In the world of celebrity culture, as sure as night follows day, every year brings high and low profile divorces. The only shock for a lot of people is that some seem to last beyond a couple of years such is the superficial nature of Hollywood and the reactionary way in which big names marry and then divorce. This isn’t always the case, sometimes even couples you might think are destined to stay together come to an end

1. Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson

The most high-profile divorce of the year was also mired in a wider legal issue. Lawson ‘ a TV chef and daughter of a former British Chancellor of the Exchequer ‘ went to court to hear the case of two former assistants who had been accused of fraud. A simple enough case except that the pair on trial dragged the marriage through the mud and offered up photos of Saatchi grabbing his wife by the throat. Allegations of drug use muddied the trial and in the fracas, the two divorced ‘ Saatchi cited that Lawson had refused to defend him

2. Rutina Wesley and Jacob Fishel

The star of True Blood and his wife separated in 2013 with Wesley citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. They had been married eight years ‘ seemingly a lifetime in Hollywood marriage terms. They met at a prestigious acting school long before either of them was famous and certainly before she became a household name due to her appearance on the successful vampire show. Fishel had never made it big, having small parts in little-known films

3. Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr

As one of the world’s most beautiful couples, they had never sought to thrust themselves too far into the limelight despite him being a successful actor of the last ten years and her being a successful model. From the outside the couple seemed quite happy and the public image that they now present is one of friends. They have a daughter together and are keeping it amicable for the sake of their child. They are still seen out together on occasion

4. Peter Facinelli and Jennie Garth

Here we have another couple electing to remain friends despite their divorce in the year. It is not difficult to understand why considering they have three daughters ‘ aged 16, 11 and 9 when Facinelli is the father of all three. Soon after the divorce, both began dating other people and the state of affairs presently remains amicable. They were married for eleven years ‘ a length of time almost unheard of in Hollywood. It might also go down in history as the most amicable as the pair keep a joint account dedicated to the care and education of their children

5. Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian

The 72 day marriage which took place in 2011 was not actually concluded until June 2013 when it went to the courts and a judge finally and legally dissolved the marriage. Their engagement was also very brief ‘ some 90 days in total. Kardashian was concerned about still being legally married when she gave birth to her child ‘ the father of whom is hip-hop star Kanye West. The new couple got engaged in October several months after the birth of their first child.

6. Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie

An actress and a former NHL star almost seems like the sort of thing that a Hilary Duff rom-com is made of and when they married just three years previously, they seemed relatively happy. Both cited that though they still have a great deal of affection, the romance had gone for good ‘ they simply drifted apart. Duff reportedly consulted a psychic about whether it was worth sticking with it ‘ the psychic had previously told Duff not to marry him in the first place

7. Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom

The Kardashians are keeping up with each other in the divorce stakes. Younger sister Khloe married the basketball star in 2009 but that came to an end in 2013 when it came to light that not only had Odom had a number of affairs, but that he continued to struggle with cocaine addiction. Khloe had felt quite attached to their formal marital home and had struggled with the emotional break of selling the house. The sale completed a few months later

8. Ashley Judd and Dario Franchitti

The surprise divorce of the year came early on when the actress Judd separated from her racing husband. They married in 2001 after a two-year engagement and have several children together. The pair is on good terms ‘ agreeing that their family comes first – and Judd even rushed to his side in the summer when he was involved in a crash while racing and broke several bones. Reconciliation seemed on the cards shortly after the accident but they filed for divorce instead

9. Richard Gere and Carey Lowell

Another lengthy marriage came to an end in 2013 when actor Richard Gere and wife Carey Lowell finally ended their 11 year marriage ‘ they had been together for seven years before tying the knot. The pair agreed that they had grown apart in recent years due to different lifestyles. Gere, 64 has focussed on ecological issues and AIDS awareness in recent years where it seems that Lowell, 52, wanted to continue the Hollywood party lifestyle. They had one child together- a 13 year old son named Homer James.

10. Monica Belluci and Vincent Cassel

The darlings of European cinema who starred in Irreversible and Brotherhood of the Wolf together was one acting couple that few thought would get divorced ‘ especially after 18 years of marriage. The shock announcement came towards the end of the year and Belluci quickly went on record in Vanity Fair ‘ a magazine that featured her many times ‘ to declare that they still have a great deal of affection for each other; it remains amicable for their daughters

Conclusion

The more cynical amongst us might think that high-profile divorces are all over the media because the separating couple want to hog the limelight just a little longer ‘ certainly there might be some truth in that as couples seem to first declare their affection or that they would make it easy ‘for the children’ only for the recriminations to begin within a matter of weeks. As the list above shows, it isn’t just the snap weddings that end in divorce