With three more months left of 2023, celebrity breakups seem to be a big topic of the year. From Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn’s six-year relationship, to Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness’ 27-year marriage ending, there have been so many unexpected splits. Here are some splits that have personally stuck out to me.

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee

What makes this breakup so shocking is not only the fact that they seemed so perfect together, but also that they have been together since 1995 and married for 27 years — longer than so many couples in Hollywood last! But on the bright side, at least we can say they seemed to have ended amicably. The couple shared a joint statement with PEOPLE, stating, “We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez

Personally, I think this is the messiest breakup of the year. For context, Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez tied the knot in May 2021 after months of dating. However, in July, it was announced that not only were Grande and Gomez heading for divorce, but Grande was already rumored to be dating her “Wicked” costar, Ethan Slater. As if things could not be any messier, Slater was freshly separated from his high-school sweetheart-turned-wife, Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a child. And to make matters worse, Jay broke her silence to an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, slamming Grande — “[Grande’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay told the outlet. “My family is just collateral damage.” Given the shocking amount of breakups this year, I’m not surprised. But as a huge Arianator myself, I am in shambles. I’m also being dramatic.

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn

I’m going to sound like everyone else when I say I’ve been a “die-hard” Swiftie since I was a little girl, so this split felt a little too personal. Taylor Swift wrote several albums about him — not only did she and Joe Alwyn write several songs together on “folklore,” “evermore” and “Midnights,” this was her longest-known relationship. Given Swift is one of the biggest pop stars right now, with her Eras Tour predicted to make billions of dollars, along with her large and die-hard fan base (shoutout Bing Swifties), it’s safe to say this was one of the biggest.

But they’re celebrities … Who cares?

Let’s be real — at the end of the day, we are gossiping about people who probably don’t even know we personally exist. Playing devil’s advocate, why do people even care about what goes on in a celebrity’s personal life?

The truth is, celebrities are famous for a reason — they have impact. Some of these celebrities are our role models, have given us our favorite comfort movies and have made us feel seen with their music. I don’t think there’s anything weird about caring about celebrities who have touched your life. It may be true that celebrities break up all the time, but what makes this year stand out is how shocking so many of them were. In addition to the ones I’ve addressed, there’s Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello, Britney Spears and Sam Asghari … The list goes on, with some happening right after the other. With so many divorces with celebrities being both public and messy, it explains how there could be so much coverage in the media.

So what do you think?

Celebrities breaking up has always been shocking — couples who have been together for years, decades, even some starting families together. But the truth is, breakups happen every day and to everybody, famous or not. Celebrities just have it harder because they’re in the spotlight. But just because so many split doesn’t mean they all do. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have been together for 35 years and are still going strong. There’s Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, RuPaul and Georges LeBar and personally, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds still make me believe in love. I believe that just because divorce seems so normalized in pop culture doesn’t mean marriage and love will never work. So often, we tend to focus on the negatives and get so caught up in social media, but the truth is, social media isn’t real life. There are couples who have been married for decades, dating for years, people together since they were young. When we look around, maybe, just maybe, the love we want is right ahead of us.

Samantha Tom is a freshman majoring in English.