It was only a matter of time before Hollywood’s most famous break-up had to make a comeback. After all, with Hollywood’s biggest names breaking up and making up seemingly countless times over the years, what’s stopping the industry’s most iconic couple from reuniting once again?
When Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart first broke up in 2014, it was enough to make even the staunchest of fans teary-eyed. The relationship had been a fairy tale, complete with fair isle’s princess and the handsome prince’s kiss. For fans of the pair, it was a heartbreaking and unexpected end to their perfect story.
Over the past two years, both actors have spent much of their time apart touring the world with their respective bands, performing on stage together and even occasionally rekindling their romance. In 2019 alone, the pair have starred in two acclaimed movies — Pattinson’s directorial debut, Where Do We Go From Here? and Stewart’s upcoming adaptation of Little Women — that are serving as a platform to showcase their incredible chemistry on screen. It’s safe to say that the wait for the ‘BFF’s’ reunited has been more than worth it.
But now that their time apart has come to an end, it’s time for fans to say goodbye one more time. And while it’s great to see them back together and spending more time with each other, it’s almost too much to bear considering everything that’s happened over the past two years. If history is any guide, it will only be a matter of time before their inevitable splitsville once again.
More Successful Separates
In the aftermath of their breakup, Stewart found more success as an actress, appearing in leading roles in numerous high-profile movies and earning a Best Actress nomination for her performance in Woody Allen’s 2018 film, A Quiet Place. She has also been the subject of countless magazine covers and won many prestigious awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Limited series or TV movie.
While Stewart’s career was taking off, Pattinson found greater success as an actor, earning multiple Best Actor nominations for his performances in the 2014 indie hit Ex Machina and the 2017 horror film, The House With the Big Gardener. More impressively, he also starred in, and co-directed, two blockbuster films: The Legend of Tarzan and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
The pair’s professional trajectories have certainly paralleled their on-screen chemistry, which recently saw the release of their joint selfie book, co-authored by photographer Annie Leibowitz. When the book was released in 2018, it promptly became a New York Times Best-Seller and a worldwide phenomenon, selling over a million copies in its first week of publication. The book was a follow-up to their hugely successful 2016 book, co-written with journalist Elizabeth Taylor, and marked the culmination of their “#teamwork” campaign, which saw them working together on various projects.
The Reasons Behind Their Breakup
While it’s easy to assume that Hollywood’s most iconic couple broke up because they simply didn’t work, the truth is far from it. In fact, both actors have spoken publicly about the challenges of their tumultuous relationship, which eventually led to their separation. A lot has been written about their difficult childhoods and the numerous factors that made them who they are today.
Stewart was born to wealthy, eccentric parents — who were later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II — in New York City. Her father, David, is one of Britain’s most successful businessmen and was one of the first investors in Apple, where he still serves as an advisor. Her mother, Stephanie, is an art historian and author who had been married three times before marrying David. An only child, Stewart was a particularly sensitive and lonely child, and it was her need for companionship that drew her to Pattinson.
While David and Stephanie had high expectations for their only daughter and wanted her to follow in their footsteps, Stewart constantly rebelled against her strict upbringing and wanted to explore different avenues. It wasn’t until she began performing in theater youth company that she found her true calling, and her parents were reportedly “ecstatic” with her decision. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in English, she decided to forgo any legal career and instead moved to LA, where she took on more casual attire and began exploring the city, meeting various celebrities along the way.
For her part, Pattinson was born and raised in Twickenham, a suburb of London. He began acting at an early age and was later discovered by a talent agent, who placed him with a theatrical agent. He graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in English literature and later moved to New York City, where he began his acting career, appearing in the Broadway play, The Norman Conquests. It was there that he first encountered Stewart and ended up asking her to a party, which later turned into a romance.
Pattinson and Stewart’s star-crossed relationship quickly became tabloid fodder and made for some gripping headlines. The pair first fell in love while working on the set of the 2010 movie, Just Friends, in which they played co-workers who fall in love. They were cast together in 2011’s The Twilight Saga, based on Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular novel, Twilight. The film would go on to become one of the most popular series of all time, selling over 450 million tickets worldwide and spawning numerous spin-offs, including The Chronicles of Aaliyah and Eclipse.
The high-profile nature of their relationship and their desire to keep it private led to some unusual marital arrangements. Stewart would sometimes stay at Pattinson’s apartment when filming in New York City, and the two even had to obtain a marriage license, despite being engaged to be married for several years. It wasn’t until 2018 that the couple made their first public statement about their relationship, thanking fans for their continued support and vowing to work together again. The statement came after they were forced to cancel several concerts due to Stewart’s hectic film schedule, which led to speculation that they were having difficulties. But in fact, the statement was designed to downplay a recent breakdown that the pair had experienced. They had mutually decided to go their separate ways after a particularly stressful year. While it’s great that they’re getting back together, it’s clear that this journey has been a difficult one, made all the more so by the continued focus on their relationship. And if history is any guide, it will only be a matter of time before they call it quits once again.
Looking Back
In the midst of all this, it’s important to look back at what happened before 2017. Over the past two years, we’ve seen Stewart and Pattinson navigate tumultuous waters — both figuratively and literally — and emerge stronger, more mature, and more successful as a couple. While it’s wonderful that they’re finally getting the recognition they deserve, both actors have a lot to reflect on.
With Where Do We Go From Here? — which sees Pattinson playing a novelist who gets the chance of a lifetime to direct a movie, based on his own novel — Stewart will have the opportunity to play a character she embodies more than any other: an independent and creative woman who refuses to accept traditional ideas and is completely and totally herself.
For his part, Pattinson was last seen in a movie theater, cheering on Stewart with her mother and sister as they watched Little Women, the story of three strong-willed sisters who leave home and start a new life in the city. It was a big moment for a little girl, who had previously starred in only TV advertisements and short films before getting her big break in 2019.
Considering that both actors have been through so much, it’s no wonder that they’ve found it so easy to rekindle their romance. But with every reunion comes the inevitable question: will they truly mend their ways and stay together? Or will this be yet another Hollywood breakup that fans will gasp at, only to see the two once again go their separate ways?