Celebrity divorce rates are famously higher than those of the general public. But what about their friendships? While growing up in the spotlight gives stars plenty to bond over, the same circumstances that initially brought them together can sometimes lead to their fallout.
From two stars vying for the same role to arguments over befriending an industry rival, some celebrity friendships are far from stable.
In other cases, feuds aren’t industry-related at all. Instead, they’re caused by an unfortunate force that strains many friendships: people changing over time and becoming affected by habits or behaviors that previously went unnoticed or didn’t bother them as much.
Below, let’s take a look at 12 celebrity best friend duos who drifted apart over time and the reasons behind their messy breakups.
#1 Taylor Swift & Blake Lively
Taylor and Blake were extremely close friends for a decade. They were so close that Blake chose the Grammy winner as the godmother to her three daughters and directed one of her music videos, while Taylor included the children’s names in her song Betty.
The two stars became estranged earlier this year following Blake’s harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.
In his defamation countersuit, Justin claimed that Blake used Taylor’s fame to “pressure” him into accepting the actress’s rewritten version of one of the film’s scenes. Blake allegedly invited Taylor to a meeting where she presented her rewrite to him, and later referred to the singer in text messages as one of her protective “dragons.”
“If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons,” the actress allegedly wrote.
“For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You will too, I can promise you.”
Taylor and Blake haven’t been seen together since. A source close to the pop star has told TMZ that she was baffled to be called a “dragon” by her best friend and that she felt she had been “used” by Blake.
Image source: Instagram/taylorswift
#2 James Franco & Seth Rogen
The former friends met in 1999 on the set of the series Freaks and Geeks when Seth was 17 and James was 21. They went on to collaborate on multiple projects together, including Pineapple Express, This Is the End, The Interview, and The Disaster Artist.
In 2014, James told the New York Times that his friendship with Seth was so powerful that he had written poems about it.
The actors began to drift apart as James faced increasing accusations of s**ual harassment. In 2014, the Deuce actor, then 35, admitted to messaging and attempting to meet up with a 17-year-old girl.
Four years later, five students from James’ acting school, Studio 4, came forward to the LA Times, accusing the star of inappropriate or exploitative behavior. In 2019, another student alleged that James engaged in “widespread inappropriate and s**ually charged behavior toward female students.”
Seth told the Sunday Times in 2021 that the allegations had “changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic.” He also stated he didn’t plan to work with his former friend again.
Image source: Getty/Matt Winkelmeyer
#3 Winona Ryder & Gwyneth Paltrow
Winona and Gwyneth were best friends in the ’90s and even lived together for some time. Their then-boyfriends, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, were also inseparable, so the four actors were often seen having fun together at public events.
Their falling out is believed to have stemmed from a professional battle for a lead role: Viola de Lesseps in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love.
Winona reportedly received the script first and was a strong contender for the role. However, once Gwyneth read it, she fell in love with the character and allegedly contacted her agent to secure an audition.
In the end, the film went on to receive ravishing reviews and won an Oscar for Best Picture. It also earned Gwyneth her first Oscar for Best Actress.
By 2000, the actresses were no longer pictured together.
Gwyneth addressed the incident during an interview with Howard Stern in 2015, where she insisted that the script-stealing story was an “urban myth.” When Howard asked if Winona believed her version, the Goop founder replied, “I haven’t seen her in years.”
Image source: Getty/Jeff Kravitz
#4 Demi Lovato & Selena Gomez
Demi and Selena first met on the set of Barney & Friends when they were 7 years old.
As teenagers, their friendship grew closer as they both found global fame as Disney Channel stars. In 2009, they co-starred in the 2009 Disney movie Princess Protection Program and sang a song titled One and the Same for the film.
Selena once told People magazine that she and Demi “did everything together.”
Things began to change in 2010 when Selena got closer to Taylor Swift. When the Confident singer was asked by a fan how her friendship with Selena was going, she responded dramatically, “Ask Taylor.”
Selena and Taylor remain close friends. Taylor recently attended Selena’s wedding, while Demi seemingly was not invited.
In 2014, Selena appeared to confirm speculation that her friendship with Demi had become strained because she wasn’t there for her while she was struggling with an eating disorder. “She was going through things, and I was so young, and it was confusing,” she said.
Though the two later praised each other for their achievements, Demi told Harper’s Bazaar in 2020 that she’s no longer friends with Selena.
Image source: Getty/Donato Sardella
#5 Kim Kardashian & Paris Hilton
Kim and Paris’ off-again-on-again friendship has continued to make headlines for years. The two grew up in Los Angeles and became friends in preschool. Later on, Kim, who had a closet-organizing business, worked for the Hilton socialite.
However, after the Skims founder’s career took off following the release of her adult tape with Ray J and the reality show Keeping up With the Kardashians in 2007, the stars drifted apart.
In 2008, Paris dissed Kim during a radio interview, saying, “I would not want [Kim’s bottom] – it’s gross!” and said her derriere reminded her of “cottage cheese inside a big trash bag.”
Though the blonde superstar later apologized for her remarks, Kim confirmed in 2011 that she and Paris didn’t talk and had “grown apart.”
The pair reunited at Kris Jenner’s Christmas Eve party in 2016, where they posed for a photo together. They now appear to be on good terms, with Paris modeling for Kim’s shapewear brand in 2020 and Kim attending Paris’ wedding to Carter Reum the following year.
Image source: Getty/Christopher Polk
#6 Kanye West & Jay-Z
The former collaborators began a working relationship in 2000. In 2011, they released a joint album, Watch the Throne, which featured hits like Otis, Lift Off, N***s in Paris, and No Church In the Wild. They later hit the road together on their Watch the Throne Tour.
During a performance in 2016, the Yeezy founder blasted Jay-Z because their children hadn’t had a playdate. He also slammed the Big Pimpin’ rapper for not checking on him and his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, after she was robbed in Paris.
“Don’t call me after the robbery and say, ‘How you feelin’?’ You wanna know how I’m feelin’? Come by the house … Bring the kids by the house like we brothers … Our kids ain’t never even played together,” he said on stage.
At the time, Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Kareem Burke told Page Six that Jay-Z was “shocked to hear what Kanye said onstage.” He also said Jay-Z “missed the old Kanye.”
During a 2017 interview with the New York Times, Jay-Z revealed that he and Ye had spoken again and that there was “genuine love” between the artists, referring to Ye as a “brother.”
But things took another turn this year when, during a rant on X/Twitter, the Gold Digger rapper unexpectedly attacked Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s youngest children, Sir and Rumi, and questioned their mental capacities. Jay-Z has not publicly addressed the tweet.
Image source: Getty/Patrick McMullan
#7 Taylor Swift & Karlie Kloss
It’s safe to say there’s still bad blood between Taylor and her former friend, Victoria’s Secret model Karlie Kloss.
Their friendship began in 2012. The two quickly became inseparable, going on road trips together, hanging out at the Met Gala, and even gracing the cover of Vogue together.
They also attended Coachella and at one point, one of Taylor’s representatives had to shut down a false conspiracy theory that the duo was secretly dating.
In 2016, Karlie called Taylor her “ride or die” in a birthday post, adding, “I feel blessed to count you as my friend, sister, and partner in crime.”
But over time, things turned sour. Tensions reportedly stemmed from the supermodel siding with Katy Perry during Taylor’s feud with the Firework singer, as well as Karlie appearing in photos with Scooter Braun and Kim Kardashian.
Taylor didn’t attend Karlie’s wedding in 2018. Three years later, she appears to have referenced the feud in her song It’s Time to Go, where she sings, “When the words of a sister come back in whispers/That prove she was not in fact what she seemed/Not a twin from your dreams/She’s a crook who was caught.”
Image source: Getty/James Devaney
#8 Anderson Cooper & Kathy Griffin
Anderson and Kathy were as thick as thieves for two decades and hosted the NYE festivities for 10 years.
In 2017, after Donald Trump won his first election, Kathy posted a photoshoot of herself featuring a gory mask of the president designed to look beheaded. The post cost the comedian both her job at CNN and her friendship with Anderson.
Kathy later took down the post and admitted that she had gone too far, saying on X/Twitter, “I beg for your forgiveness.”
Anderson condemned Kathy’s behavior, saying he was “appalled” by the photoshoot, which he called “disgusting and completely inappropriate.”
That same year, he told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that he wished Kathy the best and hoped she “bounced back” after the scandal.
In 2021, during an interview with Bill Maher, Kathy clarified that she and Anderson were no longer friends. Asked if she would like to be friends with him again, she said, “Sure. Of course. I don’t know that he’s interested. But I mean, you know, I also don’t have a need to hang out with people that maybe weren’t so kosher.”
Image source: Getty/Taylor Hill
#9 Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie
Paris and Nicole famously appeared together on the reality show The Simple Life between 2003 to 2007, which followed the two socialites as they struggled to do jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, and serving meals in fast-food restaurants.
The duo was also known for partying together at numerous popular nightclubs in Hollywood, so it makes sense that their falling out reportedly occurred at the venues they frequented most.
Rumors suggest they had a falling out in 2005 after Nicole allegedly screened Paris’ intimate video during a party celebrating the Hilton heiress hosting SNL.
“It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends. Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it,” Paris said at the time regarding their relationship. Meanwhile, Nicole claimed she and Paris simply “grew apart.”
The feud didn’t last long. In 2006, the pair were pictured enjoying dinner together at a restaurant in Los Angeles. They remain friends today and reminisced about their party days earlier this year on an episode of the podcast Call Her Daddy.
Image source: Apple TV+
#10 Jennifer Aniston & Chelsea Handler
The dynamic duo met on Chelsea Lately in 2009 and went “from not knowing each other to being together 24/7,” an insider told The Daily Mail. According to the source, a rift between the stars was perhaps “inevitable.”
Jennifer allegedly began to take issue with Chelsea bringing up her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, in interviews.
She was also reportedly uncomfortable with the former E! host going too far in bashing Angelina Jolie. “When it got to the point that Chelsea was openly commenting on Jolie without a filter, Aniston had to pull back a little,” an insider told RadarOnline.
“Jen values her independence and never wanted anybody to fight battles she could easily fight herself.”
Additionally, the Daily Mail source claimed that Chelsea “seemed willing to do anything to be a star, and Jennifer was already a big name, so of course there were hints of jealousy.”
Image source: Getty/Ari Perilstein
#11 Madonna & Gwyneth Paltrow
Madonna and Gwyneth were often seen together in London when they were living in the UK with their former husbands, Guy Ritchie and Chris Martin.
In 2008, Gwyneth credited the Queen of Pop for helping her overcome postpartum depression. She also praised the singer for raising “polite, sweet, and kind” children.
According to a Gwyneth: The Biography by Amy Odell, the A-listers had a falling out after Madonna showed up to an island where Gwyneth and Chris Martin were vacationing.
During that trip, their friendship reportedly reached a “breaking point.”
“Madonna insisted Gwyneth and Martin join her for a big group dinner at a long table where Madonna went off on her daughter, Lourdes,” the author wrote.
“Gwyneth and Martin were disgusted by the behavior. ‘I can’t be around this woman any more,’ Martin told Gwyneth. ‘She’s awful.’ Gwyneth agreed that Madonna was toxic and ended the friendship.”
The incident allegedly occurred “a few years” after the Goop founder gave birth to her son Moses in 2006.
In a 2010 interview with British Vogue, Gwyneth expressed relief that Madonna had stopped working with their personal trainer, Tracy Anderson, saying, “Yeah, it’s good that [Tracy] doesn’t train Madonna anymore. It was too much. She keeps people waiting—it takes up your whole day.”
Image source: Getty/Kevin Mazur
#12 Lauren Conrad & Heidi Montag
Lauren and Heidi appeared together on the MTV reality show The Hills during the 2000s, which focused on the lives of young women and men in Los Angeles.
The two parted ways after Heidi was introduced to her now-husband, Spencer Pratt, in 2006.
Lauren reportedly disapproved of the relationship, warning Heidi that he was a “sucky person.” Heidi even claimed that her friend threatened to get her off the show if she continued dating him.
In 2007, Heidi moved out of her shared apartment with Lauren and into one with Spencer. That same year, Spencer spread a rumor that Lauren had made an intimate tape with her ex-boyfriend, Jason Wahler.
When she met with Heidi to talk, Lauren delivered the now-iconic line, “I wanna forgive you, and I wanna forget you.”
Lauren officially left The Hills after Season 5, and Kristin Cavallari replaced her as the main cast member. Heidi, along with her husband Spencer, continued on the show into Season 6.
Image source: Getty/Mat Szwajkos
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