It’s safe to say that Brangelina was the paradigm of celebrity relationships. The world fell in love with everything about this Hollywood power couple, from their collective attractiveness to their oh-so-adorable family of eight. Thus, when news of the couple’s divorce was first released, all hell broke lose. We’d been watching their love story develop and flourish over the past decade – its sudden collapse was jarring, confusing and upsetting.
They were what seemed to be the perfect couple – the definition of #relationshipgoals. And yet they still fell apart. Which leaves many people asking: what does Brangelina’s divorce say about the direction in which modern love is headed? In other words, what does it mean for the rest of us normal people?
Despite what die-hard Brangelina devotees may say, the answer is likely as simple as this: nothing. Brad and Angelina’s divorce says nothing about 21st-century romance. Why? Because Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are celebrities – ridiculously wealthy, limelight-loving celebrities. We simply can’t compare our own relationships to those of Hollywood’s biggest brightest stars.
And yet, we participate in this type of comparison all the time. We can’t help but obsess over celebrity couples; they provide us with a concrete image of what an ideal love looks like. They are the types of dreamy, picture-perfect romances that we strive to replicate in our own lives. It is this exact kind of mentality that allows the tabloid/gossip magazine industry to thrive. Additionally, with phone apps like Instagram and Snapchat, “stalking” our favorite celebrity couples has become easier than ever. Social media eliminates the distance between us and these couples, making their romances seem more accessible – and even more attainable – than they actually are.
What we should remember is that famous actors, musicians and artists have to face obstacles that simply don’t exist in the average person’s world. For starters, long bouts of separation for work-related reasons naturally drive people apart. Additionally, with millions of people spectating from the sidelines, the pressure to speed up the pace of the romance is always omnipresent in a star-studded relationship. Celebrities constantly have to prove themselves in order to remain relevant, both on and off the screen. If the romance isn’t exciting, people lose interest. Thus, it is easy to see how things can quickly become contrived in a celebrity relationship. So the next time you want to hate on Taylor Swift for breaking up with the 17th guy this year, consider cutting her some slack. Like us, celebrities are far from perfect – Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie included. When examining your own love life, it is important to avoid comparing yourself to Hollywood’s biggest and brightest. Instead, create your own set of standards. Brangelina may be dead, but love itself certainly isn’t. Good luck, ladies!