Why Did Charlize And Stuart Break Up?

Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend reportedly broke up last month after nine years together. They are at least the third pair of long-term coupled celebs to split in recent months, and we’re wondering why, why must you make us sad, Susan and Tim, Charlize and Stuart … Brad and Angelina?

Charlize and Stuart have been together since meeting in 2001 while shooting the film Trapped. Charlize said numerous times over the years that she and Stuart would not marry until it was legal for gays and lesbians in the United States, but that they considered themselves married. "I'm married," Stuart told People magazine in 2007. "I didn't do a church wedding or anything, but we're married. We're husband and wife." Unmarried Partners To Get Government Benefits

Both wore commitment rings, but Charlize was photographed without hers at the Hope for Haiti telethon Jan. 22. Now British paper The Daily Mail is reporting that a friend says their relationship had cooled recently, and they decided to break up. "They had become more like brother and sister than lovers," the source said. "It was she who ended it."

So what’s going on with the breakups of these longtime unmarried couples? Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins's split last fall was a shock, as were the insane rumors that Brad Pitt is planning to leave Angelina Jolie and their six kids for Jennifer Aniston. We're super worried about Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, but relieved that Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham made it legal last year. And no wonder Camila Alves's mom wants Matthew McConaughey to put a ring on it. 10 Famously Unwed Couples

We have two theories about all the split-ups. First, these good-hearted celebs are undertaking their own economic stimulus plans, breaking up and spurring the production of thousands of pages of gossip. They're giving a substantial boost to the struggling celebrity-obsession trade, and we appreciate it. If not that, then we guess there's such a thing as a five- or nine- or twenty-one-year itch. Relationships are hard, even for famous people, and Bad Things Involving Famous People happen in threes. Or something like that. We can never remember if it's deaths or breakups or remakes of '80s comedies that happen in threes. 3 Breakup Lessons From Celebrities

Via The New York Daily News. Photo via Bauer-Griffin.