It looks like Nazanin Mandi and Miguel may have rekindled their relationship. The two shocked everyone when they announced that they were splitting up in Sept. 2021 in a joint statement which also stated that they were separated for some time. Prior to that, the couple were together for 17 years and married for three. However, the model has dropped hints that they may be back together.
Miguel made a recent appearance on her Instagram page and she re-added the singer’s last name to her name on her Instagram bio. Unarchived photos of the couple have also reappeared on her page.
But this isn’t the first time the couple has broken up, Nazanin revealed in her now-defunct podcast that the couple had broken up before getting married and that therapy helped them make it down the aisle in 2019.
So it begs the question, do breakups strengthen relationships?
Nazanin and Miguel aren’t the only celebs who have broken up before ending up in a more healthy and lasting union. Here are some other celebrities who broke up, made up, and have been successful.
Cardi B and Offset
Cardi B and Offset’s relationship was plagued with cheating rumors from the beginning, however, the couple has made it through.
The couple had a whirlwind romance after they reportedly began dating in early 2017, got married in September 2017, and welcomed their daughter Kulture in 2018.
But due to Offset’s cheating, Cardi announced that they were splitting up in December 2018. The Migos rapper made several public attempts to win Bardi back and he was eventually successful.
The couple got back together at the top of 2019 and now they share two children. In a 2019 interview with Vogue, the Bronx rapper revealed why she took Offset back and how they were able to work it out.
“Everybody has issues. I believe in forgiveness. I prayed on it. Me and my husband, we prayed on it. We had priests come to us,” she said.
“And we just came to an understanding like, bro, it’s really us against the world. He has my back for everything, I have his back for everything, so when you cheat, you’re betraying the person that has your back the most,” she added. “Why would you do that? We have come to a clear understanding. For me, monogamy is the only way. I’ll beat your a– if you cheat on me.”
Ne-Yo and Crystal Smith
Ne-Yo and his wife Crystal Smith were together for four years before the singer filed for divorce in 2020. However, when the pandemic hit, everything changed.
The “So Sick” artist spoke with Good Morning Britain about their divorce and what made them reconcile. We were talking full-on divorce,” the singer said in October 2021. “It forced us to sit down and talk about our problems and reconnect with our kids.”
He continued, “The pandemic saved my marriage. There’s only so much FaceTime you can do. In the pandemic, we lost a lot of people, but in my case, it helped a lot of instances in my life. We had brutally honest conversations.”
In June 2021, they welcomed their third child.
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
Before getting married in 2014, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade took a break in 2013, and during that time the retired NBA star fathered another child.
Gabrielle now has a child of her own, Kaavia James Union Wade, which she had via surrogate after countless unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant.
The couple seems to be experiencing happier times, but the actress did reveal in her second memoir You Got Anything Stronger? that the woman she is today would not have stayed with Dwyane after he fathered another child.
“The 'me' of today would not have stayed with him, but would I be who I am now without that pain? That fiery explosion that created life and light? The advice I would give myself now would be to leave. ‘You don’t have to do this. You don’t think you have an option, but you do. Save yourself,’” she wrote.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Beyoncé toldSeventeen magazine that she was 19 years old when she began dating Jay-Z and in 2002 they collaborated for “03’ Bonnie & Clyde.”
However, they were rumored to break up in 2005 but eventually got back together a year later. The couple got married in 2008 and in 2016, the singer dropped her groundbreaking album Lemonade where she alluded to the “Holy Grail” rapper cheating in their marriage.
The album detailed how the couple worked on their relationship and now after 13 years of marriage, the couple has three children and they have collaborated on many projects together such as a joint album, a joint tour, and most recently Tiffany & Co.’s About Love campaign.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck aka Bennifer reunited in 2021 after the singer ended her engagement to Alex Rodrigeuz.
However, the couple first began their relationship in 2002 after they met during the filming of Gigli. During that time, Jennifer was in the process of divorcing her second husband Cris Judd, and months later she and Ben got engaged. Their wedding was set for September 2003 but was canceled and the duo broke up in 2004.
They separately pursued relationships with other people. Jennifer ended up marrying fellow singer Marc Anthony and the actor married Jennifer Garner. Years went by and in April 2021, Bennifer was rumored to be back together and the following month, they were spotted out together.
Since then they have made multiple appearances together including Jennifer’s Instagram in July 2021 where they celebrated her 52nd birthday on a yacht in France. In September 2021, the Gone Girl actor gushed over Jennifer after she was named Adweek's 2021 Brand Visionary.
“I am in awe of what Jennifer's effect on the world is,” he said. “At most, as an artist, I can make movies that move people. Jennifer has inspired a massive group of people to feel they have a seat at the table in this country. That is an effect few people throughout history have had, one I will never know and one I can only stand by and admire with respect."
Featured image by Denise Truscello/Getty Images for LARAS
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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Now, while it’s another message for another time that if this type of sex-related craving feels impulsive or out of one’s control, it could be a sign of someone who is leaning into some level of sex addiction; however, that is not what we’re going to unpack today. Today, we’re going to look into what could be going on with you if it seems like, lately, you’ve been having a greater desire for sex, and you can’t quite pinpoint why.
Because, just like, say, a craving for a particular type of food oftentimes reveals something that is going on with you physically or mentally — sex cravings tend to bring certain things to light in those same areas, too.
Let’s dig in…
Hormonal Shifts
GiphyAlthough I don’t have social media accounts, I do tiptoe out there to see what’s going on — and boy, do I roll my eyes whenever I hear folks act like being over 40 is old. SMDH. It’s especially annoying when I hear about it in the context of sex because, believe it or not, there are a lot of late perimenopausal and menopausal women who are “gettin’ theirs” more than some of these 20 and 30-year-olds are (just ask them).
One reason is that the fear of experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, for many, is now in their rearview mirror. Another is because some are taking a form of hormone therapy to treat the changes that their system is going through — and when you’re getting more estrogen, progesterone, and/or testosterone into your body (in order to level things out) — HUNNAY.
For other women, even consuming phytoestrogens (plant-based estrogen) like peaches, garlic, berries, spinach, and cabbage can make them want sex more than when those aren’t a part of their diet. Bottom line here, a shift in your sexual hormones can definitely cause you to desire sex more than you have before (or have in a while).
Ovulation
GiphyBack when I was a teen mom director for the local chapter of a national non-profit, something that I used to tell “my daughters” all of the time is when you know that you’re ovulating, that’s when you need to be hypervigilant about using wisdom when it comes to the sex-related decisions that you make. I’m thinking that most of you get why: your body was designed to feel its horniest when you’re able to get pregnant — and that is during your time of ovulation.
That’s why it really is a good idea to keep up with your cycle and, if a baby is not something that is on your priority list right now, you either avoid having sex during that time of the month or make sure to use some form of birth control. Chile, even women with low libidos can find themselves wanting to hang off of a chandelier or two when they are ovulating. It’s nature’s way.
A Healthy Diet
GiphyIf you happen to be someone with a sluggish sex drive and you know that you spend most of your time in a drive-thru, there is probably a direct correlation there. No joke. There is plenty of research out in cyberspace to support the fact that a wack diet and low sex drive have a lot in common. While processed foods and unhealthy fats can throw your (sex) hormones off, foods that are filled with zinc, vitamins B12 and D, and iron can ramp up your desire for intimacy.
This is why many people who decide to make a lifestyle change as far as their eating habits are concerned are oftentimes surprised by how much sex is on their minds and how much easier it is for them to orgasm because of it. While a part of it can be due to a boost in their sexual confidence, a lot of it has to do with consuming foods that will literally feed their libido (in a healthy way).
More Exercise
GiphyPlainly put, exercise makes you hornier. Not only does it boost your testosterone levels, (consistently) working out also lowers your stress levels and gives you a boost in the self-esteem department. On top of that, exercise makes you more flexible, builds up endurance, and increases blood circulation which can turn around and intensify your climaxes as a direct result. In fact, this is oftentimes why people will want to have sex right after a workout session.
While we’re here, let me also share that too much of a good thing can end up being counterproductive. What I mean by that is, that although it is wise to exercise on a regular basis, make sure to not overdo it. Something known as overtraining syndrome can result in fatigue, insomnia, and irritability; no one can really have amazing sex when all of that is going on.
Being a Certain Age
GiphyWhile it used to be said that the sexual peak for men is in their teens and for women, it’s in their 30s (some believe it’s because after 35, it’s more challenging for women to get pregnant and so our biological clock plays a role in it all), some research believes that coming to that conclusion isn’t fair because aging affects people differently. For instance, while on one hand, people in their 40s tend to see a dip in their sex hormones, as we’ve already discussed, hormone therapy (for both men and women) can level some of those issues out, if not increase some people’s sex drives altogether.
Adding to that, it should also go on record that some studies indicate that women between the ages of 27-45 actually have a stronger desire — or craving — for sex than women between the ages of 18-26. So honestly, there goes the myth that being younger (automatically) means that you’re hornier. #Elmoshrug
Certain Medications
GiphyIf you used to have a higher sex drive and you’re currently on an antidepressant, that could be why your desire for copulation has decreased. Some studies say that as much as 40 percent of people who are on these types of medication end up having a lower libido (by the way, antihistamines and beta-blockers can have this effect, too).
On the other hand, if you’ve been taking a prescribed drug to increase your sex drive (perhaps like Vyleesi or Addyi), then it would make sense that you may have an increased libido level. Other meds that may have a similar effect include birth control pills (since they alter your hormones), medications that help to treat Parkinson’s disease, along with dopamine-related drugs.
Less Stress
GiphyIf, on the days when you don’t seem to have a care in the world, you also desire sex more than usual, that’s not a coincidence either. Thing is, when you’re all stressed out, that can cause the stress hormone known as cortisol to work overtime and, when that happens, that can end up suppressing your sex hormones which can deplete you of sexual urges. Ironically, there is a flip side to this because when you engage in sexual activity, that actually elevates feel-good (and bonding) hormones like dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, which can also de-stress you.
So basically, if you’re craving sex, you probably aren’t very stressed out (right now), and if you want to stop being stressed out, you probably should have some sex (some protected sex, if you don’t want to be stressed later up the road…if you know what I mean).
Having an Amazing Sex Life
GiphyTo me, this one right here should be a given because when something is both good to and for you, why wouldn’t you want more of it? So yeah, if you have a great sex life with someone, it’s common sense that you’d want to engage in that act with them as much as possible. Hey, not to mention the fact that orgasms activate your brain in a way similar to a drug high does.
So, if while reading this, you’re thinking about sexting your bae to make arrangements to — eh hem — satisfy your craving, I say go for it! To “greatly want” to connect with your partner in order to have some fulfilling and satisfying sex? What in the world could possibly be wrong with that?! Not a damn thing.
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