Us Weekly was right: Celebrities are, in some crucial ways, just like us: When their long-term relationships come to an end, the process is long, tortured, and miserable. One way they’re not just like us, though, is that we all go through it with them. Herewith, a timeline of the dissolution of Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake’s union, which People today tells us is “up in the air” and Us tells us is finally OVER!
• The first sign that there was trouble between the “Sexy Back” singer and the sexy-backed actress came in October 2007, soon after they started dating, when the Enquirer reported a blowup between Biel and Timberlake over his “womanizing ways”. “Why are all your friends women?” Jessica reportedly demanded. “If you want me to stay with you, you need to focus on me!” The exchange caused the Enquirer to note the two were “headed for Splitsville.” They were probably right, but it would take an awfully long time.
• In March 2009, a friend told OK!, “They aren’t split yet, but they are having problems.” Another friend relayed that Timberlake had asked one of his friends how much time he’d need to give Jessica if he asked her to move out of their New York City apartment “without seeming like a jerk.”
• In May 2009, Biel sounded a plaintive note when Parade asked her if she would ever co-star with her boyfriend in a movie. “If it was the right thing, yeah, I would love to costar with Justin,” she said. “I just don’t know what the right thing is, though.”
• In June 2009, Lindsay Lohan tweeted about what appeared to be Timberlake’s indiscretion at a club. “So dark — where’s jb cheater?” (She later said her Twitter had been hacked.)
• In July 2009, a source told the Daily News: “Things don’t look good for them right now — they’ve hit a really rocky spot.”
• As of today Perez says that they are “DEFINITELY OVER.”
But is our long national nightmare really over? Unclear: “There’s no way of knowing if it’s a firm breakup, because with them it’s so hot and cold,” a source tells Us.
