Britney Spears just confirm that Justin Timberlake ended their high profile relationship over text message in 2002 , leaving her " devastated . "
In her new memoirThe Woman in Me,Britney Spearshas made so manyrevelations— and one person who isn’t coming off great is her ex,Justin Timberlake. In one excerpt, Britney evenconfirmedthat he ended their extremely high profile, three-year relationship over text message, leaving her “devastated” and having her consider quitting show business altogether.
Of course, Britney isn’t the only celebrity to get unceremoniously dumped by text or phone call. Here are 11 more examples of celebs who reportedly ended things that way:
1.Taylor Swiftwas famously dumped byJoe Jonason a 27-second phone call in 2008 after three months of dating, which sheconfirmedduring an interview onThe Ellen Show. “That’s got to be a record,” she said, referring to the length of the breakup call.
2.Cazzie Davidrevealedin her essay collectionNo One Asked For Thisthat Pete Davidson broke up with her via text message in 2018 after they were together for two and a half years — and then she found out that he was dating Ariana Grande on Instagram the very next day.
3.Jason Deruloadmittedin a radio interview with Power 105.1 that he broke up with Jordin Sparks after three years of dating over the phone because he “wasn’t in town.”
4.Katy Perry’s documentary,Katy Perry: Part of Me,shows the exact moment that Russell Brand cruelly texted her to end their 14-month marriage — right before she went on stage on tour. “Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me 17 March 2025,” shetoldVogue in 2013.
5.Chrishell Stausesharedthat Justin Hartley texted her to let her know they were getting divorced after their four-year marriage. “Um, I found out because he text[ed] me that we filed,” she said on an episode ofSelling Sunset. “Forty-five minutes later, the world knew.”
6.Perrie Edwards claimed that Zayn Malik ended their engagement over text message. “It was horrible, the worst time of my life,” shewrotein Little Mix’s book,Our World. “A four-year relationship, two-year engagement ended by a simple text message. Just like that.”
7.Early on in their relationship in 2007, Prince William reportedly broke up with Kate Middleton on a phone call while she was working, accordingto a claimin Robert Lacey’s book,Battle of the Brothers. “It is said that Kate excused herself from a meeting to take a call from William — then a ‘hard-drinking’ Army officer often spotted at nightclubs — and shut herself in a room for more than an hour while the pair discussed their future. They broke up during the call but the split didn’t last long — they got back together 10 weeks later.”
8.Tiffany Haddish toldThe Washington Postthat her breakup with Common after dating for over a year was “not mutual” and that he did it by phone call. “It was more him saying, ‘I think this relationship has run its course.’ And I was like, ‘OK. Like you gonna be a 50-year-old single man. OK?.'”
9.The Bachelorettecontestant Nayte Olukoya broke up with Michelle Young via phone call — and right after her birthday. He said that the two had a “bad weekend” and got into an argument. “I broke up with her over the phone,” he toldEntertainment Tonight. “You don’t want to break up with someone, especially your fiancé, over the phone. It was her birthday weekend.”
10.In a 2013interviewwith Complex, Ariana Grande opened up about the worst way she was ever dumped. “Probably over a text message the opening night of my tour right before I was about to go on stage,” she said. Given the timeline of her tour, many fans have speculated that she was referring to her ex Jai Brooks whom she dated for two years, though this has never been officially confirmed.
11.Finally, Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas seemingly did have a mutual conversation on the phone, after which they decided to end their 10-month relationship. “They have had numerous discussions about their future and they decided together to break up,” a source toldPeopleat the time.
