Tom & Nicole Syndrome: Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner Get Divorced

There is something about the celebrity law of nature that rules no A-list power couple can stay married for more than ten years. The precedent, set by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman after their divorce in February of 2001, has now been continued by Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.

The duo announced their divorce mere days after their ten year anniversary on Monday, June 29th, releasing a terse statement about an amicable split and respecting their privacy. Like Tom Cruise, Ben and Jen have three children (though one of Tom’s is legitimate and with Katie Holmes), Violet, Seraphina and Samuel. Their intention to split custody shows a bit more concern than Tom and Nicole exhibited in the division of their adopted children together, Connor and Isabella.

With the impossibility of marriage continuing between famous people for longer than ten years, perhaps those in the spotlight would do well to take a page from Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, who have been domestic partners for over thirty years. Because it would seem that even celebs fall into the trap of normal people monotony, as evidenced by Jennifer Garner’s statement to InStyle in a 2014 interview:

You can’t expect to be courted all the time, and I don’t want to court him right now – I don’t have the energy! But we’re definitely in a very mindful place where we’re making an effort to be together, do things at the same time, and be loving.”

Sounds like love wasn’t enough. But maybe we can look to Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes to be the next “ten year couple.”