Thanks to her attendance at the Grammys without her engagement ring, many fans may have seen Lady Gaga’s confirmation of her split from fiancé Christian Carino coming.
But the 32-year-old may have predicted as early as last October that her romantic life, once again was going to “implode”.
The A Star Is Born actress has experienced a pattern – which she herself has recognised – of having her relationships end immediately after she enjoys a huge career success.
Back in October, A Star Is Born was met with a rapturous reception both critically and at the box office. Now, just as the film looks set to pick up at least a few of the seven Oscars it has been nominated for at the Academy Awards next week, she and her talent agent fiancé have officially ended their engagement.
As Gaga pointed out in her 2017 documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, this would not be the first time that a career milestone has seemingly impacted her love life.
"My love life has just imploded," she said while talking about the fights she'd been having with her then-fiancé Taylor Kinney during filming. "It's like a turnover."
Gaga had been dating the Chicago Fire for five years when they ended their relationship in July 2016 - which was about a month after she officially landed her role in A Star Is Born.
In the Netflix documentary, she hinted that it may have been her career success that caused their fights and eventual breakup.
"Me and Taylor are fighting, so that sucks," she is seen saying early on in the film. "My threshold for bulls**t with men is just — I don’t have one anymore. In relationships, you have to move together."
Then, when they finally ended things, she broke down in tears, revealing that similarly-timed splits have happened before.
"My love life has just imploded... I did a movie and lose Taylor.
"It's like a turnover. This is the third time I’ve had my heart broken like this."
In that tearful moment, the actress also said that she "sold 10 million [albums] and lost Matt" and "sold 30 million and lost Lüc", referring to her two previous exes.
Gaga began dating producer Matthew Williams in 2009, but they broke up in mid-2010. Her 2008 debut album, The Fame, went what's known as "diamond", selling 10 million copies in February that year.
After breaking up with Williams, Gaga reunited in July 2010 with her former boyfriend, bar owner Lüc Carl, who she had previously dated in 2005.
She told Rolling Stone at the time, "I’ve really never loved anyone like I loved him. Or like I love him. That relationship really shaped me. I sort of resolved that if you can’t have the guy of your dreams, there are other ways to give love."
But in May 2011, the couple once again called it quits.
That year she was still riding on the massive success of her first album, which had sold even more copies. Many articles were written about how powerful and influential she was, as she continued to receive praise, attention and awards for her music.
Just a week after she confirmed her breakup, she was named number one on Forbes magazine's annual Celebrity 100 list.
Could this have been the kind of success that intimidated her exes?
While Gaga isn't quoted as suggesting any reason why her success seems to be dogged by relationship trouble, the stereotype of a man not handling his partner being the more powerful one is a stereotype for a reason.
We can only hope that the next time Lady Gaga enjoys a career milestone, the man standing beside her is as thrilled to be celebrating it as she is.
Top Comments
It seems a little unfair to assume that the men weren’t supportive of her. Success can come with a lot of other issues too, such as time apart due to working long hours or touring etc. And let’s be honest, if it’s a pattern, she’s the common denominator. Perhaps her relationships end because she puts her work first. (I’m
Not saying that’s actually what happens, it’s just an example.) We really don’t know the ins and outs of her relationships, so let’s not make judgements, eh?
Exactly, there was already asymmetry in their careers/success. I think that it's more likely that Lady Gaga is a workaholic and goes completely AWOL during her big projects.
Yeah, that's what I wondered, particularly with her later relationships when she's already by far the more famous and successful person in them already. Gaga's always seemed pretty ruthless and relentless in her pursuit of success, and her lack of tolerance for what she calls bs could also be seen as a lack of empathy for the other person trying to get some of her time and attention.
Yes, it's disingenuous to just assume she is a wronged party every time a relationship fails. Heaven forbid we should think her behaviour may also contribute to the breakup.