Nicolandria Is (Reportedly) Over. Why Do We Care So Much About Celebrity Breakups?
Love is dead. Or so it feels for many fans after celebrity couples announce their breakups. Love Island Season 7 stars Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe have broken up after a year of dating, PEOPLE exclusively reports. The popular couple “decided to part ways” as, the PEOPLE source claims, “the distance between them and their busy schedules made it challenging to maintain their connection.” The source continues: “They still remain close friends. They share a deep love and respect for each other and will always support one another whenever possible.”
2026 has also ushered in other high profile celebrity breakups, like Margaret Qualley and Jack Antonoff (a Qualley source told PEOPLE that the couple is “figuring things out” amid the split), Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater (she has since reconnected with her ex, Ricky Alvarez), Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe (lesbians around the world were devastated) and Megan Thee Stallion and Klay Thompson, just to name a few. Each of these breakups made headlines (for various reasons) and caused our timelines to speculate, rage, mourn, or all three. It’s natural to be upset when a couple you think you know — or one you were simply rooting hard for — breaks up. When it comes to Nic and Olandria, they have a very specific microscope on their relationship, and the amount of parasocial obsession with their love story seemed to reach heights the internet had never seen. There are the “contract is up!” people who think they were never really dating in the first place, the “love is dead!” camp who pinned all their romantic hopes on the duo, and the “I don’t believe it” folks who are living in denial that PEOPLE magazine is a celeb-friendly source often used by publicists as an unofficial “official” way to get news to the public. It’s safe to say that Nicolandria is done. What’s clear for sure is that everyone has an opinion, and people really care about celebrity breakups.
In 2023, after the breakup of Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara, Alicia Vrajlal wrote for Refinery29 that, “Admittedly, I’m one of [the people who mourn celeb breakups]. Like many fans, I was devastated when I heard the news and overwhelmed with a sense of sorrow and disbelief. It can’t be true. Everything seemed to be going so well. I almost wanted to cry. “
But in a world where Hollywood splits are so common, and celebrity worship is becoming at once more intense than ever and more scrutinized, why do we care so much about the relationship breakdowns of famous people we’ve never met?
‘Relationship goals’ is a term often thrown around when it comes to celebrities, because they tend to publicly portray the ideal or fantasy of what a relationship looks like or can aspire to be. But our understanding of #RelationshipGoals has shifted. In 2021, we wrote that, “Not only do #RelationshipGoals fetishize an image that’s curated and not real, they also glorify a type of love that prioritizes staying together (aka building a brand) over anything else.” When we look at stars and project them to be attractive yet down-to-earth, and have busy careers but still find time for dates and cute grocery trips together, we are inadvertently creating the idea that their romance can survive the odds, no matter what. In reality, everything ends, and we don’t know these people. That said, it’s natural to be curious and to care.
When couples you look up to split up, it kind of gives you a ‘romance and love are dead’ feeling, which sucks.
nina, 23
“Many of us are interested in celebrities and other public figures and are naturally curious about their lives,” psychologist Dr Marny Lishman tells Refinery29. “At some level, their lives are so unattainable and almost fantasy-like to us, but at another level, many of the same trials and tribulations they endure are not unlike our own.”
It’s because of this that we live vicariously through them when we’re single, and unconsciously strive for the relationship success they have when we’re in a relationship of our own. With that being said, it only makes sense that when a celebrity couple calls it quits, we too feel a sudden loss. We are worried about the Nicolandria hive.
In 2023, Nina, 23, said she felt this loss when Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa broke up in January 2022. At the time, when Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal (who is now dating Gracie Abrams) called time on their romance, Nina was also shook.
“While I definitely don’t get upset about all the famous breakups, these ones truly made me sad,” she tells Refinery29, explaining she was inspired by certain aspects of each couple’s relationships.
“When couples you look up to split up, it kind of gives you a ‘romance and love are dead’ feeling, which sucks. They gave the impression that even relationships with barriers — age differences, dealing with so much fame and gossip or personal drama — stood a chance.”
Lishman explains that we’re often only exposed to one version of reality when it comes to celebrity relationships. This makes our disbelief that much stronger when the romances collapse.
“We idolize their relationships too as we idolize the celebrity, so when the ‘seemingly perfect’ relationship ends, we grieve for the ending of what we perceived as perfection,” says Lishman.
“We see a fairly edited version of reality, so it’s hard to understand why a seemingly perfect relationship would end. At times we are shocked because it ‘looked’ so good.”
Nina agrees, saying that she has “put celebrity couples on a pedestal” in the past, looking to them for “inspiration and confirmation of romance in the world.” So when it all comes crumbling down, it’s a bit of a reality check.
“When they break up, it’s just a sad reminder that no one is immune to the realities and difficulties of love and commitment,” she says.
Lishman explains that this realization is very normal. While it’s hard for many of us to process the news when a seemingly perfect celeb couple breaks up, we know that to some degree (without the fame and fortune), they are just like us.
Social media has only exacerbated our passionate responses to celebrity splits… how can we not get deeply invested in their blossoming romances?
“They are complex, imperfect creatures that go through highs and lows in life, just like we do. They lose love, they break up, they grieve, they get rejected — just like the rest of us.”
Social media has only exacerbated our passionate responses to celebrity splits. In a time when we watch so many celebrities carefully curate their TikToks with ‘relatable’ couple vids, or flirt up a storm in the comments section, how can we not get deeply invested in their blossoming romances?
“Social media allows us to connect more with them [celebrities], and also be more informed about what’s going in their lives. It gives us more information than traditional media, so we seem to be more invested,” says Lishman.
We’re also seeing more celebrities who find love on a reality TV dating shows (like Nic and Olandria) or on the set of a film, which makes us feel like we’ve been on the journey with them — from the first date to the breakup announcement post on Instagram. And in some cases (like Love Island couples), we actually have. No matter how hard you felt it when High School Musical stars Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens split in 2010, we weren’t privy to watching their entire love story play out on camera. Sure, we watched the young love blossom from HSM 1 to 3, and it’s hard not to recall their affection and red carpet cuteness fondly, it’s a whole different beast when a couple’s first kiss and every flirtation is caught on camera. That’s why we’re in the depths of people being extremely not normal about celebrity breakups (just look at how some Swifties still talk about Joe Alwyn). For the celebs, navigating the public scrutiny also seems to be tougher than ever.
Olandria just had to clap back at unverified gossip platform, DeuxMoi, for circulating a rumor that she’s been hooking up with Travis Scott. Olandria denied this claim and commented, “I hope you have your lawyers ready bc I have mine.” According to Cosmo, Olandria’s comment has been deleted or hidden from the public. DeuxMoi confirmed in a pinned comment, “Update: Olandria denied(?) this rumor but blocked this account so her comment, which was pinned was not showing it was from her.”
As the likes of Nic, Olandria, and other celebs, continue to navigate their respective breakups, there will always be fans who are still rooting for them, who will shamelessly keep caring about their favorite celebrity couples (and their breakups), in the hope that there will be just as many moments filled with joy as there will be grief. Some of these people need to go outside and touch grass, while others (like us!) are invested in healthy, completely normal ways. (It’s a good thing Tom Holland and Zendaya are going to stay together forever, right? Right!?) These are people’s real lives, but often it can feel like we’re still watching a fictional love story play out, or that the stakes are just who’s coupled up in a villa. That’s why you see so many people unable to let go of their fave celeb couples — for better and for worse.
After all, how many of us have secretly harbored the hope that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck will rekindle their flame one day (again!)? For some couples, a breakup is certainly the right decision. But as fans, it’s easy to hope that some of our favorite couples will get back together (again, think Bennifer 2.0, or Justin and Hailey Bieber or OTP Tom and Zendaya). Regardless of whether the split is temporary or permanent, we just need to remember that hope is not dead, and neither is love.
This article referencing celebrity breakups was originally published, in part, in 2023. It has since been updated to include recent celeb relationship news.
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Olandria Carthen On Her Love Story & Nicolandria
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