By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:30pm PDT, Aug 8, 2023
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Take a look back at the stars who found love, suffered heartbreak or experienced some other major event in their love lives in late July and early August 2023, starting with this new couple…
On the July 27 episode of her "PlanBri Uncut" podcast, Barstool Sports host Brianna Chickenfry (real name: Brianna LaPaglia) confirmed recent speculation that she's dating Zach Bryan. "I've been hanging out with a guy named Zach," she said, according to People magazine, noting that they "started hanging out" three weeks earlier. "It's fun, it's casual," she added. She decided to address the romance rumors, she said, after photos of herself spending time with the country music star recently hit the Internet. "We're just hanging out, having fun, and that's where I've been — that's what I've been doing. That's what I'm gonna be doing for a little bit. We'll see where it goes. And I'm happy," she concluded.
The duo reportedly met at the 2023 ACM Awards in Texas on May 11. Less than three weeks later, Zach announced on Twitter that he and his girlfriend of a little more than a year, Debra Peifer, went their separate ways "about a week and a half ago" — a week and a half after he met Briana! Yikes!
MORE: Notorious celeb cheating scandals
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On July 29, People magazine reported that, according to a source, Kevin Costner's estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, has officially vacated their marital home… and moved into "a smaller house on the property that's been used as a staff quarter." Explained the source, "Christine is following the legal advice per the prenup and is vacating the family house. … This is a temporary solution. She is still looking for another house. She is staying in the area to not disrupt [their three] kids' lives. They will be back at school in the fall with their friends. Christine is trying to keep everything as normal as possible. Her sole focus is the kids."
The former couple have been at odds over the Oscar winner's $145M estate in Santa Barbara, California, since Christine filed for divorce in May. Before they tied the knot in 2004, she signed a prenup agreeing to vacate their marital home within 30 days of a potential breakup, but she refused to leave the home for months until a judge ruled in early July that she had until the end of the month to move out.
Keep reading for more of the week's biggest celeb love life updates …
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On Aug. 1, DailyMail.com reported that Sofia Vergara has agreed to relinquish custody of Bubbles — the Chihuahua she and now-estranged husband Joe Manganiello adopted together after they tied the knot — in their divorce. "Not in a million years would Joe part ways with his dog Bubbles, and Sofia is well aware of this. Joe said Sofia was gracious about him keeping Bubbles after their breakup. Neither one of them is bitter or out for revenge, and Sofia loves Bubbles and wants her to be happy which is precisely why she's letting Joe have custody. He said Sofia has the biggest heart and would never do anything to intentionally hurt him or Bubbles," said a source close to the "True Blood" alum, adding that the actor has said "he couldn't imagine life without his dog and never knew that kind of love" before she came into his life.
Continued the insider, "He said if Bubbles could speak, she would say that under no circumstances would she want to be with anyone else but Joe. … When we were working on a project together overseas, Joe took Bubbles with him everywhere. On the set, to bars, restaurants. He always had that little dog is in arms. He even took Bubbles to a concert. The two are inseparable. The only time I've seen Joe without Bubbles was when he was actually on-camera working. We were overseas for months, so even back then both Joe and Sofia knew Bubbles had a favorite."
Joe and the Emmy-nominated "Modern Family" actress announced in mid-July that they were going their separate ways after nearly eight years of marriage.
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On July 29, TMZ reported that Ariana Grande and her new boyfriend, "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater, are spending some time apart as he handles his split from his estranged wife, Lilly Jay. According to the webloid, the Grammy winner and the Broadway star haven't seen each other in "several weeks" because they've been in different cities and she's "giving him space to work things out" with Lilly. (It's unclear when they'll be able to see each other next.) Meanwhile, Ethan is said to be in daily communication with his former missus due to the son they welcomed together in August 2022. Amid the drama and the time spent apart, Ethan and Ariana are "100% still dating," TMZ reports. The jury is still out on whether or not they got together before or after they ended their previous relationships.
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On Aug. 2, TMZ reported that Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth recently settled their divorce. According to the webloid, the duo also agreed to a parenting plan for their 10-year-old son, Tennessee. The Oscar winner filed for divorce a week after announcing in late March that she and the former talent agent were going their separate ways following more than a decade of marriage. In the wake of the breakup, Reese was linked to NFL GOAT Tom Brady, though nothing ever came of the romance rumors. Jim, meanwhile, reportedly has a new girlfriend already.
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On July 28, Neelam Gill took to her Instagram Story to officially "clear up any rumors" that she and Leonardo DiCaprio are an item: "I am not Leonardo DiCaprio's 'new flame.' In fact, I am in a committed relationship with his good friend, and have been for many months now. The only reason we have been pictured in the same vicinity is because I have been there with my partner. I hope this clears up all the false stories," the model wrote. (She did not specify who exactly she's dating.) She first sparked romance rumors with the A-list actor in May.
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After a tabloid reported on Aug. 2 that Timothée Chalamet recently "dumped" Kylie Jenner, TMZ reported that, according to their sources, the actor and the reality star are still going strong and "any reports that say otherwise are false." They pair were first publicly linked in April. They've managed to keep their romance relatively under wraps since then.
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On the July 31 episode of the "Way Up With Angela Yee" podcast, Offset admitted that he lied when he accused wife Cardi B of cheating on him in late June. They were fighting and he was "really lit that night," he said. Recalled the rapper, "We're going back and forth and I'm like, 'Watch this!'"
He went on to address his past indiscretions, explaining, "When I did do that, I was in a different space. I was young. I had just got married. I'm getting a lot of money." He then attributed the lapse in judge to their failure to properly communicate their "wants and needs" — and also the fact that he was heavily intoxicated.
He's since won back Cardi's trust: "Why do you think she loves me how she loves me? My growth. I've showed I'm a real one, I'm not gonna do this, I ain't gonna play with you, I ain't gonna keep playing with you because it's affecting you and this heartbreak is wrong," he said.
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On the Aug. 2 episode of "The View," former "The Bachelorette" star Gabby Windey revealed that she's been "seeing someone for a couple months" now. The news is especially noteworthy, she explained, because she's "dating a girl."
Although the reality star stopped short of defining her sexuality, she explained that her queerness "was always a whisper" that "just got louder and louder" over time. When host Joy Behar attempted to clarify if Gabby plans to date only women moving forward — "So is it girls now? That's it, girls?" she inquired — Gabby replied, "I think so. I think it's just, like, my girl. She's the best."
Later that day, the "Dancing With the Stars" season 31 contestant revealed on Instagram that her girlfriend is comedian and TV writer Robby Hoffman. "Told you I'm a girls girl!!" she captioned a slideshow of photos with her love.
MORE: Stars who've come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community
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On Aug. 1, Kaitlyn Bristowe fueled rumors that she and Jason Tartick recently called it quits when she took to her Instagram Story to share a cryptic post criticizing a subsect of her followers for demanding that she address whether or not their engagement is off: "I cannot believe the audacity of people to expect things from me when I haven't even been able to process things for myself. Have a f****** heart," she wrote. (Those same fans wondered: If the Bachelor Nation stars weren't broken up, then what difficult thing was Kaitlyn processing?)
Jason, meanwhile, fueled the breakup rumors — which first kicked off when he and Kaitlyn stopped posting about each other on social media — when he took to Instagram to share photos and videos of himself spending time with their two dogs… but not with the "Dancing With the Stars" season 29 champ.
On Aug. 6, the duo — who got engaged in mid-2021 after a little more than two years of coupledom — took to Instagram to announce that the rumors were true: "We are saddened with heavy hearts to share that we have decided to end our engagement," they wrote in a joint statement, adding that they plan to co-parent their dogs moving forward.
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On July 29, the Mirror reported that Lily James and Michael Shuman recently reconciled after briefly calling it quits earlier this year following about two years of coupledom. "[They] have always adored each other and have lots of fun together. Time apart has made them realize how much they missed each other and now they're picking up where they left off. … Neither is putting any pressure on it — they're just seeing how it goes," a source said, adding that the Emmy-nominated "Pam & Tommy" actress and the bassist "looked close" at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival in England, where she could be seen watching him perform with his rock band Queens of the Stone Age.
MORE: Celeb splits of 2023
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On July 29, Lenny Hochstein's girlfriend of a year, Katharina Mazepa, took to Instagram to announce that they're engaged: "On top of an ancient pirate cave, overlooking the sunset over breathtaking Es Vedrá, he asked to steal me away forever," she captioned a slideshow of photos and videos depicting the proposal — which went down in Ibiza — including a shot showing off her massive engagement ring. (According to a Page Six Style source, the bauble features a 12-carat diamond and is worth around $1M to $1.5M.)
The famed plastic surgeon's estranged wife, Lisa Hochstein, quickly took to her Instagram Story to react to the news: "Congrats to my current husband and his mistress on their engagement," she wrote. (Lenny caught wind of her comment and released a statement slamming her for it — more on that next!)
Lenny filed to divorce the "Real Housewives of Miami" star in May 2022, but things have been incredibly contentious between them since then — and there's no indication that they're close to legally ending their marriage. Lisa has insisted that Lenny cheated on her with his new bride-to-be, but Lenny and Katharina have maintained that they only got together after their previous marriages came to an end.
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During an Aug. 2 chat with Us Weekly, Lenny Hochstein bit back at his estranged wife, Lisa Hochstein, over her criticism of his engagement to new love Katharina Mazepa: "I want to clear up some things. For two years prior to telling Lisa I wanted a divorce, my life was miserable. I was treated like a servant, not a partner. I was nothing more than an ATM machine to her; funding her party lifestyle and her constant need for more material things," he said, adding that he told Lisa he wanted a divorce "many times" before they ultimately threw in the towel.
"She didn't care. We [hadn't had] a husband-wife relationship since 2021, and in 2022 we were living in separate bedrooms. I made the decision that we were getting divorced but wanted to wait until filming [for 'The Real Housewives of Miami'] ended. Mentally I was already checked out. She was typically staying out partying until 4 or 5 a.m. on a regular basis, but that day she did not come home until 8 a.m. It was the last straw," he alleged. "I told [Lisa] that we were going to get divorced and that I was going to start seeing other people. … I'm tired of Lisa's false victim narrative. She's no victim. She's a selfish, self-centered person who cares about nothing past herself. Not me, not [our two] children. Absolutely nothing."
He also insisted that "there was no cheating" before he and Lisa called it quits and that his new fiancée "was never a mistress."
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During a July 28 concert in London, Bebe Rexha confirmed speculation that her relationship with Keyan Safyari recently came to an end. "I just went through a breakup, so I might get a little emotional," she said before launching into her song "Atmosphere."
The Grammy nominee first hinted that she and the cinematographer had called it quits after three years of coupledom when she took to her Instagram Story in mid-July to share a screenshot of a text message in which Keyan shamed her for gaining weight but then insisted that he still loved her "no matter what" and accused her of "trying to find reasons to break up."
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On July 29, TMZ broke the news that Courtney Stodden and Chris Sheng quietly called it quits six months earlier. "The car was out of gas," a source said, adding that the breakup was mutual. According to the webloid, the reality star's friends "felt something was off" between the former couple "from the beginning" and speculated that "jealousy and insecurities" were building throughout their relationship. Courtney reportedly "didn't feel seen" by Chris — and friends agreed, telling Courtney "they didn't think they were meant to be together." Courtney and Chris are no longer in contact, though they saw each other regularly after they first threw in the towel because they were still living together. (Courtney's rep later confirmed the breakup news to Page Six.) They got engaged back in 2021 following more than four years of coupledom.
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On Aug. 1, Amanza Smith debuted her new boyfriend on Instagram: "When I needed you most, there you were. Love really shows up when you least expect it. So grateful for this man!" the "Selling Sunset" star captioned a video of herself sharing a drink — and a kiss! — with her mystery man, whose name she's keeping under wraps for now.
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During an interview with The U.S. Sun that debuted online on Aug. 1, Jon Gosselin revealed that he has a secret girlfriend of two years: Stephanie Lebo. They met through a mutual friend just "a few months" after the former reality star split from his last girlfriend, Colleen Conrad. "I wasn't looking for anything, and neither was she but it just happened," said the father of eight. "We are really happy and in love. We are very comfortable with each other, it just fits," he gushed, adding that he feels like "it's taken 19 years to find Steph."
"All the trials and tribulations, the heartbreak, the fighting, and worrying about who is going to talk about me to the press, then finally I meet Steph. … I never thought relationships were easy. I always thought my relationships were going to be a struggle and people would always have a chip on their shoulder where they'd say, 'Screw you, you're famous and I don't have anything and I've had to give up this or that.' But this time it's not like that at all. It's easy. … My previous relationships would all go well in the beginning but then they'd move to miscommunications and secrets. Trust has always been an issue, but not this time," he explained.
Added his girlfriend, "We fell in love very quickly. Jon said it first. But we rarely argue. And there's no gender roles in our relationship. … We are a good team and I like that."
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On Aug. 2, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Instagram to announce that "after many meaningful and difficult conversations," he and his wife of nearly two decades, Sophie Gregoire, recently "made the decision to separate." Wrote the politician, "As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build."
His office later told People magazine in a statement that the former couple "signed a legal separation agreement" and "worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward."
"They remain a close family and Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment. Both parents will be a constant presence in their children's lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together," the statement continued, adding that the parents of three "will be together on vacation, beginning next week."
