Copyright BuzzFeed
“It’s Like A Death And A Rebirth”: Here’s A Roundup Of 11 Famous Women Who Had All-Around Glow-Ups After Big Breakups These before-and-afters simply need to be studied. Whether it’s my close personal friends or famous people I’ve literally never met, there’s nothing I love more than seeing someone get out of a relationship and level up their life. And, for the record, leveling up your life can manifest in lots of different ways. It’s not all about physical glow-ups, folks! Maybe you were eager to have kids, but your previous partner was stalling, and now you’ve met someone ready to commit. Or perhaps they were giving you mixed messages that left you drained of all your joy, and now you’re free from the uncertainty. Or maybe the relationship stress was preventing you from focusing on your passions in life, and now you’re back in touch with yourself and what you love. Don’t get me wrong, breakups are tough and can often take a lot of courage to get through. But as many have shown before, there’s plenty of sunshine waiting on the other side of the storm. So, here’s a list of some super famous women who now appear to be thriving after big breakups. 1. Gisele Bündchen was happily married to Tom Brady for 13 years, during which time they welcomed two children together. However, the marriage took a turn around 2022 as the couple began to want "different things," according to Gisele. “It’s like a death and a rebirth,” the supermodel said of their 2022 divorce. “It’s tough because you imagine your life was going to be a certain way, and you did everything you could, you know? I believed in fairy tales when I was a kid. I think it’s beautiful to believe in that.” It was no secret that Gisele found the split very hard, and since the divorce was finalized, she’s been lying low and building a new life with her boyfriend, Jiu-Jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente. The couple welcomed a baby boy together in February this year, and in May, Gisele gave fans some adorable insight into her new era. “I’ve been quiet over here but very busy living life..Sometimes, the most beautiful moments aren’t shared — they’re simply lived,” she wrote on Instagram. “Lately, I’ve been embracing the slower rhythms, the real connections, the beauty in the lessons that come with being present.” A few weeks later, she told French Vogue in a rare interview that she finally feels happier than ever. “I feel more comfortable in my own skin and have a clearer understanding of my priorities,” she told the outlet. “I’m grateful for where I am. I feel like I’ve earned it.” 2. Although it made for entertaining television, Kourtney Kardashian's relationship with Scott Disick was very exhausting. For a decade, Kourt was navigating Scott's various ups and downs, from his party-boy lifestyle to cheating allegations, and by 2015, she finally ended things for good. The exes share three children together, and between 2015 and 2020, Scott made no secret of his desire to try and make things work again. However, Kourtney was more reluctant to rekindle, saying that her “anxiety” over their difficult past was holding her back. And then Travis Barker entered the picture. For context, Kourtney and Travis were friends for a long time, but as soon as they started seeing each other romantically, it appears she finally found the consistency and security she'd been seeking from Scott for all those years. Kourtney tied the knot with the musician in 2022, and the following year, they welcomed their now-two-year-old son, Rocky. Today, it's evident that Kourtney's living the life she always wanted, while co-parenting amicably with Scott. 3. Adele’s separation from Simon Konecki was the subject of her 30 album in 2021, and it was certainly no walk in the park. “It was just exhausting trying to keep going with it,” Adele said of the split, admitting that she felt ashamed for leaving. “I’m just embarrassed that I didn’t make my marriage work… I’m still not fully over it; me choosing to dismantle my child’s life for my own makes me very uncomfortable.” Adele has opened up about how she used the pain of her divorce to strengthen her mind, body, and soul. “It became my time. I thought, If I can make my body physically strong, and I can feel that and see that, then maybe one day I can make my emotions and my mind physically strong," she told Vogue. "It was a lot of sound baths. It was a lot of meditation. It was a lot of therapy. And a lot of time spent on my own." Fast forward to today, and it appears Adele is thriving more than ever. She completed her Las Vegas residency, added an Emmy and a Grammy to her trophy cabinet, and in 2024, she confirmed that she's engaged to her partner, sports agent Rich Paul. We don't know if the pair have tied the knot yet, but either way, she came out on the other side of the pain, and it's a great time to be Adele. 4. Yes, Scott Disick made this list twice, but only because we must discuss the way Sofia Richie's life changed after she and Scott broke up. Scott and Sofia dated on and off for over three years between 2017 and 2020, during which time, Sofia's name was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. From their controversial 15-year age gap to cheating accusations, Scott and Sofia's relationship was marked by a lot of ups and downs — and even her father, Lionel Richie, didn't have great things to say about it. Notably, Sofia also found herself getting caught up in the never-ending Scott/Kourtney drama, which, as we know, is no place for a 21-year-old girl who's just trying to live her life. She and Scott broke up in August 2020, and he later stated that the breakup stemmed from his close relationship with Kourtney. "It's definitely not easy that we see each other, work together, and are friends," he said on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, revealing that Sofia gave him an "ultimatum": "You have to choose me or Kourtney." Within just a few months, Sofia was linked with her now-husband, Elliot Grainge. Unlike the chaos of her Kardashian/Disick era, sources said Elliot, now the CEO of Atlantic Music Group, is super "low-key" and not someone who craves the spotlight. Elliot and Sofia married in 2023 and welcomed a daughter together in 2024. Today, they're probably Gen-Z's most aspirational couple, and, to give fans more to gush over, they just announced that there's a second baby on the way. In addition to all that, Sofia's elevated post-Scott style has also made her a notable fashion icon (anyone remember the "quiet luxury" trend?), and she recently launched her own label, SRG. She's come a long way since those Las Vegas nightclub appearances, I'll tell you that much! 5. Ciara and Future were first linked in 2012 and began dating soon after. The romance moved very quickly: They got engaged in 2013 and welcomed a son, Future Zahir, the following year. However, things turned sour when Future Sr. was accused of cheating. The split was pretty messy, and in 2023, Ciara recalled the difficult decision to leave her relationship, particularly when they'd just welcomed a baby together. "When you know you're supposed to make a super defined decision in your life — you know it from the head to your feet, from your feet to your head and your soul and your body. It's almost like your taste buds change," she said. "When you have a child, it's very important to me, it's no time to play around. I am now responsible for another life, so what am I doing, how am I thinking that through?" Ciara found the courage to leave, and there's no doubt she moved on to bigger and better things with her now-husband, NFL player Russell Wilson. Today, Russell's name is basically synonymous with: "The guy who comes along and treats you like the Queen you truly are after putting up with too much mess." And after what she went through with Future, Ciara's life now appears to be filled with love, laughter, and lots of family time with her four kids. 6. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth first met in 2010 and were in a relationship for three years until they first split in 2013. Then, in 2016, news broke that the two had rekindled their relationship and were engaged. And though things may have looked happy from the outside on the second time around, Miley has since opened up about how she scaled back her identity to keep Liam happy. "I think that when me and Liam split up the first time with Bangerz, it was because it was like I was this provocateur and it was highly sexualized," she said in 2025. "And so for Younger Now, the album, the reason I kind of like played into this innocence was because I think that was a way to keep and a way to stay…If I'm younger now, if I'm less awake as this sexual woman publicly, then this is going to be the way that I can keep a happy home." Despite Miley's efforts to make it work, she and Liam announced their divorce in 2019. However, now that the relationship is over, Miley has been able to return to embracing her true self, finding plenty of love and success in the process. Need we mention those iconic Grammy wins for "Flowers," a song speculated to be about her split from Liam? Miley has also been in a relationship with musician Maxx Morando since late 2021, and it sounds like he loves her just as she is. "He’s very similar to me," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2024. "We just don’t take life too seriously." 7. Anyone who's watched any of the latter seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians will know that the last few years of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's marriage weren't great. As a reminder, Kanye entered an era of extreme conservatism around this time and was making demands about how he and Kim should raise their kids and live their lives. Memorably, Kanye once berated Kim over the fact that she was planning to wear a tight corset to the Met Gala, telling her the night before the event that her sexiness was "affecting [his] soul and spirit." "You are my wife, and it affects me when pictures are too sexy," the rapper told Kim during an argument that was documented on KUWTK. Visibly exhausted, Kim replied: "You built me up to be this sexy person, confidence, all this stuff, and just because you’re on a journey and you’re on a transformation doesn’t mean I’m in the same spot with you." And she's totally right. They separated in early 2021, and today, Kim is a happily single billionaire raising four kids, running thriving businesses, acting in TV shows, and wearing hot-ass outfits — all without a man dictating her every move. That sounds like a win to me! 8. Bella Hadid hasn't had it easy in the dating world, and in 2022, she opened up about difficult past relationships and her experiences going back to people who had "abused" her. "I started not having boundaries, not only sexually, physically, emotionally, but then it went into my workspace," she said. "I grew up around men — whether that was in relationships or family or whatever that was — where I was constantly told that my voice was less important than their voice." Around this time, it seemed like things were looking up for Bella's love life as she appeared to be nurturing a happy relationship with the art director, Marc Kalman. But after about two years together, they broke up. The split came as quite a surprise, and sources said at the time that she was struggling "with the pressures of fame" and "has been trying to take care of herself." Bella took some time away from the runway starting in 2023. In July of that year, she also celebrated ten months of sobriety. Since then, the supermodel has launched another brand, Orebella, and appears to have fully reconnected with her equestrian roots thanks to her new boyfriend, Adan Banuelos, who is a legit cowboy. Bella has said that meeting Adan by chance at a horse show in Texas was like "a breath of fresh air." She and Adan are now both based in Texas, where she can escape the intensity of her supermodel lifestyle. In May, Bella told Vogue that being with Adan and her horses is her "therapy" and that they dream of starting a family and opening "a summer camp for children." Talk about a fairytale! 9. Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler were a true power couple of the 2010s. So, when they called it quits in 2020 after nearly nine years together, the news came as a big shock to fans. Later that year, Vanessa met her future husband, MLB player Cole Tucker. Speaking on Jay Shetty's podcast in 2022, the High School Musical star discussed the differences between her romance with Cole and her past relationships, explaining how she approached things differently this time around. “I was in an eight-year-long relationship before him, so after that I was like, ‘OK, we’re getting serious.’ We’re going to make a list of things that I need. Not want, but actually need. Straight off the bat, I was very forthright with what it is I want in a relationship,” she said, revealing she made sure that she and Cole felt the same about the things she really desired in life, like family, marriage, and kids. "Those things get lost in the shuffle," she added, "and then you end up investing time in people that you shouldn’t." At the time of Vanessa and Austin's split, reports suggested that the demands of their careers — namely, his casting in Elvis — may have been the catalyst for the breakup. However, Vanessa's comments suggest that perhaps she and Austin ultimately weren't aligned on a number of things, whether that was children, marriage, or work-related matters — who knows! But what we do know is that it all worked out for the best for Vanessa (and Austin!). "My last breakup really catapulted me into a very, very special place," Vanessa said in 2024. "It pushed me to the right person, which I'm so grateful for. He is just the most supportive, real, understanding human being that I've ever met." She and Cole are also expecting their second baby together, congrats! 10. When Teyana Taylor filed for divorce from Iman Shumpert in 2023, it seemed like the separation was super amicable. However, after their split was finalized in 2024, things became a bit messy when Teyana accused her ex of leaking private details about their settlement to the media in an attempt to undermine her success and happiness. “I post my little picture at the Oscars, and it does 1.4 million views. Then, the next day, all of a sudden, here come these fake divorce settlements,” Taylor reportedly said on an Instagram Live. “Every time I have something going on, there’s another story about this sealed divorce.” This issue later went to court, with both Iman and Teyana accusing each other of being in contempt of court. And, to cut a long story short, it was found that Teyana had violated the terms of their divorce agreement and was ordered to pay Iman’s $70,000 attorney fees. The whole thing was pretty messy, but Teyana later described the sum as "the best" money she ever spent in her life because she'd "never have to deal with this again." "If it’s gonna give me my peace and we can be done with this for good, I sent that wire so fast," she said in August this year. And so, with the divorce drama in the past, Teyana is very much thriving on the other side. Not only is she in a happy relationship with Mufasa star Aaron Pierre, but the multi-hyphenate could be on her way to her first Oscar nomination after the success of One Battle After Another. And need I mention the way she's been killing these press tour looks?! Talking about the new heights of success she's found in 2025, Teyana told the Hollywood Reporter: “You can see my patience being in this game since I was 15, doing a little bit of everything. This moment hits a lot harder than it would’ve if everything had gone my way when I wanted it to.” 11. OK, maybe this one is a little premature. But in the month and a half since Nicole Kidman filed for divorce from Keith Urban, our girl has been KILLING it. And I can sense that the mother of all post-divorce slay-eras is about to commence. Insiders have claimed that Nicole feels "hurt" and "betrayed" by Keith, and that she'd been the one "fighting to save the marriage." So, amidst her reported heartbreak, it's been great to see that Nicole has been keeping busy in the public eye, reminding the world that she really is THAT girl. Since September, Nicole has stepped out in Paris with some incredible new bangs (a post-breakup classic), slayed the runway at Vogue World, and made a surprise appearance to be "arrested" by Sabrina Carpenter in front of thousands of cheering fans. I'm not sure about you, but this feels like just the tip of the iceberg...Get ready! So, that's my list. But now I'm intrigued. Do you have any post-split glow-up stories? Did your life immediately get better once you left the person who wasn't right for you? I love stories like these, so let me know in the comments. Alternatively, if you prefer to remain anonymous, please use the form below.
