The 12 biggest celebrity breakups of 2012

It was not a good year for star couples with stories and headlines detailing separations, divorces and "irreconcilable differences" - some amicable, and others, not so much. Celebrity splits in 2012, like previous years, revealed that "happily ever afters" are in fact, a rarity in Hollywood. We take a look back at the year's biggest breakups below.

1. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

Although we don't exactly consider this split to be as "sad" as some listed below, the Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes breakup bombshell was indeed the biggest in 2012. Let's recount the relationship: Just five years ago, the couple seemed so happy together- Tom leaped atop Oprah's couches to profess his undying love for Katie, a nice Catholic girl who hailed from Ohio known for her sweet girl-next-door persona. There were ostentatious public displays of affection that made us want to vomit. Then the two got married and produced the best-dressed child known to Hollywood, inspiring tumblrs everywhere, and even a book deal for one writer called, Suri's Burn Book. It seemed like an everlasting union for TomKat, until Cruise's Scientology connections seeped into the marriage like a grim SyFy movie. Katie broke free from Tom's controlling ways while he was filming Oblivion in Iceland, serving him with divorce papers and elusively smiling to herself in premeditated public appearances all across Manhattan with her daughter. At the end, the couple settled with Tom shelling out a mere $400,000 a year in child support. Katie debuted her own fashion line, Holmes & Yang, at New York Fashion Week. And we hope there's no more imminent couch jumping because quite frankly, we've had enough of that for now. Next!

2. Seal and Heidi Klum

They renewed vows year-after-year to reaffirm their undying love for one another. He sang to her on the Victoria's Secret runway when she was head angel. Girls everywhere wanted to mimic their lovey dovey lives. And after seven years of wedded bliss, four children together, and a seemingly indestructible marriage, Seal and Heidi dropped the bomb in January that they were headed their separate ways. Months after the split was announced, Klum confirmed she was dating bodyguard Martin Kirsten, which lead Seal to share with TMZ that he "wished she had waited to fornicate with the help." His choice words lead Klum to immediately squash any cheating rumors, and a follow-up from Seal's publicist confirmed that the singer did not insinuate that his ex-wife was unfaithful during their seven year union. The model eventually opened up to Katie Couric about her "horrible" and "hurtful" divorce, stating, "He's moved on, and so have I." Confirmation? Klum's in love and Seal recently purchased a super luxe pad for himself.

3. Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis

What's most shocking about Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis' fourteen year relationship? The two weren't married all along! After sharing two children and over a decade together as a couple, Depp and Paradis announced their split in June. Soon after, Depp emerged in public with his Rum Diaries co-star Amber Heard. Fourteen years, ya heard?

4. Courteney Cox and David Arquette

Almost thirteen years of marriage and two years of separation later, Courteney Cox and David Arquette made their divorce official in June. The papers were originally signed in March, but Arquette waited three months to file them in court. As if that wasn't bizarre enough behavior on his part, Arquette also held his bar mitzvah (a rite of passage typically reserved for 13-year-old Jewish boys) within the same week, tweeting, "Finally, I'm a man." Cox, on the other hand, still remains single, and the two share custody of their 8-year-old daughter, Coco.

5. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett

They called it "irreconcilable differences," but for many, it was "sadness." Amy Poehler and Will Arnett were a duo made in comedy club heaven, but after eight years of marriage, the two decided to split. Oh, and guess who's co-hosting the Golden Globes this year?

6. Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer

We don't know how she managed to put up with Russell Crowe's reported "king-sized ego" for nine years, but Danielle Spencer finally stomped her foot down and said, "Enough!" (Or so we would like to believe the scenario panned out.) The two, who have two sons, split in October. However, it is reported that Crowe is spending the holidays with his kids and estranged wife back in Sydney. Is reconciliation on the horizon?

7. Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli

She had her glory days on 90210, but Jennie Garth's ex-husband, Peter Facinelli, proved to be a late bloomer after starring as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the Twilight series. His career skyrocketed while sources told Us Weekly that Garth resented Facinelli for his sudden successes. "I didn't want it to happen," Garth commented on the divorce. "It took me some time to come to peace with it."

8. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

Although these two are back together again, Kristen Stewart's "momentary indiscretion" with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders is included in this roundup for obvious reasons. This summer, Stewart was snapped cheating on her heartthrob boyfriend, Robert Pattinson, with Sanders, who has a wife and two children. Naturally, the masses were less than thrilled with Stewart and Sanders' high profile, out-in-the-open, make-out session. It was an embarrassing, heart-breaking situation for Rob, who found out about the affair like the rest of us - through Us Weekly. Stewart immediately delivered a very public, somewhat-sincere apology. Rob eventually returned to her, and we hope that's the end of the Robsten scandal, because it was bad. Really awful bad.

9. Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard

The "New Girl" star is newly single after she and her rocker husband made their divorce official on December 17. The two announced their separation in November 2011, but it seems they just couldn't work things out in the interim. Take it from Jay, when he says, "On to the next one."

10. The "Bachelor" couples: Jef Holmes and Emily Maynard, Chris Harrison and his wife, Ben Flajnik and Courtney Robertson

There's only one "Bachelor" couple who shared their wedding vows in a television special in 2012, and it was Penn dental student Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum. The others split, leading viewers and fans of ABC's hit series "heartbroken" like the stars whose stories were splashed over tabloid covers. (You know you picked them up in the grocery store line, too).

11. Evelyn Lozada and Chad Ochocinco

Ev and Ocho's short-lived marriage of 41 days ended on a violent note after Ochocinco reportedly head-butted his wife in a domestic dispute. The football star was promptly arrested, his contract with the Miami Dolphins was terminated, and he was served with divorce papers. VH1 then canceled the pending reality TV series involving the two, and Ocho fades into obscurity. End of story.

12. Avril Lavigne and Brody Jenner, Rob Kardashian and Rita Ora, and other D-Listers

The odd couple split after Jenner reportedly set his "career comeback" as his priority. But we list Rita Ora and Rob Kardashian on this list because his Twitter rant was that epic. Although they had never publicly announced their boyfriend-girlfriend status, it was implied that the two were exclusively seeing each other, or so it seemed. In early December, Rob Kardashian went on a Twitter tirade, saying that an unnamed girl had cheated on him.  He wrote, "But when a woman disrespects herself by messing with more than 20 men all while being in a relationship with a Faithful man…"

Now that's scandalous.