11 Stars Who Shared The Moment They Knew Their Relationship Was Over

And oftentimes, it’s just a small moment that allows them to see that the relationship is no longer serving them. For many celebrities, they can pinpoint exactly when they knew that their relationship was over — and it definitely left a lasting impression on their life.

Read on to find out when these stars had enough with their relationship…

1. Sandra Lee

Sandra Lee was in a relationship with former New York governor Andrew Cuomo for over a decade before splitting in 2019. Looking back, Sandra explained that even before breaking up, they were living “separate and busy lives” — instead of “creating a life together.” Then, she hit a breaking point just before their separation, sharing that Andrew said something so awful, she knew she had to leave.

“I was in my kitchen and he said something, and the minute he said it, I knew what he’d just said,” she recalled to Us Weekly. “And every window and door closed. And that was it … He knows what it is; I know what it is.”

2. Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow admits she knew her marriage to Chris Martin was over years before they split. She says they were on a trip to Italy for her 38th birthday and while their surroundings were picture perfect in the Tuscan countryside, in her heart, she realized they could no longer be together.

“I don’t recall when it happened, exactly. I don’t remember which day of the weekend it was or the time of day. But I knew — despite long walks and longer lie-ins, big glasses of Barolo and hands held — my marriage was over,” Gwyneth wrote for British Vogue.

She continued, “What I do remember is that it felt almost involuntary, like the ring of a bell that has sounded and cannot be undone. The inadvertent release of a helium balloon into the sky. I tried to quell that knowing, to push it far down. I tried to convince myself it had been a fleeting thought, that marriage is complicated and ebbed and flowed. But I knew it. It was in my bones.”

3. Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus vividly recalls the moment that she decided her marriage to Liam Hemsworth was over. She says she was getting ready to take the stage at Glastonbury music festival when she realized she could no longer be married.

“So Glastonbury was in June, which was when the decision had been made that me and Liam’s commitment to be married just really came from — a place of love first, because we’ve been together for 10 years — but also from a place of trauma and just trying to rebuild as quickly as we could,” Miley said in a TikTok. “The day of the show was the day that I had decided that it was no longer going to work in my life to be in that relationship…So that was another moment where the work, the performance, the character came first. I guess that’s why it’s now so important to me for that not to be the case. The human comes first.”

4. Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson says it was couples counseling that helped her realize that her marriage to Brandon Blackstock was over. The former couple had tried to make things work through therapy but sitting there together, Kelly says she came to the conclusion it wasn’t going to get better.

“I literally said to my therapist, and it wasn’t even, honestly, we weren’t even divorced. We weren’t separated then. It was like, when we first started talking, it was marriage counseling. It was trying to make it work. ‘We’re trying to figure it out. I desperately want to make this happen,’ but I think I knew in my heart it just wasn’t going to,” Kelly shared in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.

5. Will Smith

Before Will Smith began dating Jada Pinkett Smith, he was married to his first wife Sheree Zampino. During his marriage, he met Jada and it was during a night out with her and his friends that he realized he was married to the wrong person. While Will says that no boundaries were crossed during his night out with Jada, they had a deep talk that made him realize he needed to end his relationship with Sheree.

“The next night, me and Sheree went to dinner,” Will said on Red Table Talk. “And I sat down with Sheree and it was one of the most bizarre emotions I ever had after we had that talk. And we were at The Palm. And I remember I had to get up from dinner when I had a realization that I wasn’t with the person I was supposed to be with. I went in the bathroom at the Palm and broke down in tears.”

6. Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian was only married to Kris Humphries for 72 days, so she quickly realized that their marriage wasn’t going to work. In fact, Kim says they were actually on their honeymoon when she figured out she couldn’t be married to Kris.

“At the time I just thought, ‘Holy s–t, I’m 30-years-old — I better get this together. I better get married. I think, like, a lot of girls do go through that, where they freak out thinking they’re getting old and they have to figure it out and all their friends are having kids,” she shared on Watch What Happens Live. “But I knew [on the] honeymoon it wasn’t gonna work out.”

7. Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson had been married to Nick Lachey for three years when she realized their marriage was over. She says they had both been invited on a humanitarian trip with Operation Smile to Kenya but Nick opted to stay home — missing their wedding anniversary.

“I went there on our three-year wedding anniversary. He stayed home,” she told Jane magazine. “On that day, everything became so clear. I was in hospitals with all these sick kids. I just knew I needed to find something more in my life, on my own.”

8. Ramona Singer

Real Housewives star Ramona Singer tried to make things work with her husband Mario after a cheating scandal but she eventually hit a breaking point. When Ramona initially caught him cheating, she filed for divorce — only to reconcile and give him a second chance shortly after. Then, a few months later, Ramona discovered that Mario had been with his mistress again and knew things were over.

“I said, ‘I just can’t do this anymore. I don’t need this anymore.’ Don’t say you want to make the marriage work and then go and then be deceitful. That’s a betrayal to me and my daughter,” she told People. “I felt it was very important not to leave the marriage until I tried to do everything to make it work. Then if you leave, you have no regrets and never look back. And I have no regrets.”

9. Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige was married to her husband Kendu Isaacs for 13 years before they called it quits. Looking back, Mary says she decided things needed to end the moment she realized she was no longer being respected by her partner.

“The breaking point was when I kept asking over and over and over again for respect. It just seemed like I was beating a dead horse and it seemed like I was talking to a wall. I just wasn’t getting it back. If I can’t get respect in a relationship then I have to move on to save myself. That was the point where I was like, ‘I’m done. I just can’t do it anymore,’” she shared on Good Morning America.

10. Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini had a rocky relationship with her husband Morgan Evans and through the years, they went through breakups, reconciliations and couples therapy. Reflecting on their marriage, Kelsea says she knew things were over when she realized they “were on different pages” about starting a family. Kelsea had decided she wasn’t ready for kids just yet and Morgan wanted to start having children as soon as possible.

“It was not a good day. And I think that was when I was like, there’s a fundamental difference here that has happened, that has shifted. And it’s no longer like, I don’t see this person, I miss this person, I’m alone, I’m lonely. It’s like, he wants something out of life… [and] I’m not there,” she said on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

She continued, “And whether I’ll get there or not, I don’t think it’s with this person if it is. And I think internally in hindsight, that’s where I went like, ‘I think maybe we need to rethink this, Kels.’”

11. Tia Mowry

In 2022, Tia Mowry split from her husband Cory Hardrict after 14 years of marriage. She explained that she came to the realization that her marriage was over the moment she started to prioritize her own personal happiness.

“I knew when I really started to focus on my happiness,” Tia said on the Today show. “I feel like, women, we tend to focus on everybody else’s happiness, making sure that everybody else is okay, meaning our children, our friends, our family, but at the end of the day, it’s about self-love. When you start to really work on yourself, love yourself, know your value, know your worth — then all of a sudden there’s this awakening. It’s not easy, it’s a hard journey but at the end of the day I feel that it is so, so worth it.”