Just this past June, rumors spread that pop star Ariana Grande and comedian Pete Davidson were engaged. After Davidson posted a photo of the engagement ring to Instagram, it was confirmed. There were tons of fans “shipping” the romance on social media, while others expressed their distaste for the engagement, arguing that it all happened too soon. And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it is completely mind-boggling to imagine what it is like having your personal life on display for the entire world.
Recently, news surfaced that the picturesque couple had split, calling off the engagement. Millions took to Twitter to voice their heartache, while others chimed in with “I told you so” posts. Media sites published articles listing all of the supposed signs that the couple was going downhill long before the engagement was broken off.
In other news, just earlier this month, the adored royal couple Prince Henry and Meghan Markle announced they are expecting a baby. The internet went absolutely bizerk after this announcement, with people already predicting the child’s name. This pair has certainly been the most obsessed over out of all celebrity couples since their wedding was televised in multiple countries this past May. The estimated audience for the wedding was up in the hundreds of millions globally.
So, why is it that we are so fascinated by celebrity couples? According to celebrity relationship therapist Audrey Hope, “It is so common to get obsessed with and wrapped up into a celebrity’s life, because they represent a fantasy of what we would like to have,” she tells E! News. She continues that because of their fame, we feel as if celebrities belong to us, as if they were our own friends or family. This would explain why we often have so much to say about celebrity relationships, whether we support them, or don’t. It is so easy to get caught up in their personal lives when they are so clearly on display. And while keeping tabs on celebrity romances can be wildly entertaining, it’s important not to get too caught up in it. Without realization, we often project their seemingly perfect relationships onto our own, which is not healthy. After all, celebrities are human. In Grande and Davidson’s case, the most perfect relationships are clearly not always how they seem. We have no real way of knowing what they are experiencing. It’s also quite likely that Harry and Meghan sometimes wish their romance wasn’t such a public spectacle.