2011
Coachella
.
For their first Coachella outing together, mashabiki got very excited about the possibility they might be dating, but it was actually very difficult to tell from the pictures. They seemed pretty close, but not overtly coupley. Nina kept things very casual, in shorts,a black tank and lace-ups. They COULD have just been 'good friends'.
Paris
When Nina and Ian were spotted in Paris however, the gossip mill went into overdrive and mashabiki were simply buzzing with the news, especially over pics of them with their arms around each other like this: link These picha zaidi au less confimed what we had suspected for some time now, even without them saying anything.
Nina's choice of outfit is a direct contrast to the Coachella one she wore, which was quite simply, fabulous, flirty and spelled 'Love in Paris with My New Boyfriend'. Her outfit (a tulip style skirt, upindo in a blue print, dark pink blouse, ngamia coloured wrap, probably cashmere, and wedges) was a very sophisticated combo and unlike anything she'd worn before. Nina doesn't typically wear a lot of bright colours and prints in her daytime wear. It was very put-together and one that looked zaidi 'stylist-inspired' than one that she'd put together herself. I think she must have been pretty excited about being in Paris with Ian. It was almost as if she'd been anticipating getting snapped with him and had dressed up especially with this in mind.
The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards/Governor's Ball
link
In spite of appearing together at the Whitehouse Correspondents chajio, chakula cha jioni earlier in the year, THIS was really the moment the couple made their mark. Dressed to perfection, Nina and Ian looked incredible. Although they never talked openly abut their relationship to the press, there was absolutely no doubting they were a serious item now. Their attendance at the Whitehouse Correspondents chajio, chakula cha jioni caused much excitement among fans, but the Emmys were the event that really wowed us.
2012
20th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party
Black magic was the theme for one of the first big events of the year. Nina wore a black dress with cut-outs at the shoulders and her hair in a fishtail braid. The black was a surprising choice, as she nearly always goes for a bright colour at an event, but she looked great. Ian was dashing as always. But perhaps zaidi importantly, kwa being invited to such an event, Nian's romance was no longer a secret, au something they were even trying to hide; it was a aliyopewa among the entertainment world.
The 38th People's Choice Awards
OK, so this was a big night for Nina because she won. And she looked amazing. But what really stands out are the pics of them taken at the airport.
link
link
au Nina carrying her bag, and holding her award in one hand, talking on the phone with the other, while Ian drags two huge suitcases through the airport.
Coachella
Google 'ian and nina coachella 2012 and you'll see NIan looked SO in love, and HAPPY. They don't normally engage in PDA, but they did here. They just looked so natural and comfortable together, as if they had been together for years. Looking at them like this it's difficult to believe that kwa the following year, they had broken up. wewe can almost see the aura of happiness they were wrapped in.
Paris and Santa Monica Pier
Nian attended a lot of high profaili events, including the Met Ball, but I'm going to talk about some smaller, low-key picha that were taken of them when they weren't aware of it, because I think it gives people a glimpse of how they were, away from the public glare. I don't think Nian were always comfortable with being followed kwa the paparazzi - in certain cases, such as when they were snapped going on a coffee run in NYC, they looked distinctly annoyed. And when picha emerged of them having chajio, chakula cha jioni at Shima in LA, they looked kind of tense, au distant, possibly because they knew there was a camera being pointed at them. But when wewe look at the pics of them leaving Chez Julien in Paris, they looked the very image of a couple who were happy, and very much in love.
link
link
link
These pictures give a much zaidi intimate glimpse into their relationship which we had not really seen before. The same can be alisema for the picha of them kissing on Santa Monica Pier - where for a minute, it was as if they let their guards down and decided not to worry if anyone was watching them, and just be a normal couple.
krisimasi mti shopping in Atlanta and Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China
I thought this was adorable. I loved that Nina's red duffle kanzu, koti and Ian's shati were from American Eagle Outfitters. 2012 had been a whirlwind of Nian, and it showed no sign of slowing down. At the end of December they went on a post-Christmas vacation, and looked every inch the classic couple, Nina in a ngamia trench coat, and Ian in leather with a burberry scarf. (Nina was later seen wearing Ian's scarf leaving their hotel in Shanghai). There was absolutely nothing to hint that there might be trouble ahead.
2013
While 2012 had been nothing but a non-stop explosion of Nian activity. 2013 was much quieter. It was so quiet in fact, that mashabiki became worried that something bad had happened. That might be how the rumours started, but then again, maybe not. All we know is that it was the end of March when new picha of Nian finally emerged. mashabiki breathed a collective sigh of relief. What they didn't know was that it would be the last picha of Nian as a couple. Now, there were very few sightings of Nian out and about at the beginning of 2013, compared to the mwaka before. In 2012, they were spotted at Bora Bora Airport in January 1st. On Febuary 26th, they attended the Acadamy Awards Viewing Party. On March 10th they were photographed leaving the chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, and they were even pictued at In-N-Out Burger the inayofuata day. In 2013 they were seen at LAX Airport in Febuary and that's it until the end of March when they went to Toronto to visit Nina's family. Nina did attend some events, but not with Ian. For a couple who had regularly been attending some very prestigious events in Hollywood together, that was definitely troubling. If they had secretly broken up, au their relationship was heading that way, then that would explain why they seemed to be spending less time together but why then, would Ian accompany Nina to Toronto at the end of March? You've got to admit that it just doesn't add up.
Outside Nina's family nyumbani in Toronto/Pearson International Airport, Toronto Canada
I thought they both looked kind of tired in some of these pics, but they have a busy schedule, so that's understandable. Nian put on a stoic show: there's hand-holding, Ian genuinely seems close to Nina's family, at one point her mother leans over and kisses him on the cheek, there's really nothing that spells 'Break-up'. What is noticeable though, is Nina's outfit. Nina has been snapped at airports many times, and each time, she's nailed it for looking effortlessly cool. She usually wears skinny jeans, a koti, jacket and boots au flats, with maybe a scarf au a hat. But here, she's swaddled in layers: a hat, sunglasses and a big padded parka. Maybe it was super cold au she couldn't be bothered, but compare what she's wearing to the outfit she wore arriving at Shanghai: the Rachel Zoe coat, the red patent Chanel bag, the knee-high black boots, the sunglasses pushed on to the juu of her head, the radiant smile she's sporting.. link
There's nothing wrong with the Toronto outfit, but something's missing.. This was the last time Nian were pictured together: shortly afterwards, news broke of their split. So what happened? How could Ian go and visit Nina's family one month, and then the next, the relationship be over? Did something major happen to make them fall out? Was their relationship in trouble before-hand, and we just never knew about it? But after such a successful year, it just seems like it came out of the blue. It remains a mystery. They seemed to get on well with each others families, Nina supported Ian's ISF work, and unlike most couples in Hollywood, it wasn't a case of there being a third person involved au simply not being able to spend time with one another because of work committments, because they worked together on the onyesha all the time. It's been speculated that perhaps Nina didn't want to get married, but this seems a bit unsatisfying because it hardly seems like a deal-breaker. Ian would know how career-driven she is; surely it would be a case of giving her zaidi time. I suppose we'll never know the reasons.
2014
Nian's break-up continues to be chewed over in the media, (are they getting back together? Is Nina jealous?), and now Ian has apparently even found upendo with another girl (Nikki Reed). They look very together and pretty much the fairytale couple, but it doesn't seem so long zamani when Ian looked that way with Nina, only with them, it was a while before they were pictured canoodling in public.
It's easy to look at a celebrity couple and think they're perfect. But it's not true. Real relationships take work, and upendo is not a fairytale. When people looked at Nian it was easy to believe that, like 2 characters in a fairytale, they would live happily ever after. They didn't, but what they had WAS real. It's just that, rather than being a fairytale, as Ed Sheeran sings in the song 'Photograph', "Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes."
