From celebrities to business partners, who went their separate ways this year?
From couples to business partners, lots of breakups shifted the rumour mill into overdrive this year. Expected or shocking, amicable or acrimonious, here are some of the biggest breakups of 2018.
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From couples to business partners and friends, there were lots of breakups which shifted the rumour mill into overdrive this year.
Some were obviously in the works for a long time. while others had everyone shocked and scratching their heads.
Amicable or filled with snarky comments, public or very private, here are some of the biggest breakups of 2018.
EMMA WATKINS AND LACHLAN GILLESPIE
After keeping their split a secret for several months, the Yellow Wiggle and the Purple Wiggle confirmed they were no longer husband and wife in September, after she decided to end the relationship.
“It has been a weird time for us. I think we just realised that we were meant to be best friends,” Watkins said.
“I wanted to make the decision to separate … I am very independent and my mum keeps telling me that no one is going to be able to tell me what to do.”
They continue to work together entertaining the next generation.
“We are not really cranky at each other, we just realised that our situation had changed — probably more from me than from him,” Watkins said.
“We live separately but we see each other every single day.
JUSTIN HEMMES AND KATE FOWLER
Together for four years, the hotel magnate and his partner, who have two young children, continue to share a home in a modern separation.
The pair met in 2014 in Europe, but never married.
While it is unclear when they officially split, they were last seen in public together at the Harper’s Bazaar 20th Anniversary celebration in February.
JACKIE ‘O’ HENDERSON AND LEE HENDERSON
After 18 years together the KISS FM and her English husband quietly parted ways.
The queen of Sydney radio reassured her listeners she was coping well, and said the couple were focused on looking after their seven-year-old daughter Kitty.
“Our focus for this next chapter is, of course, our wonderful daughter and continuing to provide her love and happiness, together,” she said.
MADELEINE WEST AND SHANNON BENNETT
After having six kids together, the actor and the TV chef confirmed their split after months of speculation.
“We’re not currently together. We’re striving to reconnect as friends and parents, but who knows what the future holds,” West told News Corp’s Stellar.
“As a family we’ll continue to split our time between Melbourne and Byron Bay.”
EVERY MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT COUPLE
While the dating show provided endless jaw-dropping moments and many hours of water cooler gossip, the experts failed to create any perfect matches this year.
One by one, the couples created by the show’s experts, and the ones the participants made through wife swapping, announced that they had split.
While most have returned to their normal lives, some of the more fame-hungry personalities are still lurking around C List parties.
KEIRA MAGUIRE AND JARROD WOODGATE
The unlikely pair met on Bachelor in Paradise and instantly fell head over heels for one another.
Shortly after Maguire moved from Sydney to Melbourne for love, they broke up.
Tensions exploded when Maguire opened up about how Woodgate ended things via text message.
“When I moved to Melbourne to live with him I made a lot of sacrifices and he made none,” she said. “I moved in with his whole family.
“We were originally meant to live together then find a place of our own … when it came time he said no.
“He would spend more time with his mum than with me.
“I 100 per cent regret moving for him.”
ROXY AND THE BETTYS
PR business owner Roxy Jacenko had a crazy personal life in the past few years, but it was her Paddington offices where some the big changes occurred in 2018.
Several of the long-serving employees of her company Sweaty Betty — who she’s publicly called friends and family — are no longer working for their controversial boss.
Roxy’s right-hand girl Holly Asser made a shock departure from the business, understood to have resigned when Jacenko was on one of her many holidays.
Gemma Oldfield, Holly Brooke and Theana Spartalis were among the loyal Roxy girls who have disappeared from the offices — and the well-curated Instagram posts.
JEN HAWKINS AND MYER
Myer no longer has a face. After an alliance which had spanned 12 years, Hawkins and the retail giant decided it was time to end their partnership.
After a farewell tour which included in-store appearances and the Melbourne Cup carnival, Hawkins hang up her designer heels in November.
“It is definitely the right time. It is not a flippant decision. I feel like I have experienced and done everything I can do with Myer. It is nice to step forward into a new chapter,” Hawkins said.
She is now focusing on her own brands including J Bronze, Cozi and Sesion.
TEGAN MARTIN AND SYDNEY
The former beauty queen’s days as a regular on the red carpets in the Harbour City are over.
Martin recently moved to Melbourne with her partner, personal trainer Blake Worrall Thompson.
Raised in Newcastle, Martin said a change of scenery had been on the cards for the “free-spirited” couple for a while, but a job offer for Worrall Thompson and an expired house lease pushed the pair to take the plunge and move south.
ELLE FERGUSON AND TASH SEFTON
The pair, who have made millions out of their mutually beneficial relationship, were once regular fixtures on the Sydney social scene, however they haven’t been seen together since last year, or posted on social media together since their last sponsored post for nail polish brand OPI in April.
EMILY SEEBOHM AND MITCH LARKIN
The Australian swim team’s golden couple shocked the nation when they announced their split.
The situation quickly turned nasty, with subtle allegations and dirty laundry flying around.
The nation was captivated, eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the fallout.
Larkin moved out of the Brisbane home the pair shared, and it is understood they are not on speaking terms.
THE BACHELOR AND AUSTRALIA
Everyone’s heart was broken when The Bachelor didn’t end in a happily ever after.
Despite the ups-and-downs of the previous seasons, the show has always delivered a warm and fuzzy moment at the end — even if it didn’t last long.
So when Nick “The Honey Badger” Cummins decided to dump both ladies on the finale, viewers were not happy.
The impact was evident when The Bachelorette began airing weeks later and the audience numbers were much lower than ever seen before.
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