So far this year, multiple couples from the entertainment industry have ended their relationships. A few days ago, a TMZ report reported the separation of singer Ariana Grande and real estate broker Dalton Gomez, then Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello confirmed their divorce process after weeks of rumors.
The heartbreak lingers in the air. This Tuesday (July 25), Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro and Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía broke up their three-year relationship, according to a PEOPLE exclusive.
The unexpected announcement shocked their fans, who are now searching for answers to understand what happened between them. Various theories and speculations have started emerging; one of them – and the most viral so far– blames Rauw for being unfaithful to Rosalia.
The Internet is flooded with negative comments– some insulting Rauw and many others defending his now ex-girlfriend for his apparent betrayal.
In response, on Wednesday afternoon (July 26), Alejandro shared an Instagram story denying all the accusations against him and confessing his relationship was over months ago.
"There are thousands of problems that can cause a breakup, but in our case, it wasn't because of a third party or infidelity," Rauw explained. "...I couldn't stay silent and continue watching how they try to destroy the most real love story that God has allowed me to live."
Beyond that message, the post gave no other specific reasons or details about their relationship or how it ended.
Theories & Conspiracies
Last week, my entire Instagram feed was filled with the news that Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez had broken up. The difficulties of a long-distance relationship caused their breakup, but it ended on good terms, according to
This may be a fair reason why a marriage may break up - many couples are prone to break up if they are long-distance. But for the online community, these reasons are not enough, deciding to go down the rabbit hole of speculations and drama to get "answers."
One of those "answers" that many have taken as truth attributed to the wedding dress that the interpreter of "Thank You, Next" wore in her secret wedding with Gomez.
Vera Wang, the designer of this and other wedding dresses worn by different celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Avril Lavigne, is accused that her wedding wear brings bad luck.
Years ago, rumors spread that all the women who wo, re dresses by Wang at their weddings ended up divorced, some even ending on bad terms with each other.
This week through the news of the breakup between Rauw and Rosalia, several TikTok users have shared the theory that Rosé, singer of the South Korean group BlackPink, has a curse. The idea says that every time a celebrity is photographed next to her ends up breaking up with their partner, regardless of the duration of the relationship.
I must admit that some of the thereness I've heard made me laugh when I first heard them, as these events may be coincidences or unintentional. Therefore, they are funny, so I didn't see anything wrong with it– until now.
When Rumors Are Out of Control
Partial truths and the constant doubt about specific topics often lead many of us, as internet users, to search for answers on our own.
Although public opinion is sharply divided on whether social media are reliable sources of information, at this point in our lives, it's nearly impossible to avoid logging onto a social media app without being bombarded by a constant influx of new information every time.
Social media apps have become one of the fastest micro-content news apps: If you're looking for the latest news, chances are someone is already talking about it. But there's an even higher chance someone is fabricating fake stories with meaningless and unfactual conclusions. But many things we find are primarily rumors and assumptions created, not necessarily with the intent to hurt intentionally.
Through these public love breakups in recent weeks, I have realized that many people think that Vera Wang dresses bring bad luck in marriage and that if a celebrity takes a picture with Rosé, they will end their relationship, unable to distinguish between a lie, a gossip, a joke or actual news with facts that support them.
These local jokes, which started as playful fan banter, gradually spiraled out of control. Several media outlets have made news or written articles specifically dedicated to discussing these rumors as if they were actual news, making them viral and encouraging more people to revalidate these myths by keep feeding them with our attention.
There is a thin and fragile line between entertainment news and tabloid journalism, which focuses on sensational, exaggerated news to get people's attention and generate profits. Usually, the exaggerated information is neither beneficial nor informative, just a brief diversion through gossip.
There is no way t for this kind of media content to cease existing; just like any other kind of information, it has the right to live and be in the public eye so that everyone in; it can enjoy its content. But it is also our responsibility to know what content we consume and how such information might influence us.
"Minimize harm," the second code of ethics of The Society of Professional Journalists in the United States (also used as SPJ), is a basic rule of good journalism. Yet it is most likely to be forgotten by many media outlets. If you ever read an article where this rule isn't set, it's probably not content you should trust unthinkingly.
Some time ago, I heard a Spanish phrase: "Journalism in the sieve that separates veridical news from rumors disguised as fact." Whoever shares it with me, I understand it now.
Many say that since the advent of the Internet and social networks, journalism is dead, but it is the opposite; it is in these times full of massive misinformation that we most need experts to help guide us to that news that reports the truth, with facts and evidence to back it up.
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