“I found out on the internet that I wasn’t getting married anymore, at the same time as the rest of the world.”
When a marriage or relationship comes to an end, it’s always a difficult situation, especially for celebrities who spend their lives in the spotlight. For famous former couples, sometimes their breakup makes headlines before they can tell their friends and family — and sometimes it makes headlines before they can even tell each other! In fact, some stars say they didn’t find out their ex filed the divorce papers until it hit the news. While it must come as a shock to find out about your divorce from the internet, it’s definitely a sign that it was time to end things for good.
Here’s what these stars had to say about being caught unawares…
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1. Jenny Garth
Jennie Garth married her husband Dave Abrams in 2015, just a year after they first met on a blind date. “Looking back,” says Jennie the couple “rushed” the relationship, and Dave didn’t know how to deal with it “when the going got tough”. Ultimately, Dave decided to file for divorce but apparently didn’t tell Jennie. She says she heard the news from TMZ – which eventually served as inspiration for a storyline on BH90210.
“I found out he filed for divorce on TMZ,” Jennie said People. “That was a big thing for me. So we used it on the show because why not use the things that hurt us the most and then take the power out of them and make them fun.”
The couple eventually reconciled their relationship.
2. Naya Rivera
In the late Naya Rivera’s memoir, Sorry Not Sorry, she wrote that she found out about the end of her engagement to Big Sean on the internet. Looking back on the experience, Naya explained that she and the rapper had a fight and when he returned to LA, she allegedly caught him hanging out with another woman. Instead of ending things personally, Naya says Big Sean had a publicist make a statement.
“So I found out on the internet that I wasn’t getting married anymore, at the same time as the rest of the world. Not only did we stop marrying, but apparently we weren’t together anymore,” Naya wrote.
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3. Kris Humphries
When Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kris Humphries after 72 days of marriage, he reportedly didn’t know it was going to happen until it made headlines. At the time, Kris said he was “devastated” when he found out about the divorce and wanted to make sure everything worked out.
“I love my wife and am devastated to learn that she has filed for divorce. I am committed to this marriage and all that this covenant represents. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it work,” he said in a statement TMZ.
4. Alice Evans
The end of Alice Evans’ relationship with her ex-husband Ioan Gruffudd was incredibly dramatic – and much of it was broadcast online. When news of their split broke and Ioan introduced his new girlfriend, Alice sent out a series of heartbreaking tweets. In her posts, she admitted the couple had marital problems for years and she believed Ioan was secretly having an affair.
While explaining the situation, Alice shared that Ioan did indeed move out in early 2021, but told her kids there was a chance the couple “wouldn’t get a divorce.” He finally filed for divorce just a few weeks later, which Alice says was incredibly difficult.
“He moved out in January of this year and I only found out he had filed for divorce a few weeks later when I read about it on a gossip website. What a gullible idiot I’ve been! I felt like I was in a windowless room.” and couldn’t breathe,” Alice wrote.
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5. Drake Bell
Drake Bell and his estranged wife Janet Von Schmeling may have split in 2022, but their divorce still came as a surprise to the actor. In April 2023, just a week after Drake was briefly reported missing, Janet filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. After the news, Drake took to social media and claimed he didn’t know it was going to happen.
“I found out my wife filed for divorce on TMZ,” he wrote a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter).
6. Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin says she found out through an online email that her ex-husband Todd was planning to divorce her. At the time, the couple was in counseling, but she said she found out Todd had hired a lawyer with intentions of separating.
“I found out from an email from a lawyer that she was hired and that was June 19th, I’ll never forget it,” she said in one interview with Christian author James Dobson. “It was devastating. I thought I was shot… Aside from the death of a child, I don’t know what else could be.” [painful].”
The couple continued to work on their marriage, but Todd finally filed the proposal in September, just after the couple’s 31st wedding anniversary.
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7. Debbie Matenopoulos
When Debbie Matenopoulos’ husband Jay Faires, music executive, filed for divorce after seven years of marriage, she said she had no part in the decision. In a statement, the television personality said she was “extremely saddened” by the breakup of their relationship – and found this out from online reports.
“I am not a proponent of divorce and I believe things will be worked out. So you can imagine my extreme sadness and disillusionment when, just like you, I was informed of my husband’s divorce proceedings by reading it online,” she said said in a statement.
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