These days, fans have the scoop on celeb couples having trouble in paradise.
With their propensity for publicizing their activities via social media, stars sometimes slip into airing their dirty laundry for all the world to see.
In other words, the stars themselves feed their fans with something to feast on—their misery, self-pity, venom, misplaced anger, what have you when a relationship is collapsing.
They do it differently in Hollywood though, they keep to tradition. Nothing is confirmed until the official announcement from the couple breaking up is issued.
To wit:
In June 2013, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner released a joint statement: "After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce."
Likewise, Gwen Stefani and Gaving Rossdale sent this statement to ET in August 2015: "While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment. To that end, we respectfully request privacy from the media during this time."
But in local showbiz nowadays, the Instagram is the source of the scutttlebutt.
Here are 10 signs on Instagram of impending breakups among celeb couples. Some are blunt; others, cryptic; a few are subtle.
1. One suddenly unfollows the other.
In March 2013, two bloggers noticed that Gerald Anderson had unfollowed Maja on Instagram.
That was just a month after PEP.ph reported their airborne rendezvous in Tagaytay.
The two had been reluctant to admit their relationship, given the rabid bashing by the fans of Kim Chiu, Gerald's ex-girlfriend and Maja's former close friend.
The two broke up in April 2015, and Maja had since stopped following Gerald on IG.
Going through the 689 people she follows, Gerald's brother Ken is on the list, but not the actor's name.
2. Pictures of their happy times disappear.
If you check Yassi Pressmann's account before announcing her breakup with Sef Cadayona on December 24, 2013, it's like the guy never became part of her life.
3. Dead links
Another easy way to decipher relationship trouble codes is by searching the couple's names on Google.
Next, check and click the posts where he tagged her and vice versa.
If a dead link appears, then the couple may be headed for splitsville.
4. Hugot quotes
In September 2014, this post of JM De Guzman fueled the rumors about his breakup with Jessy Mendiola.
Around that time, Jessy also posted this.
5. Dropping hints
Did you see Ciara Sotto's posts before she dropped the bomb on January 16, 2016?
There were actually two—one was deleted, this other is still on.
6. Change in hashtag
Before the #btravels...
There was #bztravels.
7. Solo flight
Coincidence or not, but the preludes to the alleged breakups of Angelica Panganiban and John Lloyd Cruz and Zanjoe Marudo and Bea Alonzo were the solo travels of Angelica and Zanjoe sans their respective partners.
Here's Angelica going to Japan...
...and Zanjoe going Paris.
8. Follower's comment
Let's not ignore the comments column because fans sometimes have the insiders' scoop.
This appeared on Sam Concepcion's account in the same week the now-defunct showbiz talk show The Buzz reported his breakup with Jasmine Curtis Smith in 2015.
Some of his followers remarked that Jasmine had returned their dog Papito because three weeks earlier, the dog had been with the young actress.
By the way, Papito was given back to Jasmine five weeks later.
9. A screen grab on Instagram of a heartbreak scene.
In Andi's case, she put this out while she and ex-boyfriend Jake Ejercito were having one of their many LQs (lovers' quarrels.)
10. An official statement
Ciara is the first local celeb so far to make an official announcement on Instagram about her separation.
Short but straightforward, and her statement did not leave any room for second-guessing.