The Astrological Reason Why All Your Favorite Celeb Couples Are Crumbling Right Now

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If you’ve got your finger on the pulse of Hollywood happenings, a fair number of recent events (ahem, multiple messy celeb breakups) might indicate that love is dead. Even peripheral pop culture fans might've noticed the significant uptick in back-and-forth celeb relationship drama playing out in the public sphere lately. Just to name a few glaring examples, there was Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello’s divorce, the end of Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro’s engagement, and the never-ending saga that is Ariana Grande’s post-separation relationship status.

These conscious uncouplings aren’t even going out quietly. Prenup drama, rumors of infidelity, and alleged on-set affairs are peppering alll of the news breaks and social media discourse.

Those of us who follow the planets know exactly what the culprit is, so lean in. It's a little ditty called Venus Retrograde (aka Venus Rx). Does it sound faintly familiar? That's because it’s similar to the thrice-yearly fuck up that is Mercury Retrograde. While Mercury Retrograde affects communication, technology, and travel, Venus is the planet of love, beauty, and relationships. Soooo those are the lovely life facets that are thrown for a loop when Venus appears to move backward in its orbit from our POV here on Earth.

On June 19, Venus entered its "pre-shadow phase." That's the period when a planet begins to slow down before it directly stations retrograde (which went down on July 22). Yep, you guessed it: The messy effects of Venus Retrograde began not during the actual retrograde, but during the pre-shadow period.

Venus Retrograde occurs about every 1.5 years, so you must be asking, “Uh, why is this one so messy and major?” Well, there are a couple of planetary aspects making this year’s retrograde feel a tad more, *intense* than some we’ve experienced in the past. Astrologer Jake Register, author of Astrology for Relationships and Cosmo's weekly sexoscopes, broke it down for us.

“This Venus Retrograde is in Leo, which is a very dazzling sign," Jake says. "When anything happens in Leo it tends to be memorable. It’s also [positioned] square Uranus the entire time. That’s the planet of disruption, chaos, and revolution. Whenever Uranus is involved with these kinds of transits, that really leaves a mark."

As for all of these big Hollywood spectacles? Center-stage drama is par for the course when Leo is involved. “Leo’s the sign of the entertainer,” Jake says. “It’s also this flashy, very public, outward sign, so when these relationship mishaps do happen, they’re going to be noticed more.”

Don't believe me yet? Here are the big celeb splits that have been announced since Venus entered its pre-shadow phase:

• Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez

• Ethan Slater and Lily Jay

• Justin and Sophie Trudeau
  

• BeBe Rexha and Keyan Safyari

• Tina Knowles and Richard Lawson

• Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro

• Bella Hadid and Marc Kalman

• Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello

• Dominic Fike and Hunter Schafer

• Adam Smith and Billy Porter

• Tyga and Avril Lavigne

Now, let’s take a walk down memory lane a check out the famous pairs that broke up during the last Venus Retrograde in Leo way back in 2015, shall we? (FYI: The shadow period started on June 21 of that year 👀).

• Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian

• Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
  

• Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert

• Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards

• Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green

• Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield

• Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale
  

• Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger
  

If you don’t want Venus Retrograde drama to come for you and your personal relationships this summer, Jake suggests staying considerate. “You should not be needlessly stubborn, you should not act on your impulses, and you should think very carefully before you say anything, especially to someone you’re in a close relationship with," he says. Mindfulness and restraint is very important right now."

Go ahead and jot that down in your notes, you guys.

Astrology for Relationships by Jake Register

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