In May, millions tuned in to watch Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle in a service that involved a passionate preacher and a stellar guest list including the Clooneys, the Beckhams and Oprah.
And just when you thought the Duke and Duchess of Sussex couldn’t get any cuter, they announced that they had made a tiny royal human together, due next spring. Then in October, Princess Eugenie tied the knot with Jack Brooksbank.
Playing a different kind of game of thrones, Kit Harington AKA Jon Snow wed his wildling co-star Rose Leslie in June after years of are-they-aren’t-they speculation.
Justin Bieber is now married to model Hayley Baldwin, and in a similarly sneaky move, Ed Sheeran tied the knot with girlfriend Cherry Seaborn.
In August, Ellie Goulding announced her engagement to art dealer Caspar Jopling in The Times. And in September, Gwyneth Paltrow consciously coupled with producer Brad Falchuk in an A-list ceremony in The Hamptons.
But 2018 wasn’t just about romantic feels. The Spice Girls proved that friendship never ends by announcing last month that they were getting back together (minus Posh) for a tour.
Oh, and the whole nation fell in love with a man in a waistcoat – we still heart Gareth Southgate.
The scandals
The year didn’t get off to a great start for Donald Trump when adult film star Stormy Daniels claimed to have had a series of encounters with the prez.
And one half of the nation’s favourite presenting duo Ant McPartlin hit a bump in the road in April, crashing his car while drink driving.
He was fined £86,000 and entered rehab, while Holly Willoughby stepped up to keep Declan Donnelly company in the jungle on I’m A Celebrity!
In September Celebrity Big Brother contestant Roxanne Pallett claimed fellow contestant Ryan Thomas punched her. Except he didn’t.
And everyone found out, because it turned out the CBB house has quite a lot of cameras in it.
In October, Philip Green went from king of the high street to being named in Parliament as the subject of sexual harassment accusations.
And who could forget the pictures of Strictly contestant Seann Walsh snogging married dance partner Katya Jones outside a pub?
The splits
It’s always sad when our favourite celeb couples part ways, even if they do seem to move on quicker than you can say prenup.
Making the headlines again and capitalising on January’s reputation as ultimate divorce month was Ant McPartlin announcing his split from wife of 11 years Lisa Armstrong.
Separations were in the air over in Hollywood, too – Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announced they were heading to Splitsville after seven years together, releasing a joint statement about their “cherished friendship”.
Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid broke up in March, only to get back together a few months later.
In April, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan called time on their nine-year marriage (he’s now rumoured to be getting it on with Jessie J).
Meanwhile, Ariana Grande had a busy year. In May she announced her split from rapper Mac Miller, who died of an overdose in September.
But by October she had broken off her engagement (do keep up) to comedian Pete Davidson, inspiring break-up anthem Thank U, Next.
The spats
In February, Sex And The City fans choked on their Cosmos when it was confirmed that Samantha and Carrie really, really didn’t like each other IRL.
After SJP posted a message of condolence on Instagram following the death of Kim Cattrall’s brother, Kim responded: “Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already) You are not my family.
You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.” Ouch. Guess SATC 3 isn’t happening any time soon.
2018’s weirdest celebrity coupling – billionaire CEO Elon Musk and pop star Grimes – went to another level of strange in August, when rapper Azealia Banks took to Twitter to accuse Musk of inviting her for a threesome, tripping on acid, being on steroids and getting hair plugs. LOL.
And Katy Perry and Taylor Swift’s long-running feud apparently came to an end after Katy sent Tay-Tay an actual olive branch in May.
Rather than texting: “Yeah, I’m soz, too,” like a normal, Taylor Instagrammed her acceptance to her 113 million followers.
While they may be married to the most famous brothers in the world, earlier this month it emerged that Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle aren’t exactly BFFs.
Meg reportedly reduced K-Middy to tears during a bridesmaid dress fitting for Princess Charlotte, and apparently Prince Charles has stepped in to resolve the tension.
The screen heroes
This was a golden year for TV, from the Fab Five of Queer Eye taking over Netflix in February, to Doctor Who regenerating as a woman in October.
The summer schedules were dominated by a sweaty, competitive game involving lots of balls. No, not the World Cup, but the fourth series of Love Island.
In June, 4 million tuned in to watch Dani and Jack walk happily ever after into the Balearic sunset (while Dr Alex got more and more sunburnt).
In August, we all wanted some, ahem, close protection from David Budd in Bodyguard, which saw Richard Madden play the strong, silent police officer tasked with safeguarding home secretary Keeley Hawes in the most successful BBC drama for a decade.
The Beeb proved it was on a roll with Killing Eve, in which whipsmart female assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) delivered killer lines, killer blows and killer outfits.
This year was also the end of the reality TV era, as the last series of Big Brother ended with a whimper, and Louis Walsh retired from The X Factor after 13 years. We hope Simon bought him a carriage clock.
The farewells
Sadly, there were also some famous folk who went up to the big VIP room in the sky. In February, Vicar Of Dibley favourite Emma Chambers died of natural causes at the age of 53.
A month later, there was a big black hole in our hearts when the world’s most famous physicist (and, er, Simpsons star) Stephen Hawking went to another galaxy aged 76.
TV lost a few legends, including perma-tanned Supermarket Sweep presenter Dale Winton in April.
Tragically, Love Island star and former Miss Great Britain Sophie Gradon was found dead in June having taken her own life aged just 32.
Her heartbroken partner Aaron Armstrong, 25, died just a few weeks later.
EastEnders landlord Dirty Den aka Leslie Grantham passed away from lung cancer, and in August Barry Elliott, one half of the Chuckle Brothers, uttered his last “to me, to you” after fighting a secret battle with bone cancer.
Verne Troyer, AKA Mini-Me from Austin Powers, Swedish DJ Avicii and beloved celeb chef Anthony Bourdain also took their own lives. In August, queen of soul Aretha Franklin passed away from pancreatic cancer.
Her eight-hour- long funeral featured Bill Clinton, Ariana Grande and Chaka Khan paying their R.E.S.P.E.C.Ts. And comic-book fans went into mourning when Marvel creator Stan Lee passed away aged 95. They will all be missed.
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