By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:18am PDT, Jul 24, 2017
The course of true love never did run smoothly — especially not in Hollywood! Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the biggest celebrity love stories of July 2017 — don't worry, though, there's some good news in here too — starting with the revelation that there's a new woman in Ben Affleck's life. The Oscar winner stepped out for a dinner date with "Saturday Night Live" producer Lindsay Shookus on July 6. There have been conflicting reports since then about just how long the duo have been an item, with some outlets alleging that they first got together three years ago while he was married to Jennifer Garner and she was married to "Late Night With Seth Meyers" producer Kevin Miller (whom some say she left for Ben), while others have maintained that their friendship only took a romantic turn a few months ago. On July 11, People magazine — part of the first camp — reported that Jen actually confronted Lindsay in person about her affair with Ben back in 2015, the year she and Ben separated. But that's not all! On July 15, Page Six reported that Ben isn't the first A-list actor whom Lindsay has romanced. She's also been linked to Jon Hamm and Chris Noth, though the "Mad Men" actor's rep denied the rumors, adding that Jon and the "SNL" producer "are not friends — they are acquaintances." Now keep reading for more of the best and worst celeb love life news of the month…
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The off-and-on drama between Rob Kardashian and former fiancée Blac Chyna turned especially ugly this month. The trouble started on July 5 — a few days after the mother of two took to Instagram to announce that she's single and happy — when the reality TV star posted NSFW photos of his baby mama on social media while accusing her of cheating, abusing drugs, having a baby with him to get back at her other ex, Tyga, and lying about how she lost weight after giving birth to their daughter, Dream, last year. On July 10, Chyna was granted a temporary restraining order against Rob, whom she's accused of slut-shaming her and of possibly violating California's revenge-porn law. She also claims that in the past, Rob punched her and "threatened to kill himself multiple times in text messages … trying to manipulate me to respond to his outbursts." The former stripper, who reportedly returned the jewelry and cars that Rob gifted her during their happier times, maintains that she still plans to co-parent Dream with him. Rob has reportedly apologized to his family for the drama and is currently seeking professional help through therapy.
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On July 11 — two weeks after the release of JAY-Z's "4:44" album, in which he opened up about his relationship with wife Beyonce and alleged infidelity issues — the rapper broached the topic again in an 11-minute video titled "Footnotes for 4:44." "This is my real life," he explains in the video. "I just ran into this place and we built this big, beautiful mansion of a relationship that wasn't totally built on the 100 percent truth and it starts cracking. Things start happening that the public can see," he added. "Then we had to get to a point of 'Okay, tear this down and let's start from the beginning.' … It's the hardest thing I've ever done." BEY-Z recently welcomed twins Rumi and Sir Carter.
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Jesse Williams also opened up about his love life in JAY-Z's "Footnotes for 4:44" video — as did fellow stars Chris Rock, Will Smith, Aziz Ansari, Anthony Anderson and Mahershala Ali. Says the "Grey's Anatomy" star, who split from wife Aryn Drake-Lee earlier this year and has since been linked to Minka Kelly: "I was in a relationship 13 years — 13 real years, not five years, not seven years, 13 years. And all of a sudden mother f—— are writing think-pieces that I somehow threw a 13-year relationship — like the most painful experience I've had in my life with a person I've loved with all of my heart — that I threw a person and my family in the trash because a girl I work with is cute." Jesse and Minka stepped out for a movie date in West Hollywood on July 10 — the day before the video in which the actor addressed rumors that she was somehow involved in his breakup went public.
Page Six reported on July 17 that Naomi Watts has moved on following her 2016 split from longtime partner Liev Schreiber: She's reportedly dating her "Gypsy" on-screen husband, Billy Crudup. The duo were spotted holding hands in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood earlier this month.
On July 10, DailyMail.com published photos of Paris Jackson holding hands with Trevor Donovan during an outing in the Los Angeles area. Michael Jackson's 19-year-old daughter took to Twitter to address speculation that she and the 38-year-old "90210" alum are dating, posting three since-deleted photos of herself holding hands with female friends, including Sofia Richie. "Y'all need to chill lol hand holding is a very common thing," she wrote in the caption — which wasn't exactly a denial that she and Trevor are more than friends.
On July 11, DailyMail.com published photos of Adriana Lima locking lips with her new beau, Turkish author Metin Hara, during a vacation in his home country. The writer told the Daily Sabah that he met the supermodel in Istanbul in June.
The Sun reported on July 12 that Henry Cavill has fallen for stuntwoman Lucy Cork — who's doubled for Rebecca Ferguson, Kate Beckinsale, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Cobie Smulders and more of Hollywood's biggest names — on the set of "Mission: Impossible 6." The Superman actor split from his last girlfriend, college student Tara King, in 2016. Henry and Lucy went public at the 2017 Wimbledon tennis championships.
Hilary Duff has yet another new man. In early July, DailyMail.com published photos of the singer-actress getting cozy at the beach with Ely Sandvik, the CEO of SOLr Energy Consulting. It's been a busy year for Hilary, who dated producer Matthew Koma in early 2017 and briefly reunited with former love Jason Walsh, a trainer she romanced last year, in April.
X17online.com reported on July 5 that Khloe Kardashian and her boyfriend of almost a year, basketball star Tristan Thompson, are now shacking up in the reality TV star's home in Calabasas, California — at least until October when he returns to Cleveland. Two weeks later, the Daily Mail reported that the duo have been house hunting in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.
On July 19, MailOnline published photos of Michelle Williams holding hands with a handsome mystery man while out and about in Rome with her daughter, Matilda Ledger. The actress was most recently linked to author Jonathan Safran Foer in mid-2015.
It's finally the end for Phaedra Parks and Apollo Nida, who's currently serving time behind bars on fraud charges and has been engaged to another woman since late 2016. TMZ reported on July 11 that the onetime stars of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" are finally (officially!) divorced after a long road to splitsville. In July 2016, they were granted a divorce by default because Apollo seemingly failed to respond to Phaedra's 2014 divorce filing. Five months later, he contested the divorce on the grounds that he'd never actually been served the divorce papers or been given a chance to respond — it turned out Phaedra misspelled his name on the documents — and he filed for divorce from behind bars.
In other "Housewives" divorce news: TMZ reported on July 10 that "The Real Housewives of Miami" alums Joanna Krupa and Romain Zago had filed for divorce after four years of marriage. Neither is seeking spousal support and the split is reportedly amicable. In fact, the day after they filed, the onetime couple — whose breakup was first revealed in May — were photographed spending time together at the beach in Miami. But the parting of ways, which took place in December, hasn't always been easy for the model, who told InTouch that she was initially "caught off-guard" by Romain's desire to call it quits, though she's since realized that she had been unhappy in the relationship. "I spent many nights crying. It was the worst Christmas imaginable. I felt like my life had been turned upside down, and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel," Joanna said. "I cried. I couldn't eat. I probably lost about seven pounds." The blond beauty added that her husband ultimately decided to pull the plug over her busy schedule and his desire to start a family.
Actress Meredith Salenger took to Instagram on July 6 to announce that she and Patton Oswalt had gotten engaged less than a month after they took their relationship public. But not everyone was happy for the comedian, who lost his first wife, crime writer Michelle McNamara, in April 2016. Just two days after they announced their engagement, the duo returned to social media to address critics of their whirlwind romance.
After months of rumors that they're an item, Nina Dobrev and Glen Powell were finally outed when photos of them looking especially cozy in a photo booth during Julianne Hough's July 8 wedding hit the Internet. A source close to the actress told HollywoodLife.com that the former star of "The Vampire Diaries" is "happier than she's been in a very long time" with the "Hidden Figures" actor.
On July 13, People magazine reported that "Spider-Man: Homecoming" stars Tom Holland and Zendaya are an item. The duo, who reportedly fell for each other on set, took to Twitter to address the report by making jokes about the rumors — which neither of them technically denied.
On July 6, People magazine reported that Billie Lourd and Taylor Lautner had called it quits after about eight months of dating. Though the breakup was reportedly amicable, the "Scream Queens" actress deleted most posts including the "Twilight" actor from her Instagram page.
E! News reported on July 14 that Alexander Skarsgard and Alexa Chung had called it quits after two years as a couple. The following day, Page Six reported that the "True Blood" alum had already started dating again: He went on a blind date with model Toni Garrn, who once dated Leonardo Dicaprio. But they didn't hit it off: "There may not be a second date in the cards," a source told Page Six.
On July 12, Page Six reported that Kiefer Sutherland and actress Cindy Vela have secretly been an item for the past three years.
Lea Michele also has a new person in her life. The "Glee" alum was photographed holding hands with Zandy Reich, the president of clothing company AYR, in New York City on July 18.
On July 3, TMZ reported that Natalie Maines had filed to divorce "Heroes" alum Adrian Pasdar after 17 years of marriage. The duo, who wed in 2000, have two sons. The Dixie Chicks singer cited irreconcilable differences as the reasons for the split and asked for joint custody of their two boys.
TMZ reported on July 5 that Drew Carey has found love with sex therapist Amie Nicole Harwick. The 59-year-old host of "The Price Is Right" reportedly met the 36 year old, who's modeled for the live touring version of "The Price Is Right," at a house party earlier this summer.
Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams and New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert took to Instagram on July 1 to announce that they've parted ways after 16 months of marriage and nearly a decade as a couple. "Marriage is not for the faint of heart. Love is an absolute risk. And it's up to each of us to stay hopeful even when the outcome isn't what we'd originally hoped for," they said in a joint statement.
Michelle Branch and The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney got engaged on July 2, the singer-songwriter's 34th birthday. The duo reportedly met in early 2015, the same year she divorced her first husband, bassist Teddy Landau, who's also the father of her 11-year-old daughter, Owen. Michelle and Patrick fell for each other while collaborating on the singer-songwriter's latest album, "Hopeless Romantic," which they co-produced. Their marriage will be Patrick's third.
JustJared reported on July 5 that earlier this summer, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." star Chloe Bennet and "One Tree Hill" alum Austin Nichols had called it quits after four years as a couple. And the actress has already moved on! She was photographed cozying up to Internet star Logan Paul while vacationing in Hawaii during the Fourth of July holiday.
On July 12, a rep for Cassadee Pope and All Time Low drummer Rian Dawson — who got engaged in February — announced that the duo had called it quits after seven years together. "They have amicably ended their relationship, but remain friends, supportive of each other's careers, and maintain the utmost respect for one another," the rep told NashvilleGab.com.
People magazine and Page Six reported on July 3 that Nina Agdal is dating Christie Brinkley's son, Jack Brinkley Cook, following her May split from Leonardo DiCaprio. There are mixed reports as to just how serious things are between the duo.
