Sad though it may be, there is, historically, a pattern to high-profile celebrity splits.
First come the fever-pitch rumors of a breakup (check), then comes the paparazzi photo of one or both partners, cutting a sad, solo figure (check), and then comes the inevitable, reluctant statement from the splitting parties.
Well, guess which stage we're at in Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis' reportedly imminent split?
The actress, singer and baby mama to Depp's two kids stepped out for a solo shopping excursion in Paris yesterday, just as speculation that her 14-year relationship with America's favorite movie star was ending reached an all-time high.
So what did the 39-year-old French beauty get up to on her own? Time to break out your Deeper Meaning Decoder Rings: photographers snapped her shopping at FNAC, a music and book store, where she purchased The Seven Year Itch, among other DVDs, and some art books, including one on Picasso.
So far, neither the notoriously private Paradis nor the 48-year-old Depp have commented on reports of their relationship's demise, but that hasn't stopped them from making the public rounds—albeit on their own.
While Depp turned up solo to last weekend's Golden Globes, Paradis is expected to do the same on Monday, when she has her French premiere of Café de Flore.
C'est la vie.