Busted Romances in '06
As we prepare to ring in the new year, some of the celeb couples from 2006 will be doing it separately. This year's breakups have been some of the messiest, saddest and most shocking splits to hit La La Land.
Pam Anderson filed for divorce from husband Kid Rock just two months after their wedding, with papers being filed a few weeks after Anderson suffered a miscarriage.
Another couple that made their separation official by filing divorce papers were Chris Robinson and Kate Hudson. They announced that they were taking time apart in August when rumors swirled of an affair between Hudson and Owen Wilson. Chris ended up making it to the courthouse first.
Britney Spears won back millions of fans by ditching her deadbeat husband Kevin Federline. Britney filed for divorce in November, citing "irreconcilable differences," but most people blame K-Fed's embarrassing attempt at a rap album, bad hygiene and constant partying. The burning question -- how much dough will Federline dance away with?
Britney wasn't the only pop sensation to say "I don't" this year. Former "Newlyweds" Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey announced their split in November, 2005. The two didn't have a pre-nup. In the end, they settled out of court, and Nick walked away with a lot less from Jess, sans stress.
Next, one of the most hard-hitting, below-the-belt separations seen this year ... of course, we're referring to Pamela and David Hasselhoff. The rancorous two called it quits in January and have been mutually throat-squeezing ever since. Pamela claimed that David was abusive to her and their kids, and that he even broke her nose. Ouch. The feud rages on, and shows no sign of flickering out.
On a milder note ... after 11 years of marriage, Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora split in February. Although they parted ways in a somewhat graceful manner, things got a whole lot dirtier when their neighbors decided to call it quits as well; Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen. The friends became enemies after Denise and Richie started dating. TMZ snagged the first interview Richards gave regarding her divorce, new love, and ex-best friend Heather Locklear. Since then, things have cooled down; Denise and Charlie started to play nice, at least while in front of the kids.
Another brutal breakup last year would have to be the one between ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Papers for divorce were filed in May, and nothing has been settled. The royal ex-couple from across the pond has done a reasonably good job of steering clear of each other, except the time when Heather allegedly broke into Paul's flat.
Next on our list are two more couples that had the misfortune of having their lives and love captured and displayed as an MTV reality series. In July, Pussycat Doll Carmen Electra and bizzaro Dave Navarro experienced the wrath of the MTV curse. They were followed by Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler's split in August. Shanna and Travis have gone on to cyberbitching at each other MySpace. You gotta love the blog!
It looks like Whitney is back! Since Houston left perennial arrestee Bobby Brown in September, the diva appears to be prepping a comeback, and she's looking great. No word yet as to what the pair's plan of legal action will be, or whether their split will get fugly. Let's hope they don't get back together.
Country warbler Sara Evans filed divorce papers this past month, stating that husband Craig Schelske committed adultery, was verbally and emotionally abusive, drank excessively, and frequently watched porn. Men. Since the media frenzy over her allegations, and her subesequent choice to drop out of "Dancing With The Stars," the two have stopped firing bullets and are trying to manage a more dignified goodbye.
And last, but certainly not least, we come to the most shocking split of the year. Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe called it quits just 14 days after arriving arm in arm to the "Flags of our Fathers" screening. So far, no major blows have been thrown from either corner.
And that's the end of that!