormous surprise to us when this split was officially announced. It is no secret that Jessica's stardom since the outset of Newlyweds far eclipsed that of her pop star husband. She successfully used the show as a platform to launch her film career and a profitable line of makeup while Nick's career floundered, and this situation inevitably created some tension. The two have remained fairly mum and maintained relatively low profiles since the split and we hope for both of their sakes that this will continue, even if they head further down the path from separation to divorce.
Jessica Simpson's Celebrity A$$$ets
Nick Lachey's Celebrity A$$$ets
Jamie-Lynn Sigler and AJ Discala
As The Sopranos' Meadow, Jamie-Lynn amassed a huge fan base and overcame a public bout with anorexia to grow into a woman right before our eyes. Her marriage to long-time manager AJ Discala in 2003 facilitated our acceptance of her as a full fledged adult actress. Shortly after her nuptials, Jamie-Lynn exhibited her maturity by severing her professional relationship with AJ in order to draw a line between their professional and personal lives, but that wise move doesn't seem to have saved the couple from an abrupt split. Like their friends Jessica and Nick, Jamie-Lynn and AJ had to deal with a significant age difference, one that ultimately strained their marriage. But though Sigler was just 22 when she married, now two years later she is managing adulthood just fine on her own and has a promising career ahead of her. Moreover, unlike so many headliners her age, Jamie-Lynn seems to be handling her breakup with dignity, and without the antics we usually associate with a newly single celebrity. Unfortunately for AJ, his stock will inevitably drop without his more famous counterpart by his side.
Jamie Lynn Sigler's Celebrity A$$$$ets
AJ Discala's Celebrity A$$ets
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt
Now that their divorce is finalized, it seems that Brad is making all the right moves to secure Angelina Jolie's heart, the latest his decision to officially adopt Jolie's children, Zahara and Maddox. Simultaneously, Brad has been winning back some of the fans he lost by unceremoniously dumping Jen - after all, it is hard not to have a soft spot for him when watching his gentle and loving interactions with Angelina's kids. For her part, in what appears to be a response to news of the increasingly tight Brangelina coupling, the normally graceful Jennifer reportedly held a bonfire with friends to burn all of Brad?s old love letters and clothing. Though it certainly could have burned her image as well, Jennifer's reputation can withstand a juvenile error like this one because she has managed to emerge from the breakup as both sympathetic and courageous. In the meantime, whereas Brad has been hounded and largely berated for his personal choices since the split, Jennifer's stock has never been higher, and her standing as the American media darling has become even more pronounced.
Jennifer Aniston's Celebrity A$$$ets
Brad Pitt's Celebrity A$$$ets
Remember: the most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.
(Samantha Ettus' new book, "The Experts' Guide to Life at Home" (Random House) is now in bookstores. Contact her at Samantha@celebrityassets.com.) |
