Some people become more than just “friends” to us; one day linguists may come up with a newly-coined word for that kind of a very close friend, but meanwhile, we have to make do with a long expression “best friend forever” abbreviated to BFF. These BFF people are the ones we least expect to turn their backs on us, tell tales out of school and feed us pretty lies. Nevertheless, now and then it is exactly what happens.
History tells us about a number of famous best friends forever who ended up as bitter enemies – think of Superman and Batman or Brenda Walsh and Kelly Taylor. Following their stories can be even more exciting than reading up about how celebrity couples live. When we come across a famous duo of friends they seem to loom larger than just a single celeb. Their possibilities are brighter: they can invent a special name for “us together,” turn up together at parties, make shoots for magazine covers and maybe even launch a reality show about how wonderful life is with your BFF around. They surely look more than twice as glorious strengthened by their friendship that is supposed to withstand time.
Yet time can be stronger and turntables on us. There is a long way from friendship to hatred, but there were people who walked all this way, and some of them did it very quickly. Such stars never miss upon an opportunity to wash one another’s dirty linen in public whenever they can because they feel intense rivalry now. We often don’t know what made them fall out like this, but sometimes it occurs to us that as enemies they look much better than they did as friends. Below are arguably the most interesting of such cases.
Heather Locklear and Denise Richards
These are two ladies who were as close BFFs as one may possibly imagine. Sexual and gorgeous, they drew everybody’s attention when they chose to paint the town red. But when they broke up all of a sudden it made people speculate what might have happened. Heather Locklear went on to marry musician Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi’s guitarist) in 1994, the marriage lasted until 2006 when divorce proceedings were set in motion. As soon as the divorce was finalized, Sambora and Richards began dating. Needless to say, Denise Richards was no longer Locklear’s BFF by that time.
Discussing the situation with the Redbook magazine Richards opened up a little about the friends coming apart – she didn’t reveal the root of the quarrel but said that when she and Sambora came together she had stopped being friends with Locklear for some time already. She accentuated that it hadn’t been a case of her flirting with her best friend’s husband and there had been no question of a clandestine affair. What happened later was a separate unconnected development.
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie
Paris and Nicole had been girls together from their green years when they grew and played in perfect childhood friendship that gives a promise of excellent BFFs for life. Then they drifted into professional lives and shared participation in The Simple Life series. As the series was about to air, an adult videotape with Paris leaked, drawing attention to Hilton, who rose on the wave of the series and the notoriety to a level of fame far outreaching Richie’s share of popularity. The gap was so wide that the arising jealousy in conjunction with media attention proved to be the undoing of a long friendship.
Asked about their relationship in 2005 Hilton replied curtly that they weren’t on friendly terms any longer but refused to enlarge on the cause of the separation. It seems that the end of friendship failed to evolve into the beginning of a feud. About ten years afterward Richie commented that she regarded Hilton as a good friend though they hadn’t met for some time. Still, she never stopped respecting Hilton and loving all the members of her family.
Tiffani Thiessen and Jennie Garth
This is a story of two girls drifting from one state to the opposite one more than once. At first, they didn’t go along well, then they got close and turned BFFs, only to turn the tables once again and allow enmity to replace the newly-found friendship. Both Garth and Thiessen hit the big time in the 1990s becoming iconic girls for all boys. Thiessen was invited to the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1994 instead of Shannen Doherty who quit the hit series. Garth was also there depicting Kelly Taylor, and it was common knowledge that the two couldn’t stand each other on sight.
Instead of welcoming Thiessen, Garth acted meanly and acrimoniously at first. Then she came round, offered her apologies and the two became close as thieves. Thiessen even didn’t want to leave her friend alone when Garth was delivering her first child and she stayed with her all the way. Anyway, their relationship disintegrated lately with neither actress wishing to comment on what had happened and why. When interviewed by Howard Stern, Tiffani Thiessen said it had been “rough” going from the start and that’s how it ended, hinting that she was the one on the receiving end. No further particulars are known so far.
Winona Ryder and Gwyneth Paltrow
Ryder and Paltrow’s friendship was probably one of the brightest features of the 1990s, especially when they were dating other stars – Ryder dating Matt Damon and Paltrow was going out with Ben Affleck. Those were their golden years when they never parted and could be seen only in each other’s company. Nobody could have told how long it would have gone on if professional issues hadn’t stood in their way. Both actresses were eligible for Viola in Shakespeare in Love and Paltrow got it – and not only that, she was acclaimed by critics for her playing and ultimately won an Oscar, a fact that must have added to the other’s chagrin. The friendship crumbled down, and the women parted ways. In her conversation with Howard Stern at a later date, Paltrow said that it had been years and years when she met Ryder last; when asked whether she had stolen the other’s role she denied it vehemently. Anyway, the friendship is off and the two don’t see each other anymore.
Elton John and George Michael
There was no such abbreviation as BFF at the time when super vocalists Elton John and ex-Wham’s George Michael created a close bond and were as great friends as you could ever imagine. Then Sir Elton decided he would like to express his views on his best pal’s preferred way of life. Michael was a stay-at-home man while John delighted in his global popularity and traveled extensively. In his 2004 interview, Sir Elton mentioning his friend’s home-centered lifestyle called it “a waste of talent.” He proceeded to say that it must be due to “a deep-rooted unhappiness” that revealed itself in his latest songs. Michael was obviously burned at the comment and reacted by saying that Elton John didn’t understand George. However, the quarrel got no further, and the hitmakers hit it off just fine with Michael coming round to be John’s guest at his house in 2005. They retained their good friendship up to the sorrowful death of Michael on Christmas Day of 2016.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna
Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow were brought together by their enthusiasm for fitness and discovered they had many other things in common. So they became “friends forever” and as such marched gloriously through the 2000s. They had a third person for an excellent company – their personal fitness expert Tracy Anderson who taught them a lot of things. For example, Anderson helped Paltrow with her dancing and got her connected to “her soulful side.” Madonna found Anderson’s input so beneficial that she had her on her tours for a couple of years.
The idyllic state of things lasted until 2011 when the best friends fell out – because of their third friend. Suddenly Madonna decided to move to another personal trainer and part with Anderson. This decision brought about a welter of emotions in Paltrow which she gave vent to in her Goop blog. She went so far as to ask how to behave when one suddenly stops liking one’s friend. Naming no names, the actress spoke extensively about her strong reaction, telling that a person made her feel “drained” and “belittled.” The great friendship was over.
Leighton Meester and Blake Lively
Engagement is another source of danger for best female friends, so when your bestie gets engaged, be sure to turn up with suitable congrats in good time. Look what happened to Leighton Meester and Blake Lively who came together on the set of the memorable series Gossip Girl. The girls they portrayed were in a kind of love/hate involvement, and it seemed to reflect pretty accurately what was going on between the two in the offscreen life. Early in the series, they got on fairly well, but soon their friendship began to falter. It is believed that in the last two seasons the relationship was on the rocks. The final cut that severed the bond came when Lively failed to extend her congratulations on Meester’s engagement to actor and musician Adam Brody. Once the series was done, both of them made up their mind to discontinue seeing each other. Talking about relationships on set, their co-star Chace Crawford said it was not surprising at all. During the daily spell of 16 working hours, she commented, people get on the edge, and little clashes and dramas crop up anyway.
Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato
There are many identical elements in Demi Lovato’s and Miley Cyrus’s lives to make them feel there is a bond – the two started out as Disney Channel’s child stars and achieved initial success. Both went on to star on hit series and consequently became even more famous. At this point, they were already bosom friends, and in 2013 Lovato was known to say that she regarded Cyrus as one of her best friends ever.
So things in the Disney world were all wine and roses – for a little while more, and then the (inevitable) rift occurred. Neither of them troubled to offer an explanation of the split relationship. Demi Lovato was later heard referring to Cyrus as an acquaintance. Elaborating on the changed state, she said that people are apt-get on and see their lives in a different light. She wishes her former friend well, but she wouldn’t want to share her life with the other anymore.
Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian
Socialites Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian really have very much in common. Both scions of rich families, they made their names as reality TV stars. They even both had indecent tapes gone public. But they were close friends even before they achieved stardom and notoriety. Then at the drop of a hat Hilton’s fame rocketed and she found herself the center of attention. At this period Kardashian, as a BFF, was never far away. She even accepted a post of Hilton’s personal assistant and had to, for example, clean closets in her home.
Things started to change round in 2009 when Kim Kardashian’s fame began to grow while Hilton was considered a bit stale news-wise. Finally, their bond gave and the two fell out. Kim never mentioned Hilton and didn’t show that she was aware of her existence at all. Hilton’s attitude was different, though. She wasn’t above insulting Kim and threw hints that the whole family of Kardashians enjoy fame due to her assistance. Asked about Kim’s behind, she compared it to “cottage cheese inside a big trash bag.” Still, in 2014 the two buried the hatchet and appeared together on a photo on Instagram.
Taylor Swift and Katy Perry
You won’t see such a story of a relationship as Taylor Swift and Katy Perry’s even in Mean Girls. The recording artists made friends in 2009 and got even closer as time went by. Taylor went to Perry’s birthday party and then was ecstatic over it on Twitter saying it was the best one in her life and totally “party-licious.” Since both of them used to date John Mayer at separate times, you might have assumed it grew into a reason for a quarrel, but actually, the famous BFFs had words over backup dancers.
Three of those professionals who participated on Perry’s California Dreams tour then joined Swift’s touring company for Red. But when Perry’s Prism tour was launched, they quit rejoining Perry. Swift’s reaction was highly negative – she unfollowed them on Twitter and penned a song called Bad Blood where she described what had transpired. Interviewed by Rolling Stone, she said she didn’t know how to take it, could they remain friends after what she called was “the harshest insult” in her life? According to Swift, the two have become enemies, and Perry sort of confirmed that on her Tweet calling the other girl “Regina George in sheep’s clothing.”
