Oscar a relationship curse

Kate Winslet? Sandra Bullock? Julia Roberts? There must be a couples jinx on all winners of that shiny little Oscar statue.

Sandra Bullock and Jesse James.

Gasp. In recent weeks, not only one but two Best Actress winners have witnessed their personal lives dissolve. Spooky. It can only mean one thing. There must be a curse on all winners of that shiny little statue. Firstly it was splitsville for last year's victor, Kate Winslet, who suddenly announced the end of her seven-year marriage to Sam Mendes. And then rumours about Sandra Bullock's marriage started swirling. Had Jesse James been seeing the tattooed model Michelle McGee? Quite possibly, because this year's Best Actress has packed her bags and moved out of their Californian home.

Sleuths were quick to point out that these two golden girls weren't the first to win an award and fall tumbling down soon afterwards. In 2001, Julia Roberts thanked her then boyfriend, Benjamin Bratt, in her acceptance speech and found herself single again a few months later. In 2002, Halle Berry carried home the Oscar for Monster's Ball and then separated from her husband the following year. In 2005, Hilary Swank won her second such award but broke up with her husband less than a year later. In 2006, Reese Witherspoon clocked one for Walk the Line but had separated from Ryan Philippe within months.

Is it a pattern that replicates itself in the male category, like some kind of celebrity Pascal's triangle? Indeed not. Sure Sean Penn and Robin Wright-Penn split after he triumphed with Milk last year. But apart from that, all remains peaceful. In fact, Jeff Bridges waxed on about his wife, Susan Geston, and their 33-year marriage at this year's ceremony. But it might be prudent to keep quiet, Jeff. It seems there's a curse on the loose and it could just turn.