Being a celebrity comes with a certain level of difficulty in maintaining relationships (so it would seem, at least), but when two famous folks wind up together, they often become a sort of idolized couple for those who follow their careers. People hang on every word about love the two of you say, there are Tumblrs dedicated to your relationship and paparazzi devoutly reciting each side dish you guys ordered on your last dinner date. But regardless of how many people love or hate your relationship, it’s still subject to the same things as everybody else’s, including breakups.

Fans of Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber as a couple have likely been saddened by the news that the two have split. The pair have become something of the prom king and queen of the teenage celebrity world, so it has surprised some that they broke up. But why did does it matter quite so much to some people? 

Apparently, it’s because it was too difficult to keep a healthy relationship going when each member of the couple has an incredibly busy schedule. As somebody who’s had trouble maintaining a relationship when simply employed at a full-time job, the idea of doing tons of traveling and frequent, spur-of-the-moment plan changing sounds terribly frustrating in regard to maintaining a happy, intimate, as-normal-as-possible relationship. Plus, Gomez has called media coverage and the constant scrutiny of their relationship “just horrible,” so perhaps that’s another reason why things have come to a close. Or they’re simply teenagers and when you’re a teenager, a pretty damn small percentage of your relationships last forever. People break up and move on; it happens, especially when you’re young.

Okay, real talk: I don’t care too much about relationships involving celebrities. I admittedly was bummed about Heidi Klum and Seal’s break up, but that’s primarily because I knew I’d miss their amazing Halloween costumes (which wound up not being an issue, because Heidi Klum still did it!). So while I think it’s important to bring people relevant news regarding what’s going on with public figures, I also think that the amount of criticism regarding the pair’s dating life is pretty incredible. While reading about the two of them, I found so many cruel, insulting comments (particularly about Gomez) from people who had insanely strong feelings on the topic.

With this split, similar to Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart‘s recent romance debacle, fans have taken things incredibly personally. Fans slut-shamed Stewart and wore shirts condemning her actions, as though she had committed some form of offensive crime. In actuality, we don’t have a hugely precise idea on what happened, nor should it matter all that much when two people have personal problems between one another.

Believe me, I understand curiosity about people; we read and write about famous folks on a daily basis. People wanting to read stories about entertainers makes total sense. After all, if you enjoy their work and think they’re interesting, wishing to find out more about them makes sense.

However, I don’t understand the idea of getting so invested in the fates of celebrities’ dating lives. Calling a duo of teenagers horrible names, making numerous fake Twitters called Gomez “Slutlena” and wishing ill on them for somehow upsetting others by breaking up is ridiculous. Or, on the opposite side of things, making thrilled statements about a break up out of happiness that a celebrity’s relationship has ended (which, let’s be honest, a few of the more delusional Beliebers at least somewhat believe that a relationship with the kid is possible). But being excited over the sadness of others is both bizarre and depressing. It’s not curiosity. It’s just sad, sad obsession and over-investment into the lives of famous people.

Lovelies, do you have any feelings on the topic?

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