It was the year of the Oscar statuettes heist. Robert Downey Jr. fell off the wagon again. And it was also the year wherein the longest Screen Actors Guild strike took place.
But Y2K, to most of the Hollywood-intrigued nation, was also the year of the jaw dropping, logic-defying, tabloid-worthy celebrity breakups.
To name a few: Ted Turner and Jane Fonda. Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche. Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher. Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison.
And just when the weird phenomenon seemed to have spent itself out before the year officially came to a close, word came that once-inseparable lovebirds Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger had called it quits in mid-December.
Admittedly, we were a bit baffled by the collective trend in Y2K … until, that is, we received a little e-mail from online astrology Web site Stariq.com that instructed us to look to the stars for the answers.
Literally.
And what did we do? We called Stariq.com immediately, of course.
“The year 2000, this past year, put stress on the basic system because the planet Saturn’s contraction and Jupiter’s expansion join every 20 years and marks a new collective cycle,” Jeff Jawer, CEO of Stariq.com and an astrologer of 27 years, tells Hollywood.com.
Uh-huh.
Jawer says that it is these types of planetary movements, star alignments and what not, that inform him about romantic ups and downs — as in the case of Carrey and Zellweger.
“Renee and Jim’s signs are not that compatible. He’s a Capricorn. She’s a Taurus. They are both Earth signs and supposed to get along pretty well. But if you look at all the planets, they are actually very tough,” the 54-year-old Jawer says.
“One of the factors is Venus, the planet of love. The two have Venus in conflict with one another, which can be sort of hot and steamy but can be challenging for an enduring relationship.”
Well, maybe that’s what people mean when they describe a breakup as being “amicable.”
“We offer a free e-mail service, and if Jim Carrey was on this service, he would have gotten an e-mail about the tension that is going to happen in his relationship,” Jawer adds.
Needless to say, that’s a little too late. But if Y2K has been a year of huge separations, it has also been a year of huge hook-ups, too.
There’s the million-dollar and then some Malibu, Calif., wedding of superhunk Brad Pitt and “Friends” starlet Jennifer Aniston.
“Brad and Jen are very compatible. And Brad is a surprising loyal type. They’ll both keep what they have. He’s got a lot of integrity and commitment in his chart,” Jawer says.
And what about Madonna and her Guy Ritchie, who wed in a secret ceremony in Scotland on Dec. 22.
“Madonna‘s big change was this year, obviously with having a second child and committing to a second marriage. It’s good for her to make profound change. Whether Guy Ritchie fits that or not, I don’t know because I can’t find his birthday anywhere and can’t do his chart.”
If anyone out there knows the Material Dad’s exact birthday, let us know and we’ll send it Jawer’s way.
Last but not least, the seasoned astrologer said that he’s seeing a bit of trouble of the heart for comeback kid Drew Barrymore and comedian Tom Green in the future.
“Looking at celebrities, I really wonder if Drew — as idealistic and romantic as she is — would be able to go the distance with her crazy man.”
Looking ahead, Jawer tells us that 2001 will be a much less volatile year for coupledom.
As entertainment journalists, we like the sound of that.
