{"id":133501,"date":"2023-11-14T22:57:51","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T22:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=133501"},"modified":"2023-11-14T22:57:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T22:57:51","slug":"tracey-cox-predicts-celeb-couples-heading-for-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/tracey-cox-predicts-celeb-couples-heading-for-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracey Cox predicts celeb couples heading for disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"
People look in on celebrity relationships and think, \u2018How could they have any problems? They\u2019re rich and beautiful\u2019.<\/p>\n
The reality is being beautiful and rich doesn\u2019t stop you being rejected, dumped, treated badly or a victim of any of the other humiliating acts that happen to us \u2018ordinary people\u2019.<\/p>\n
It might even be worse for the famous: if you feel embarrassed after declaring undying love to someone who doesn\u2019t reciprocate your feelings, imagine how it feels when you have 50 million followers witnessing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Playing out your relationships in a goldfish bowl, with the entire world commenting and predicting the very worst, puts the very best pairings under pressure.<\/p>\n
I feel sorry for celebs who are trying to find love \u2013 which is why I\u2019m giving these fledging famous couples my (albeit unasked for) advice.<\/p>\n
ARIANA GRANDE<\/span> AND ETHAN SLATER<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ariana Grande (left) should take it slow with new partner Ethan Slater (right), according to Tracey Cox\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After a very public engagement to Pete Davidson and subsequent split, Ariana began dating Dalton Gomez, an LA real estate agent, in 2020. They married in 2021, just five months after announcing their engagement, then separated in 2023.<\/p>\n As is her style, Ariana was fast to form new ties. This time with Ethan Slater, an actor who married his high school sweetheart and girlfriend of six years in 2018. They had a son in 2022 but are now separated.<\/p>\n Ariana started dating Ethan mid-July – her divorce from Dalton finalised early October.<\/p>\n Dear Ariana<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m spotting quite a few unhealthy relationship patterns here. The most obvious is that you are \u2018monkey branching\u2019: finding new partners before properly exiting previous relationships. This causes your new relationships to struggle because you\u2019re trying to make sense of what happened in the last, while simultaneously getting to know someone new. That sounds confusing and like a lot of hard work because it is.<\/p>\n When a relationship ends, most people spend time dissecting what went wrong. Ideally, they take responsibility for their part in the split (it\u2019s never one-sided), learn from their mistakes and only then dust themselves off and get out there again. If you don\u2019t allow space between lovers, you drag all the baggage and bad habits from your previous relationships onto the next. If you never stop to pause and analyse, you eventually have enough to fill a 747, let alone a private jet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tracey Cox (pictured) has shared advice with high profile celebrity couples – revealing why it’s not as easy as it may seem to be partnered up under the spotlight<\/p>\n Stop, take a breath. Try being single for a while. You\u2019ve had trauma in your life, and this can make people scared to be alone. (Twenty-two people died at an Ariana concert in Manchester, and her former fiance Mac Miller died tragically young). But using relationships as band-aids for a broken arm don\u2019t work. New love can only mask old issues for a while.<\/p>\n Another worrying trend: dating people who aren\u2019t properly available. Perhaps Ethan\u2019s marriage was over well before you met, but being the person seen as \u2018the destroyer\u2019 puts a lot of pressure on a new relationship. When you hit a hurdle, as all couple\u2019s do, there\u2019s blame and guilt. If you\u2019re both trying to sort through past hurts while building a new life together, I worry the foundations won\u2019t be terribly sound.<\/p>\n Verdict: Allow space between relationships. Take a break and breathe before launching into the next. Ideally, stay single for a while and discover who you are when you aren\u2019t part of a pair.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n GIGI HADID<\/span><\/span><\/span> AND <\/span><\/span><\/span>BRADLEY COOPER<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n An American model, television personality and member of the famous Hadid family, Gigi is at the top of her game. Bradley Cooper \u2013 Academy Award nominated movie star, film maker and consistent topper of most \u2018Sexiest Man Alive\u2019 lists \u2013 is also riding high at 48.<\/p>\n The pairing of a movie star and a model is nothing new, neither is the age difference. (Gigi also dated Leonardo DiCaprio.) But few last the distance \u2013 which is why my advice to Gigi is this\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper (pictured recently in New York) could be a ‘fantastic fling’, according to Tracey<\/p>\n Dear Gigi<\/span><\/p>\n I get why you\u2019re interested in dating Bradley \u2013 he\u2019s handsome, talented, rich and has a rare reputation as quite a nice guy. But I feel obliged to warn you that a 20-year age gap isn\u2019t something to be scoffed at, unless of course you\u2019re seeing this as just a fun fling. If that\u2019s your intention, great choice!<\/p>\n Age gaps work best if you stick to the middle and at 28 and 48, the differences you might struggle with later in life are barely even noticeable. Your sex drives will be fairly compatible, Bradley\u2019s still fit and healthy and you mix in the same worlds so your points of reference for culture will be similar. A fling with a hot, mature, interesting movie star could be just what you need to break the troubling on-again-off-again thing you\u2019ve got going with Zayn. (Gigi and Zayn Malik have a daughter and have repeatedly broken up and reunited.)<\/p>\n Try for a lifelong relationship, however, and the forecast isn\u2019t quite so rosy. New research shows the ideal age gap between couples is still between one and three years: what it was when your grandparents got hitched. The bigger the age gap, the harder couples find it to navigate major life events. Couples have the highest chance of succeeding when everyone around them approves (often not the case when the age difference is large) and when they both deal with life events around the same time.<\/p>\n The thing that undoes most age gap relationships is children: one is ready and has a fertility deadline, the other isn\u2019t or has already had theirs. Creaky bones and aches and pains of general ageing are annoying but liveable if you can moan to your partner, who is going through the same thing. When you\u2019re 50, as vibrant as Bradley is at 48, he\u2019ll be 70. Yes, everyone\u2019s living longer and in better health but 70 is, well, quite old by anyone\u2019s standards. Will you be willing to curtail your lifestyle to suit his health? Will he be embarrassed by the obvious signs of ageing?<\/p>\n Power issues also play out in age gap relationships. As the younger partner, you\u2019re in the \u2018pupil\u2019 position. He\u2019s lived longer so probably (hopefully) knows more. The power is automatically on his side and there\u2019s a tendency to view older partners as a teacher or parent: someone to hide things from if you\u2019ve been \u2018naughty\u2019. You may feel you can\u2019t have fun for fear of being thought immature. Bradley, meanwhile, has been through a lot of the experiences you\u2019re about to have and perhaps doesn\u2019t want to go back for round two.<\/p>\n At the start of age gap relationships, there\u2019s a lot of fun and teasing about each other\u2019s differing tastes and views. The time to exit is when the comments get a little barbed.<\/p>\n Verdict: A fantastic fling but troubles ahead if you try to make it last the distance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n HARRY STYLES AND TAYLOR RUSSELL<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The relationship between Harry Styles and his new girlfriend Taylor Russell (both pictured) has been described as ‘promising’ by Tracey<\/p>\n Known for dating older women – Olivia Wilde (10 years older), Caroline Flack (11 years older), Kimberley Steward (15 years older) \u2013 Harry has finally chosen someone his own age. Exactly his own age, in fact: actress Taylor Russell (Bones and All, \u2018The Effect\u2019 stage play) is also 29. Taylor has said in interviews that she always expects to be bruised by love but \u2018\u2026that\u2019s OK. It\u2019s worth it\u2019. I\u2019ve got my fingers crossed for these two.<\/p>\n Dear Harry<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations for breaking your pattern of dating older women. (As I\u2019ve discussed above, large age differences can cause issues.) You\u2019re now dating \u2018off-type\u2019 which is something I heartily encourage.<\/p>\n Most people have a \u2018type\u2019 \u2013 a look, an attitude, an age, a strong personality trait \u2013 that attracts them.<\/p>\n Our \u2018types\u2019 start forming from the minute we start noticing the world, which is when we start making our individual \u2018love map\u2019. Our love map is a list of things we like or don\u2019t like about people, that our brain subconsciously refers to when we meet someone. If your Aunt Betty was creepy and made you eat your greens, anyone with her mannerism of putting her nose in the air will turn you off. If you had a (reciprocated) crush on a kid in primary school with long blonde hair, that\u2019s filed under \u2018yes please\u2019. By the time we reach our 20s, our love maps or partner lists are long.<\/p>\n In some ways, it\u2019s helpful. Avoiding spendthrifts because your Dad was one, will stand you well in life. Other times, not so much. Refusing to date people who aren\u2019t blonde and blue-eyed is shutting off one hell of a lot who might be perfect for you. I\u2019m not sure how the \u2018must be older\u2019 point got added to your list, Harry, but I\u2019m happy you\u2019ve put it aside to give Taylor a go.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a promising sign when someone questions their dating patterns and dares to step outside their own square. This usually results in a higher quality relationship: one that\u2019s based on things that really do count, like moral values or personality traits like kindness.<\/p>\n Be warned though: it can feel uncomfortable when you challenge your own norm. For most, though, dating off type is a positive exercise. Even if it doesn\u2019t last, it offers something fresh, new and exciting. It forces you to behave differently because you\u2019re with a different type of person. The relationship dynamics aren\u2019t what you\u2019re used to: again, usually a good thing.<\/p>\n Verdict: Go for it \u2013 and don\u2019t panic if it feels a little strange at times. Change is a challenge but nearly always positive.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n TIMOTHEE CHALAMET AND KYLIE JENNER<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s an elfin-faced American-French actor who has clocked up an extraordinarily impressive acting pedigree at the tender age of 27. Kendall, 26, is a Kardashian: so famous, she\u2019s recognised by her first name only. Kendall\u2019s life has been captured on camera for public consumption since she was 16 and she comes from a family who appear driven by fame and money. In contrast, Timothee\u2019s an \u2018indie\u2019 with a Wikipedia page littered with intellectual, artistic achievements.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet (pictured at the US Open in September) are another couple under Tracey’s spotlight<\/p>\n Dear Timothee and Kylie<\/span><\/p>\n In a way, it makes sense that you have found each other. A shared love of fashion, fame, the same heart-shaped face (lots of couples have the same face proportions), both used to legions of adoring fans clamouring for attention, roughly the same age\u2026That\u2019s a lot in common.<\/p>\n But compatibility relies more on similar backgrounds than you think, and this is where problems might arise. Despite significant media attention, Timothee, you rarely discuss the romantic side of your personal life, so are used to a level of privacy. Kylie, for you it\u2019s impossible to hide. Timothee might be \u2018the best actor of his generation\u2019 but you are a brand, a global phenomenon. Your recognition level is on a stratospheric level and the constant intrusion will be a lot for him to deal with.<\/p>\n With a French father who is an editor for UNICEF and a mother who is a language and dance teacher, it\u2019s fair to assume you were probably rewarded for your talent and intellectual achievements more so than financial success. Kylie, you are a formidable business woman and one of the world\u2019s youngest billionaires by age 21. I worry there could be a clash over core beliefs and what is most important to you both in life.<\/p>\n Looking at it from a more positive perspective, your different values and backgrounds might strike a pleasing balance of \u2018yin\u2019 and \u2018yang\u2019. But that\u2019s not going to come without one or both doing some considerable bending.<\/p>\n Verdict: Starkly different upbringings and backgrounds can mean compatibility clashes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Visit traceycox.com for Tracey\u2019s products ranges, blog, books and weekly podcast, SexTok with Kelsey and Tracey.<\/p>\n