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No, celebs are not just like us — they live drastically different lives and we don’t need a deep explainer to prove it. It’s only in a few select ways that famous people’s lives resemble our own, and one of those ways is that they’re just as vulnerable to heartbreak as we are. When we see that a long celebrity relationship has ended or that a celebrity marriage has ended in divorce, many of us know exactly the pain those stars must be going through. And when they come out on the other side of those painful breakups, we have to admit we’re more curious than ever how that chapter will have changed their minds on what to do next. From Jennifer Aniston and Halle Berry to Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, and more, many celebrities have spoken out about their changed mindset when re-entering the dating scene after divorce, and we love what they’ve had to say.
We’ve seen plenty of both surprising celeb couples and shocking breakups over the years. And while some prefer to keep their personal lives as private as possible (who could blame them), others are comfortable divulging how they’ve re-entered the dating world. What many of these stars have in common is a new appreciation for focusing on themselves after going through divorce — and that they’re way, way less willing to settle for less.
Of course, each celeb’s situation influences what’s important to them: stars like Berry and Drew Barrymore have talked about the specific challenges of dating while having young kids, while stars like Demi Moore and Jennifer Lopez have talked about the importance of healing their relationships with themselves before dating anyone else.
These takes are refreshing, honest, and give us a totally new look at how some of the biggest stars navigate their personal lives in the public eye — read on for what each person had to say.
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Kim Kardashian
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Kim Kardashian, who famously divorced disgraced rapper Kanye West in 2021, recently opened up about her outlook on dating again. “I definitely will take my time, and I think there’s so many factors especially when you have kids and being mindful of people that enter in your life,” she told Jay Shetty in his podcast On Purpose.
“If I can look at everything that I did wrong and try to not make the same mistakes and really take my time, I think it just has to be different for me,” she continued. “I’ll always believe in love and I’ll always want that and I think that’s such a magical part of life, but I think I’m so comfortable taking my time to not rush it.”
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Cheryl Burke
Image Credit: JC Olivera/WireImage DWTS alum Cheryl Burke, who divorced Matthew Lawrence in 2022, spoke out about dipping her toes back in the dating world again. “If the right guy comes along so be it but I am not searching,” Burke told E! News. “I’m not on a dating app, let’s put it that way.” As for what she’s looking for, the dancer shared her top priority: “It’s about somebody who wants to grow and evolve because without it life can be very stagnant and I’m not about to live that again.”
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Kaley Cuoco
Image Credit: FilmMagic The Flight Attendant star had a whirlwind romance with professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting. The two got engaged in September 2013 after three months of dating. The two ultimately called it quits in 2015.
When the divorce was still fresh, Kaley Cuoco didn’t believe that she would be able to find love.
“I came out of it a couple months ago, and life totally flipped upside down. Everyone kept saying there’s going to be a light at the end of this tunnel, and I didn’t believe it until it happened,” she told TODAY. Cuoco has been dating Ozark star Tom Pelphrey, and she said that he saved her “in all the ways.” The two welcomed their first child, Matilda, earlier this year.
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Demi Moore
Image Credit: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP. Demi Moore went through three high-profile divorces. But in the years following her split from Ashton Kutcher, the actress chose to focus on herself more than the dating scene — something we can always get behind.
“Right now I’m focusing on my relationship with myself,” the actress told WSJ Magazine in 2019, and went into further detail about both the dissolution of her relationships and her life after in that year’s memoir Inside Out.
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Adele
Image Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP. During her chat with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Adele got very real about not only dating after her divorce, but also dating in the public eye. “First of all, LA is not the f***ing place to go dating when you’re Adele,” the singer quipped during the interview. “I’ve left my marriage to go forward, not to f***ing go backwards.”
The Grammy winner explained that she’s “never experienced … dating as a grownup really, but also everyone knowing who I am.” She’s also averse to dating apps, saying she “can’t be going out with strangers.” Eventually, though, Adele reconnected with people she “hadn’t seen since I was a lot younger,” adding she became interested in them more “as an adult.”
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Kelly Clarkson
Image Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP. Throughout her divorce from Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson has been incredibly open about transitioning through this pivotal point in her life — even using her talk show as a platform to discuss certain changes. In late March 2021, Clarkson chatted with Gwyneth Paltrow — another star who went through a very public divorce.
When she opened up about what her dating life has looked like since her split from Blackstock, Clarkson had a really refreshing take we definitely can get behind. “I love dating me!” Clarkson shared. “So I’m actually not looking for it.”
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Drew Barrymore
Image Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP. Like Clarkson, Drew Barrymore has also used her talk show as a way to open up about her personal life. During one episode, the actress got very real and emotional about dating while also parenting two young daughters. “I don’t know how to date with kids,” she explained in a January 2022 episode.
“I’m not there yet — I have two young girls, and I don’t want to bring people home. I think that it would take me a very long time to meet someone and get to know them before I could even ever introduce them to my daughters.”
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Halle Berry
Image Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP. Halle Berry has been married three times, and over the years she’s learned a lot about navigating her very public personal life. “I’ve learned a lot being with my children. They are the best company for me right now, and when I divorced Maceo’s dad, I’ve been pretty alone by myself going on three years now. Decidedly so, for sure,” Berry shared during her April 2020 chat with Lena Waithe over Instagram Live, per People.
“I have decided to take time,” she went on. “I’m very much a relationship-oriented person, I always want to be with someone. But I decided, no I’m going to slow my roll, I’m going to take a minute and I’m going to spend time with me.”
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Ben Affleck
Image Credit: John Rasimus/STAR MAX/IPx. Following his split from Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck didn’t seem particularly keen on dating, though his relationship with Ana de Armas would say different. But during an interview with Good Morning America, Affleck did have a very grounded approach to dating post-divorce — and it didn’t involve a lot of time on apps.
“I am not on any websites, I am on no dating apps, not Tinder, Grindr, Brindr, Bumble, Humble,” Affleck shared in the February 2020 interview. “I am not on any of them. I don’t have any judgment about people who are — I know people who are on them and have a fun time, but that’s not me.”
“I would love to have a relationship that is deeply meaningful and one to which I could be deeply committed,” he continued.
Affleck seemingly broke his app rule when he was reportedly spotted on Raya in 2021, and partnered up with ex-fiancée Jennifer Lopez later that year.
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Angelina Jolie
Image Credit: zz/KGC-294/STAR MAX/IPx. Angelina Jolie has always remained fairly mum about her dating life post-Brad Pitt divorce. But there was one instance when the Oscar winner did reveal what she’s looking for in a potential future partner — or, rather, what she’s not looking for.
During her interview with E! News, Jolie shared she has a “very long list [of ‘nos’]” for anyone she’d potentially date. Honestly? We don’t blame her for having those standards.
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Mary J. Blige
Image Credit: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx. Mary J. Blige was married to Martin “Kendu” Isaacs for roughly 15 years before their divorce was finalized in 2018. In that time, the two-time Oscar nominee hasn’t divulged a lot of information about her love life, though she did say what type of dating she’s not interested in.
“I don’t care [about any dating apps],” she shared during an interview with Bevy Smith. “I’m nervous about any online dating. I’m cool. I’ll suffer — I’ll be alone for a little while.”
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Jennifer Lopez
Image Credit: Sipa USA via AP. Since she came onto the scene, Jennifer Lopez’s love life has been under the microscope. After three divorces and some broken engagements, the singer has come a long way. “For me, the relationship journey has been very up and down. But it didn’t have to do with anybody else but me — it was about me figuring out me,” Lopez told Harper’s Bazaar in 2019.
“Until you learn to love yourself, you can’t completely love [someone else] in a way that is pure and true. Once you do that, you can have relationships that are based on love and respect, that are supportive and nourishing. There’s an evolution there that had to happen for me. I feel like I’m in a better place now.”
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Jennifer Aniston
Image Credit: AP. Jennifer Aniston’s love life has always made headlines — much like a number of the stars on this list. But following divorces from Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux, Aniston is still growing.
“Am I on OkCupid? No. I have zero time, to be honest,” Aniston shared with Tig Notaro during their 2019 Harper’s Bazaar interview. “My focus has been on the show, so dating has not been one of my first priorities. I feel like whatever [romance] looks like, it will present itself, and it’s not about seeking it out, you know?”
Aniston did add, however, if love “comes knocking, it’s going to be welcomed. I’m not like, ‘No, I’m done with that. That’s never going to happen again.'”
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Nicole Kidman
Image Credit: zz/Galaxy/STAR MAX/IPx. Following her highly publicized divorce from Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman went through a lot, even enduring depression. “I think I was in a place myself at that time that was removed, depressed, not in my own body,” the actress said of working on her film The Hours amidst her split.
A few years following her divorce from Cruise, Kidman met and fell in love with Keith Urban.
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