While Hollywood movies continue to give us hope in the idea of soulmates, there’s apparently no ‘happily ever after’ in off-screen romances of Tinseltown stars.

Over the decades, we’ve seen many glitzy Hollywood romances fizzle out, much to everyone’s disappointment. After all, there’s no thrill in seeing two glamorous celebrities, generous with public displays of affection and proclamations of love, suddenly calling it quits one day.

When Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher announced their divorce in November 2011, after nearly a decade of marriage, it broke the hearts of millions of fans who had hoped the couple would last despite their 16-year age difference. And Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s split — four years after the birth of their twin children — played its part in making us cynical about high-profile marriages.

And now, there’s another uber famous Hollywood couple about to part ways: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Holmes has filed for divorce and also wants sole custody of their six-year-old daughter Suri Cruise. This is jaw-dropping news; nobody in Hollywood even saw it coming and fans on Twitter have teacted with shock and dismay. After all, the Tinseltown A-listers, who got married in an Italian castle in 2006, had always been highly public about their fairytale romance. Holmes, who has a nearly 17-year age difference from her spouse, had shyly admitted to always having a childhood crush on Cruise. And who can forget the Jerry Maguire star expressing his love for Holmes by jumping excitedly on the couch on Oprah Winfrey’s show?

But now TomKat are on their way to bidding each other farewell. It’s disappointing for fans and shows that marriages surrounded by glitz and glamour are rarely meant to last. In fact, it seems like some lovebirds who have survived the odds in Hollywood are ones who are not married. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel are the quintessential happily unmarried couple, who have been together for 29 years. And even though rumours about fissures in Angeline Jolie and Brad Pitt’s relationship have emerged intermittently, the unmarried parents of half a dozen children still appear to be going strong and are excited about tying the knot later this year. But judging by the record of Hollywood marriages, we can only hope this one is for a lifetime.