Nicolas and Cécilia Sarkozy
French voters have long shrugged off presidential extramarital
affairs, but this year saw the first divorce of a French president
while in office - a president whose wife and son were the
centerpiece of his public image. In 2005, Cécilia left Nicolas for
another man; in 2006 she returned, and the couple maintained an
image that helped Nicolas get elected in May. Nevertheless,
afterward, Cécilia rarely attended public events. By October the
announcement of the end of the Sarkozys' troubled 11-year marriage
was widely expected. Now that they are divorced, Nicolas will
embark on a true experiment in statesmanship — dating.
Sumner Redstone and David
Geffen
After Redstone's Viacom purchased Geffen's Dreamworks Studios in
2006 for $1.6 billion, there should have been peace in moguldom.
Dreamworks, the studio founded by Geffen, Steven Spielberg and
Jeffrey Katzenberg, delivered a string of hits — Dreamgirls, Blades
of Glory, Transformers —and Viacom's Paramount Pictures ably
marketed and distributed them. But Dreamworks execs, reportedly
experiencing sellers' remorse, felt Paramount was taking credit for
their successes. High-net-worth backbiting ensued. Things really
got ugly when a Viacom exec told investors that losing Spielberg
would be "completely immaterial" to his corporation. It may sound
mild, but in Hollywood this is tantamount to calling Mother Teresa
a little bit loose.
George Bush and Karl Rove
Nicknamed "Bush's Brain" for his pivotal role in the president's
ascendancy to the White House, Rove was also Bush's friend of 34
years. Their friendship seems likely to stay intact, but their
14-year political partnership ended when Rove resigned in August,
the object of multiple Congressional investigations. Rove said he
was leaving to spend more time with his family. "Karl Rove is
moving on down the road," Bush said. "I'll be on the road behind
you here in a little bit."
Salman Rushdie and Padma
Lakshmi
He's 60, a Nobel-prize winning novelist, a knight and the
onetime victim of a fatwa. She's 37, a model, a cookbook author and
the host of a foodie reality show. Despite residing at opposite
ends of the cultural spectrum, the two Indian expats managed a
much-talked-about eight-year relationship. When they announced
their divorce in July, all hopes for the very special "Satanic
Verses" episode of Top Chef were dashed.
Justin Timberlake and Cameron
Diaz
During their entire, nearly four-year relationship, the former
'N Sync-er and star of There's Something About Mary endured rumors
that they were either breaking up or getting engaged. In January,
the pair finally announced the former with little fanfare. In fact,
the most dramatic moment in this split was an awkward and
much-photographed meeting on the red carpet at the Shrek the Third
premiere four months post-breakup. They kissed and lived happily
ever after — without each other.
Rosie O'Donnell and The View
Theirs was a brief, stormy, but fruitful relationship. When
O'Donnell replaced Meredith Viera on the all-gal chat show in 2006,
the outspoken comic's rants and public feuds helped spike ratings
and set The View apart from daytime TV's blander alternatives. But
too much pepper spoiled the soup. In May, O'Donnell left a month
before her contract ended and two days after an especially long and
nasty on-camera tiff with her frequent foil, conservative co-host
Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Now the stay-at-home crowd seeking
villainesses has to stick to soaps.
Joe Torre and The Yankees
After four World Series titles and 12 straight years in the
playoffs, the Yankee skipper couldn't stomach the contract that
team owner George Steinbrenner offered him in October, when the
Yankees failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs for
the third year in a row. Rather than accept a pay cut, Torre
departed for the Los Angeles Dodgers sounding wistful: "The 12
years just felt like they were 10 minutes long, to be honest with
you."
Laurie and Larry David
The curmudgeonly comic behind Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld,
and his wife, a producer of An Inconvenient Truth and other
environmental projects, called it quits in June after 14 years of
marriage and two children. Laurie had inspired the role of Larry's
tree-hugging, energy-conscious spouse on Curb played by Cheryl
Hines. On the show, Hines' character moved out this season and
Larry was bereft. In real life? "Well, after the divorce, I went
home and turned all the lights on!" Larry said.
Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson
After meeting on the 2006 set of You, Me and Dupree and dating
quietly for several months, two of Hollywood's best-loved blondes
broke up just as quietly in May. Hudson quickly moved on to yet
another shaggy funnyman, Dax Shepherd. Wilson, however, didn't
rebound so well. In August he was hospitalized in an apparent
suicide attempt. Now he seems to be in better spirits, and has been
dating a model.
Britney and Lynne Spears
One constant in Britney's chaotic life has been the presence of
her Louisianan mama, Lynne. But, along with her hair and her
dignity, Britney gave her mom the Ugg boot this year. Reportedly
ticked about being pressured into rehab in February, the singer
distanced herself from her family and delivered an upsetting letter
to Lynne in front of hordes of paparazzi in June. After Britney
lost custody of her two sons in October, her mom flew in to try and
patch things up. But by December it seemed little had changed:
Britney spent her birthday with the same date as last year, Paris
Hilton.
(Xinhua via Agencies December 14, 2007)
