Stars Who Broke Up Right After Having A Child
Whether the glaring spotlight of being in the public eye just becomes too much for a celeb couple or a cheating scandal rocks their world — breaking up is never easy to do. A-lister relationships are embossed across tabloid magazines on the daily, with reports always circulating on who's breaking up or making up in Tinseltown.
At the 2020 Golden Globes, for example, Brad Pitt joked that he couldn't even stand next to another woman without being accused of dating her in his acceptance speech for best supporting actor in Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood. Social media didn't necessarily listen to the actor's sarcastic (albeit on point) commentary about the struggles of having a showbiz romance since he was accused of pretty much just that hours later. At an awards show after party, Pitt reportedly stood beside and exchanged a few words with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, and media outlets soon had a field day about a supposed Pitt-Aniston reconciliation.
All that said, these ex-spouses didn't have any offspring when they split. But since breakups are sometimes even messier when kids are involved, there have been plenty of celebrity couples who've ended things after expanding their brood. Let's reminisce about some star-power pairings who broke up right after having a child together.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Kim Porter
Sean "Diddy" Combs, Puff Daddy, or whatever other alias he's going by these days, split from girlfriend Kim Porter just months after the model gave birth to their twin daughters, D' Lila Star and Jessie James, in 2007. While the couple had dated on and off since 1994, per the Chicago Tribune, infidelity and a love child were said to have played a part in their demise, as Diddy allegedly fathered a child with another woman just five months before his and Porter's twins were born. When asked if infidelity was the reason she left the rapper, Porter told Essence, "That was definitely a part of it."
"I wasn't even coming from the place of who, what, why," Porter explained to the media outlet (via People). "I laid low and did what women do: I did my background work, collected information [about the other woman]. But I wasn't even on it like that because I was pregnant, and what was bubbling inside me was a blessing from God. I couldn't let my energy be on that."
While the split could've ended on a really sour note considering all that reportedly went down, the two seemed to remain on good terms until Porter sadly passed away from lobar pneumonia at the age of 47 in 2018. According to a source cited by People, she and Diddy were "still very close friends" at the time of her passing.
Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson
There have been plenty of headlines surrounding Khloé Kardashian and Cleveland Cavaliers star Tristan Thompson's relationship. After making their public debut as a couple in 2016, they welcomed a baby girl named True in April 2018. While it initially seemed like the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star had finally found her prince charming after all that Lamar Odom romance-and-otherwise drama, both Kardashian and the world soon learned she was in for another bumpy ride: just days before his daughter's birth, Thompson was allegedly caught on video cheating with multiple women.
Shortly after TMZ published a clip of the NBA player entering a New York City hotel with another woman, the gossip rag obtained older footage of the baller kissing two women side by side in a Washington D.C. hookah lounge from when Kardashian would have been three months pregnant. This was doubtfully the push present for which Kardashian was hoping.
The parents-to-be were reportedly "fully back on" after True's birth. However, Thompson allegedly cheated again when she was just 10 months old ... this time with a familiar face: little sister Kylie Jenner's bestie, Jordyn Woods. In February 2019, witnesses cited by TMZ claimed Woods and Thompson were spotted "making out" at a house party. While Kardashian seemed to be done with Thompson for good after this one, the two continued to successfully co-parent True, and in January 2020, a Radar Online exclusive claimed they might just be back on again.
Ciara and Future
Ciara and ex-fiancé Future started out hot but fizzled pretty quickly. The rapper proposed to the singer-dancer with a whopping 15-carat diamond ring on her birthday in 2013, but the two called it quits just three months after they welcomed their son, Future Zahir Wilburn, the following year.
According to Us Weekly, this celeb romance ended after Ciara learned Future had allegedly cheated with his wardrobe consultant, Tyrina Lee. Saying that Ciara was "devastated" when she found out, a source claimed, "This was clearly not just a one-night thing." Just a month before the couple broke up, Ciara posed in a wedding dress for Brides and told the magazine that she knew "very early on" that Future was going to be her husband: "He came with something that I'd never felt before: the true presence of a man." Clearly this didn't turn out to be the "presence" she was dreaming of, but like they say — hindsight is 20/20.
After ending things with her baby daddy, Ciara released the single "I Bet" off her album, Jackie, which was speculated to be about Future. Luckily, she's since moved on and seems to be planning quite a future with NFL quarterback Russell Wilson.
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
Poor Britney Spears just couldn't seem to get things right in the romance department in the 2000s. Post-Justin Timberlake but pre-2007 breakdown, there was the "Oops!...I Did It Again" hitmaker's marriage with backup dancer-turned-ex-husband Kevin Federline. In October 2004, a 24-year-old Spears tied the knot with Federline — marking the second marriage for the pop princess (you may recall she'd previously married her childhood friend, Jason Alexander, in a quickie Las Vegas wedding just a few weeks before meeting Federline).
Spears' union with Alexander only lasted a short 55 hours, but she and Federline managed to stay hitched for two years while welcoming two kids together. Sons Sean Preston and Jayden James were respectively one and two months old when Spears filed for divorce in November 2006. According to E! News, Spears reportedly alerted Federline of the split via text message. The "last straw" for the singer, per a source cited by People, reportedly came when Federline left Spears at home just three weeks after welcoming baby no. 2 to party at Tao nightclub: "He didn't have to go to Vegas. He uses any excuse to party. She said 'I've had enough.'"
According to divorce papers obtained by Today, the exes had a prenuptial agreement. However, their breakup resulted in an infamously ugly custody battle. Thankfully, Spears has since moved on from this difficult chapter in her life with fitness trainer and model, Sam Asghari.
Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana
After getting engaged to Qatari billionaire businessman Wissam Al Mana in 2012 and marrying him a year later, a 50-year-old Janet Jackson gave birth to their son, Eissa, in 2017. While the baby was a blessing, the celeb pairing unfortunately couldn't make things work and split just three months later after five years of marriage.
According to E! News, the breakup was reportedly inevitable since Jackson and Al Mana "[didn't] see eye to eye on many things," with a source claiming, "While she was pregnant, Wissam caused stress on Janet and it affected her stress level. They knew it was over before the baby was even born. Janet wanted to make it work but it could not be saved." Older brother Randy Jackson agreed that the relationship was doomed. Telling People that "it was quite an abusive situation," he alleged that Janet had endured "verbal abuse" and felt like "a prisoner in her own home." He added, "No pregnant woman needs to go through being called a b**ch every day ... That's what she went through."
Amid their ongoing custody battle, Jackson opened up about her battle with depression prior to Eissa's birth in an essay penned for Essence, writing, "The height of happiness is holding my baby son in my arms and hearing him coo."
50 Cent and Daphne Joy
Rapper 50 Cent (real name Curtis James Jackson) welcomed his son, Sire Jackson, with model Daphne Joy in September 2012. While he didn't announce the birth at first, the police appeared to break 50 Cent's baby news less than a year later, when he and Joy seemingly called it quits on their three-year relationship following an alleged domestic incident in March 2013 (via TMZ).
According to a separate TMZ article, the rapper was accused of kicking Joy and vandalizing more than $7,000 worth of her property in Toluca Lake, Calif. over cheating allegations. 50 Cent's attorney denied all of the claims. But interestingly enough, Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan stated, per Reuters, that "the altercation apparently started from an allegation of infidelity on her part." After pleading not guilty, the rapper received three years' probation in lieu of jail time.
Thankfully, 50 Cent and Joy have since moved on from the alleged dispute while continuing to co-parent successfully — and the rapper clearly takes his dad role seriously. In December 2019, 50 Cent rented out an entire Toys R' Us in New Jersey for his then-7-year-old cutie, per Sire's Instagram. We bet the two partied like it was their birthday.
Christina Milian and The-Dream
Christina Milian and The-Dream (real name Terius Nash) said "I do" in 2009, but, sadly enough, didn't make it long enough to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary. While the breakup announcement came just five months after their daughter, Violet Madison Nash, was born, according to the Daily Mail, the split apparently happened before little Violet's birth.
"The couple reached this decision in late 2009, but decided to keep the news private in efforts to protect their baby daughter Violet," The-Dream's rep told E! News. While the breakup reveal came after photos surfaced of The-Dream embracing another woman, who Billboard claimed was his assistant, Melissa Santiago, the record producer denied the cheating allegations on his blog. "I would love to tell the truth as to why my relationship wasn't successful, but today that is between me and Christina," he wrote (via E! News). "It's easy to say that it's because of another woman or a new relationship, but truthfully, IT'S NOT."
However, Milian had a different rendition of what went down. In a 2011 interview with Latina, the singer revealed that she had been to "hell and back." When asked about the alleged cheating scandal, Milian told the magazine, "I didn't know anything. But looking back, my gut was telling me something was off. But I thought I could fix it."
Javi Marroquin and Lauren Comeau
While Teen Mom 2 star Javi Marroquin has had his fair share of ladies, his luck in love hasn't always been the greatest. After things went south in his marriage with co-star Kailyn Lowry, with whom he had his first son, Lincoln, you may recall that Marroquin managed to stay in the spotlight by dating co-star Briana DeJesus. Unfortunately for Marroquin, things didn't seem to work out with that MTV reality star either — but he wound up moving right on with Lauren Comeau.
According to Radar Online, Cameau and Marroquin first met at a mutual friend's wedding in 2017, and amid a whirlwind on-and-off romance, made a shocking pregnancy announcement in March 2018, and welcomed their son, Eli, that November. However, the fight that broke the camel's back came soon after: just ten months after expanding their brood, media outlets reported that Cameau had caught Marroquin cheating. The alleged incident reportedly happened at a party in their home in August 2019. Per the gossip rag, Cameau was upstairs sleeping at the time, but "when Lauren came back downstairs, she found Javi and a woman naked."
While it's unclear what actually went down during the alleged cheating scandal, Marroquin later thanked Cameau for "for not giving up on [him]," and the two have since posted photos on social media together, indicating that they're back on ... at least for now.
Alex Rodriguez and Cynthia Scurtis
Former professional baseball player Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez and ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis split after six years of marriage in 2008 when their second daughter, Ella, was just ten weeks old. Rumors of infidelity surrounded the couple after Rodriguez was photographed with a woman identified as a Las Vegas stripper. Then there was the whole material girl scandal, during which he allegedly fell in love with Madonna. According to the New York Daily News, Scurtis reportedly confirmed the alleged affair to friends after supposedly finding a note A-Rod wrote Madonna, telling her she was his "true soulmate."
Three months later, Rodriguez and Scurtis' marriage was officially over. ESPN reports that the divorce petition claimed Rodriguez had "emotionally abandoned his wife and children." While the former couple reportedly had a prenuptial agreement in place, which likely simplified the separation, the argument over child support came later. Interestingly enough, A-Rod's then-girlfriend (and now-fiancée), Jennifer Lopez, inserted herself in the financial negotiations over the kids at one point — and Scurtis, who was reportedly "blindsided" by J.Lo's presence at a 2018 mediation, apparently wasn't too thrilled about it (per Page Six).
It looks like things have since cooled off between the former pair though, considering Rodriguez has shared smiling photos on Instagram of himself with Scurtis, Lopez, and all the kiddos in the same room. That, my friends, is co-parenting at its finest. Kudos to them!
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's relationship has been fueled with drama since day one. Let's give you a little recap: Chyna is a former friend of Kardashian's sister, Kim, and the ex-girlfriend of rapper Tyga (who previously dated Rob's other sister, Kylie Jenner), with whom she shares a son, King Cairo.
After debuting as a couple in early 2016, Kardashian and Chyna got engaged just 10 weeks later, and announced that Chyna was pregnant by that May. According to a source cited by People around that time, "Rob has fallen hard for Blac Chyna. She makes him super happy and this is the first time that he's felt so optimistic about life in years." There were already some breakup rumors before their daughter, Dream Renee, was born in November 2016. But the real drama happened just a month later, when Chyna's Instagram was hacked and the anonymous hacker threatened to release DMs between Chyna and multiple men, allegedly showing she'd been unfaithful and was using Kardashian for fame. While Chyna later claimed Kardashian himself was the hacker, it wasn't long before the relationship ultimately ended.
Fast forward to January 2020, when TMZ reported that Kardashian had asked for primary custody of Dream, claiming in court documents that Chyna was, among other things, spending $600 a day on alcohol, snorting cocaine, and not taking proper care of their daughter. It looks like this story is far from over.