Desi Today Magazine
Year 2016 has seen several marriages, engagements and relationships going sour in Hollywood and Bollywood, but the news of separation of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, a globally popular couple, has rocked the entertainment world like no other split.
In India, Farhan Akhtar-Adhuna Bhabani, Arbaaz Khan-Malaika Arora, Lissy-Priyadarshan, Om Puri-Nandita and Soundarya Rajinikanth-Ashwin Ramkumar are among the couples who decided to go separate ways. Some blamed the break on irreconcilable differences, while for some it was the rumoured third wheel that broke the axel.
The Hollywood world saw even Johnny Depp and Amber Heard heading for splitsville. IANS lists the most popular couples whose love story bit the dust this year:
* Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie: This came as a shocker for all the Brangelina fans when it was reported that the two have split and that Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt. While the actress cited “irreconcilable differences” as the grounds for the divorce, Pitt released a statement of his own to People magazine saying: “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids.”
Jolie and Pitt got together in 2004 after starring in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, leading to the latter’s split from Jennifer Aniston. They then got privately married in 2014 in a chapel at Château Miraval in the village of Correns, France. They raise six children together.
* Farhan Akhtar-Adhuna Bhabani: Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and his wife of 15 years, Adhuna Akhtar announced their decision to separate “mutually and amicably” in January. They exchanged wedding vows in 2000 and have two daughters — Shakya and Akira. To announce their split, the couple had released a joint statement saying, “Our children remain our priority and it is immensely important to us, as responsible parents, that they be protected from unwarranted speculations and public glare.”
* Arbaaz Khan-Malaika Arora: Arbaaz and Malaika issued a joint statement in March, stating that they are “on a break to figure out their lives”. The rumours of the couple’s split started when an online platform reported that Malaika had moved out of their home with their 13-year-old son Arhaan. The guesswork around their split continued to trouble the couple, and a frustrated Arbaaz had then tweeted: “Not a day passed after giving a joint statement and saying not to believe sources or supposed friends… No more reaction from me henceforth. If they are not sensitive and don’t respect people’s privacy then they are not worth losing sleep over”.
* Om Puri-Nandita: Veteran actor Om Puri and wife Nandita opted for judicial separation after 26 years of marriage. They decided to live separately without going for a divorce with the actor getting visiting rights to son Ishaan, 18, after things turned ugly between them following her biography of the actor.
* Johnny Depp-Amber Heard: Amber Heard filed for divorce from Depp in May this year. Their divorce news got into the public eye after Amber’s allegation that she was physically and verbally abused by the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star throughout their relationship.
* Soundarya Rajinikanth-Ashwin Ramkumar: Soundarya, the second daughter of superstar Rajinikanth, confirmed in September that her marriage to industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar was coming to an end and that divorce talks have been initiated. “We have been separated for over a year and divorce talks are on. I request all to respect my family’s privacy,” Soundarya wrote on her Twitter page. They had got married here in 2010, and they have a one-year old son.
* Priyadarshan-Lissy: Popular Malayalam actress Lissy Lakshmi and filmmaker Priyadarshan had been living separately since 2014 following differences of opinion, but it officially ended when they signed the final papers at a Family Court in Chennai earlier in September.
