ScarJo and Ryan: Who Pulled the Plug?

Wonderwall, Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 11:41am (PST)

By Kat Giantis

The marital meltdown of Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds has many of us asking two questions: Why did the ridiculously attractive pair bother to get married in the first place, and what went wrong? We'll chalk the first one up to romantic optimism brought on by her Jell-O-on-springs figure and his six-pack abs. The second is a little more complicated.

According to People mag, Scarlett, 26, was the one who deep-sixed their under-the-radar union of two years, a decision she made less than a month after a PDA-packed night out in New York with the newly crowned Sexiest Man Alive, 34.

And in a move straight out of a formulaic romantic comedy, the actress has jetted off with her gal pals to Jamaica, where we assume she'll meet a hot cabana boy and rediscover the joys of single life.

Also rumored to be on ScarJo's to-do list: apartment-shopping in New York. Over the summer, the low-key duo reportedly snapped up a $3 million midcentury-modern pad in Los Angeles, although it seems they didn't spend too many nights together chilling on the couch.

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"Distance and their careers played a big role," a snitch tattles to People. "When you don't spend a lot of time with your partner you grow apart."

Lately, they "started to lead different lives," continues the insider, "and it was harder and harder to come back together and pick up where they left off."

Echoes an Us source, "The big problem with their relationship is the distance. They spent a lot of time apart when they are working. … She's been unhappy for a while."

Last week, says the mag, Scarlett was spied entering a Manhattan apartment building while yelling "you jerk!" into a cell phone. In Ryan's defense, she could have talking to the person who convinced her she'd make a great Black Widow in "Iron Man 2."

Anyway, with Johansson apparently getting support from friends during her Caribbean getaway, has Reynolds found his own confidant, one who knows him well?

"Ryan has been reaching out to an ex the past few months," an insider reveals to Us. "He is seeking comfort, but not in a romantic or sexual way."

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While the identity of the ex isn't known, speculation has already started to focus on his former fiancée, Alanis Morissette, who has plenty on her plate at the moment, what with new husband Souleye and an imminent stork arrival. Providing a sympathetic ear to the guy who dumped her likely isn't high on her priority list.

Ryan and Scarlett's share-time with their respective inner circles stands in stark contrast to their high-profile relationship, which they took pains to keep undercover, even, it appears, at the end.

"No one had any idea this was coming," a Scarlett spy tells PopEater, adding that the split specifics could remain hush-hush. "They kept their private life so secret that I doubt we will ever really know what went wrong."

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One thing that apparently didn't factor into the romantic breakdown was Ryan's "Green Lantern" co-star Blake Lively. E!'s Ted Casablanca says there's nothing to whispers of an on-set flirtation. Plus, the "Gossip Girl" looker already has a Ryan -- as in Gosling -- to keep her company.

But there was an alleged sticking point, says Us: a difference in personalities, with a source describing Reynolds as a "philosophical" type who's "into writing poems for girls."

Johansson, says the People mole, "was young when they married. She's a mature person but at points they were just on different pages."

In a class-act split statement, the soon-to-be exes noted, "We entered our relationship with love, and it's with love and kindness we leave it. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."

And it looks like that civility will carry over to their professional commitments, including an in-the-works documentary called "The Whale," which they executive produced and Reynolds narrates.

The film follows the journey of a killer whale named Luna, who loses its pod off the coast of British Columbia, just a blowhole's blast from where Scarlett and Ryan quietly tied the knot in September 2008.

A producer for the film insists both parties are still on board the doc, telling the Los Angeles Times, "We have no reason to believe that their passion and commitment to this project will waver as a result of any changes in their personal lives."

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