It ended badly: thirteen of the worst breakups in history

If you have been replaced by a surprising choice, read about Nero and Poppaea

If you are accomplished and independent and fierce, read about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II

If your family didn't like your ex and thought you could do better, read about Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni Sforza

If you have ever made the same mistake twice, read about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard

If you have started snickering at happy couples on the street, read about Anna Ivanovna

If you believe in ghosts, read about Timothy Dexter

If you have just sent your ex a very intense emotional e-mail, read about Caroline Lamb and Lord Byron

If there were body image issues, read about John Ruskin and Effie Gray

If it was just a sad affair, read about Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas

If you were dumped, read about Edith Wharton and Morton Fullerton

If you are struggling to find anyone as good as your ex, read about Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler

If you deserve an apology, read about Norman Mailer and Adele Morales Mailer

If you want to believe it will all work out for the best in the end, read about Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor..