SINGAPORE – Cruel Summer might be the title of pop star Taylor Swift’s latest single, but it is also an appropriate description for the deluge of big-name celebrity splits in the last few months – started by the 33-year-old American singer-songwriter herself in March, when she broke up with her boyfriend of six years, British actor Joe Alwyn, 32.

Swift was not the only high-profile musician to find herself single once again in 2023.

American pop singer Billie Eilish, 21, broke up with American singer-songwriter Jesse Rutherford, 32, in May, after less than a year of dating and much controversy over their age gap.

A few months later in August, American pop icon Britney Spears, 41, parted ways with 29-year-old Iranian-American model-actor Sam Asghari over “irreconcilable differences”. The couple wed in June 2022, after more than five years of dating.

Meanwhile, Oscar-winning American actress Natalie Portman, 42, reportedly separated from her dancer husband Benjamin Millepied in August after 11 years of marriage. The 46-year-old Frenchman allegedly cheated on her with a climate activist more than two decades his junior.

American actress Reese Witherspoon, 47, also closed the chapter on her long-time union. Her divorce from American talent agent Jim Toth, 53, was announced in March, just two days shy of their 12th wedding anniversary.

And iconic movie star Kevin Costner, 68, just wrapped up a contentious child support battle with ex-wife Christine Baumgartner, 49, in late September. The American couple had been married for 18 years before she filed for divorce in May.

Divorce coach Sara Davison told British newspaper The Independent that a phenomenon called “divorce contagion” could be in play.

“The fact is that once one couple within a friendship or community network has decided to break up, it has a way of holding up a mirror to issues in your own relationship,” she said.

Dating expert Andrea Tan, 43, a certified sex, love and intimacy coach who runs Athena Rising, tells The Straits Times that a post-pandemic break-up phenomenon seems to be in effect as well.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we were all forced to slow down and reckon with what we really want out of life, whether we are single or in a relationship. That has caused an unravelling and change in status quo as the world emerges to a new post-pandemic world,” she says.

The Straits Times looks back at the most shocking splits in The Great Separation of 2023.

Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner

British actress Sophie Turner and American musician Joe Jonas seem to be vying for the title of messiest celebrity split of 2023.

It began with tabloid rumblings that their three-year marriage was in trouble, with American outlet TMZ reporting in early September: “(Sources say that) Joe had his people contact and consult with at least two Los Angeles-area divorce lawyers, and he is on the cusp of filing divorce docs to end his marriage to Sophie.”

Jonas, 34, officially filed for divorce in Miami on Sept 5 and both parties released a joint statement on Instagram saying that they “mutually decided to amicably end their marriage”.

Just two weeks later, however, 27-year-old Turner sued Jonas for “wrongful detention” of their two young daughters, aged three and one, in New York.

Court documents alleged that Jonas, a member of the pop-rock band Jonas Brothers alongside his brothers Kevin and Nick, was withholding the children’s passports from Turner.

At the moment, a truce seems to have been drawn, with the estranged couple agreeing on Sept 25 to “temporarily” keep both children in New York.

A subsequent report in Us Weekly shed some light on why their separation turned so acrimonious, with an unnamed source saying that Turner “didn’t want to always be ‘the Jonas brother’s wife’” and found him to be “too controlling”.

Jonas and Turner – who rose to fame as Sansa Stark on hit television series Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019) – began dating in 2016, after meeting via Instagram.  

Hugh Jackman & Deborra-Lee Furness

For many years, Wolverine star Hugh Jackman and his actress wife Deborra-Lee Furness seemed to be the epitome of #relationshipgoals.

In honour of their 25th anniversary in 2021, the actor, 54, even wrote that being married to Furness, 67, was “as natural as breathing”.

Just two years later, their love seems to be in a drastically different place as the Australian couple called it quits in September after 27 years together, much to the Internet’s collective dismay.

The duo have two children – Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18 – both adopted when they were young.

New Zealand media outlet Stuff even lamented: “How dare (Jackman and Furness) do this to us? Forget their kids, parents and long-term superannuation planning. We’re the ones who have been hurt here.”

In Australia, superannuation is a retirement savings system.

American tabloid Page Six reported that the couple had drifted apart to become more like “roommates” than lovers.

Ariana Grande & Dalton Gomez 

American singer Ariana Grande, 30, fell in love with real estate agent Dalton Gomez, 28, against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic – they were first spotted kissing in a California bar in February 2020. 

They tied the knot in California in May 2021, but their romance will not have a post-pandemic era. The couple, who do not have children, filed for divorce in Los Angeles in September.

Reports that the marriage had fallen apart began swirling as early as June, alongside rumours that Grande had already moved on with American actor Ethan Slater, 31.

Both Grande and Slater are starring in the upcoming musical movie Wicked. 

Slater himself recently called it quits on his own marriage of four years.

His wife – who had just given birth to their first child in January – was reportedly “completely blindsided” that he had already moved on with Grande.

Sofia Vergara & Joe Manganiello

Even in Hollywood, the land of beautiful people, the marriage of Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara and American actor Joe Manganiello stood out as being particularly photogenic.

Vergara, 51, once said on a talk show that she initially thought Manganiello, 46, was “too handsome” to date when they first met in 2014.

Physical chemistry seemingly won out, with the couple sharing a “passionate, all-encompassing romance”, according to People Magazine.

But that spark fizzled out eventually, with them going their separate ways in July after more than seven years of marriage. They do not have children together.

An unnamed “friend of the couple” told American tabloid Page Six: “Neither of them cheated. They very much did their own thing for large stretches of time and were frequently apart, but they were always able to still feel that passion for each other when they saw each other. That flame has now gone out.”

Taylor Swift & Joe Alwyn

“Got a long list of ex-lovers,” sings pop superstar Taylor Swift on her 2014 hit song Blank Space, making fun of the media’s obsession with her love life. 

In 2023, her long-time beau Joe Alwyn, 32, became the latest addition on that ominous long list.

Alwyn, who has acted in films such as The Favourite (2018), inspired a multitude of love songs from Swift ever since they got together in late 2016. 

The duo even collaborated on music together in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Alwyn being credited as a co-writer on tracks such as Exile and Champagne Problems. 

Both songs are about failed relationships – perhaps an omen of their break-up in March 2023.

Neither have commented publicly on the reasons for their split, although media outlet People reported that the couple ultimately “weren’t the right fit for one another”. 

That break-up now seems to be a lifetime ago, as the gossip rags and social media are now going gaga over her rumoured romance with American footballer Travis Kelce, 33.

Blue Lan & Jade Chou

Taiwanese actors Blue Lan and Jade Chou ended their nine-year marriage in June, but seemingly stayed on good terms – travelling together via public rental bikes to sign their divorce papers at New Taipei City Yonghe Administration Park.

They even wore matching outfits comprising pink T-shirts, jeans, white sneakers and black face masks.

Despite the jaunty ending, it seems that the split remains a source of hurt and regret for 44-year-old Lan, who is a contestant on the third season of Chinese reality show Call Me By Fire, which began recording in late June. 

Taiwanese media recently quoted him as saying: “It’s still painful for me. I’m still very sad about it.” 

Lan first met 46-year-old Chou in 2003, but they started dating only years later, after they filmed a commercial together in 2011. They have an eight-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

Xiaxue & Michael Sayre 

In April, Xiaxue, one of Singapore’s most famous bloggers and social media influencers, announced that she had separated from her Texan husband of more than 10 years, Mr Michael Sayre, co-founder and chief executive of tech company Kabam Robotics.

“This announcement may come as a surprise to many of you, but we have actually been separated for a long time now,” the 39-year-old said in an Instagram post. The couple met in 2005.

“This may not be the fairy-tale ending that everyone wishes for... but 17 years is a long time and we had a good run with loads of love, happiness and memories we formed together,” she wrote, adding that they would focus on co-parenting their 10-year-old son, Dash. 

Back in the day, Xiaxue – whose real name is Wendy Cheng – blogged about her romantic journey with Mr Sayre, 42, from how they met online in 2005 to their courtship, with him moving to Singapore to be with her.

When they tied the knot in 2010, local actress and radio deejay Vernetta Lopez was one of the wedding planners for the couple’s mafia-themed sponsored bash at Forlino restaurant in Fullerton Road.