What went wrong? Mr. Spears? Mr. Witherspoon?

Til death do us part, as long as you aren't more famous than me!

With the totally predictable split up of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline right after the unfortunate news of Reese Witherspoon's break up with Ryan Phillippe, one has to ponder why it is that famous couples only last as long as SHE doesn't get TOO famous.


Is it a coincidence that SIX of the past TEN Best Actress Oscar winners are no longer with the husband or boyfriend they were involved with BEFORE they won the award?

Hard to believe?

In 2002 Nicole Kidman won the Oscar for Best Actress for "The Others." She was also named E!'s Celebrity of the Year 2001 and named Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of The Year for 2001. What was Tom's claim to fame in 2001? "Vanilla Sky." Not that "Vanilla Sky" was anything to brag about. Hasta La Vista, Tommy. He left her.







Hilary Swank won the Oscar in 2005 for "Million Dollar Baby." Life Goes On solo for Chad Lowe.









Halle Berry won for "Monster's Ball" in 2002. The union with musician Eric Benet soon went south.






Other famous couples with dominant female fame (at the time of the break-up) include:


Renee Zellweger/Kenny Chesney
Whitney Houston/Bobby Brown
Lucile Ball/Desi Arnaz
Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt
Elizabeth Taylor/Everyone (John Warner, for example)

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban haven't split up, but he is already in re-hab just months after signing a pre-nup that included a clause about substance abuse and excessive drinking.

The staying power of equally famous couples remains to be seen. There's the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill relationship. They have ups and downs that seem to coincide directly with their careers.



Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie seem to be equally famous at the moment, but that is mostly due to eachother and you better believe that if her career starts leap-frogging his, all bets are off.



I think Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue set a good example after 26 years of marriage.




Granted, there ARE some exceptions to the female-dominant rule:


Kelly Ripa/Mark Consuelos

Barbara Streisand/James Brolin

Sarah Jessica Parker/Matthew Broderick

Uh... anyone? anyone?



Several famous women have had long marriages...as long as they are married to people who are not seeking the spotlight themselves. ie. Dolly Parton, married since 1966.

There are plenty of power couples who seem to go the distance, but the man is almost ALWAYS the superstar:

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

John Travolta and Kelly Preston

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward


Allegedly, Ryan Phillippe hooked up with a lesser-known and less attractive woman, as did Christie Brinkley's husband. Perhaps they are trying to recover that part of their ego that says they are the secondary player in their partnership. Hmmm.