The Most Monumental Celebrity Breakups of 2021

Celebrity romance keeps the world turning. There is nothing more appealing than seeing two people that you know everything about – both of whom you’ve never met and likely will never see in person before – fall in love through your screen. It always breaks with a Getty Images paparazzi photo, and then comes an Instagram debut, and before you know it, there’s an engagement. As much as I love celebrity relationships, the only thing more interesting is its reverse: celebrity breakups. And in 2021, we had more than enough of those. Some were brutal, some were long overdue, but all were shocking. Here are the top five celebrity breakups of the year, ranked: 

5. John Mulaney and Anna Marie Tendler

After six years of marriage, John Mulaney filed for divorce from his wife, Anna Marie Tendler. In December 2020, Mulaney checked himself into a rehab facility in Pennsylvania after a relapse in his alcoholism and cocaine addiction following 15 years of sobriety. Although Tendler was reportedly supportive of Mulaney’s decision, Mulaney ultimately decided to end their relationship for unknown reasons. “I am heartbroken that John has decided to end our marriage… I wish him support and success as he continues his recovery,” Tendler said in a statement following the public announcement of their divorce. However, just days after their split went public, US Weekly confirmed that Mulaney had already begun dating actress Olivia Munn. As if that wasn’t rapid enough, Munn announced that she was pregnant with the couple’s first child in September, sparking an instant frenzy online. The future of Mulaney and Munn’s relationship remains to be seen, with the welcoming of their child next year and Mulaney’s ever-evolving recovery. 

4. Elon Musk and Grimes 

In September, Canadian singer Grimes and Tesla CEO Elon Musk called it quits after three years together and the birth of their son, whimsically named X Æ A-Xii. When asked the reason for the break, Musk cited his work life as a cause for the friction. “Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas, and her work is primarily in LA,” he said in a statement to Page Six. However, he affirmed the split did not end on bad terms: “We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms.”

3. Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik 

In October 2021, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik announced the end of their relationship after several years of dating on and off and the welcoming of their daughter Khai. Allegedly, the last straw for the couple was a physical altercation between Malik and Hadid’s mother Yolanda, accusations Malik firmly denied. Generally, Malik and Hadid protect their privacy adamantly and also that of their child, refusing to post pictures of her face online to this day. Thus, much of the details of their coupling, and consequent break up, are mostly unknown. 

2. Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes 

Coming in a very, very close second for the biggest breakup of the year is none other than Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes. On November 17, the two singers issued identical statements on their respective Instagram stories, saying they’ve “decided to end [their] romantic relationship, but [their] love for one another as humans is stronger than ever.” A source allegedly close to the couple explained to People that their months in quarantine together were the peak of their relationship, but once they each began to return to their own work lives, the couple naturally grew further apart. For the past two years, Mendes and Cabello have served as a Gen Z pop culture staple, with their always admirable Instagram posts and joint Tik Tok videos. The end of Camilla and Shawn is, objectively, the end of an era. 

1. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West 

On February 19, the world changed. After months of swirling rumors about their relationship status, Kim Kardashian officially filed for a divorce from Kanye West. The couple’s six year marriage was widely considered to be one of the most influential and powerful celebrity couples, as each of them have such a large control over pop culture that combined, they are incomparable. Kanye West does not have a history of being a particularly low maintenance figure, and many wondered how long it would be before Kim would stop putting up with his hysterics. Although she was committed to working through their marriage’s problems, Kardashian reported in divorce documents that “irreconcilable differences have existed and continue to exist between [West] and me, which have caused our marriage to irretrievably break down.” She insists in these released documents that their relationship is “no longer viable” and asks the court to terminate their marriage as wished. 

Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your cynicism – these five couples were not the only noteworthy ones that fell apart in 2021. My own honorable mentions include: Anthony Ramos and Jasmine Cephas Jones, Bill and Melinda Gates, Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline, Kaia Gerber and Jacob Elordi, and JoJo Siwa and Kylie Prew. 

By Annie Levy