Hollywood marriages seem to last shorter and shorter. You can see photos of divorcing couples splashed across covers of magazines, details of the split running for several pages. And the masses lap it all up.

But why do a significant number of Hollywood couples divorce left and right? Here are some possible reasons behind these famous splits.

The pesky paparazzi

Fame comes with a price, and that price is losing your privacy. Swarms of paparazzi camp out near stars' homes. They wait outside restaurants, bars, even hospitals and the Starbucks around the corner. The paparazzi make tons of money taking and peddling possibly meaningless photos that can be stretched into intriguing - and potentially damaging - stories.

Celebrity acquaintances suddenly become new couples all because a photograph showed them looking "close". Now if a married celebrity is involved in such a situation, it could easily spiral out of control and end in divorce.

The job entails...

Celebrities work closely with each other for long hours, away from home (and away from their spouses or partners) usually and for lengthy periods of time. Working together also requires emotional and physical energy. It's not surprising that relationships are forged while filming.

Case in point: Brangelina. While filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fell in love while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. Then, Aniston and Pitt divorced in 2005.

Celebrity dating

Having their private lives played out for public consumption makes it difficult for celebrities to lead normal lives. For celebrities, dinner and movies includes a number of their "people" - assistants, publicists, bodyguards. The list goes on.

All those distractions make it difficult for two celebrities to really get to know each other better. A lot of possibly important things get overlooked because of all the distraction leading dating celebs to marry without actually knowing each other all that well. And we all know how the story ends.

Marrying for the wrong reasons

Celebrities fall in love just like ordinary mortals, but they also have a lot of things to consider. Some celebs think that their fame and their careers have a deadline causing them to, let's just say fall in love easily - marry the next guy or girl who gets linked to them and end up divorced.

Some celebrities on the other hand believe that they are taking control of their lives and their careers by doing whatever the hell they want - including marrying whoever they want.

Case in point: Britney Spears. Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. Britney Spears was around 17 when she made it big. Being young, she had people around her to tell her what to do and what her image should be like. As her career blossomed and she got older, it was evident that she wanted more control over her life. She partied - hard. And got married to a career-less nobody with plenty of extra baggage. Britney and Federline divorced in 2007.

Publicity and cash flow

Sordid details of celebrity couples printed on the pages of glossies can help magazines sell like the proverbial hotcakes - magazines that promote the sale of a whole lot of things. The publicity can also make movies, tv shows, albums, etc. sell - big time. Divorces can even resurrect careers.