Many of you have emailed about a possible breakup. It started when Carey, at the London Film Festival last week, reportedly told her friends that:

'I'm moving back to England: it's a long story. I am spending some more time here at the moment. Just spending time with my family, really.'

This was reported in the Sunday Telegraph. It’s unclear though whether or not they were eavesdropping at the premiere or whether or not the friends then relayed her words to the newspaper. I’m guessing the former, which I find amazingly hilarious. Listening in on conversations is a very important journalistic skill.

Carey returned to LA though shortly after promoting Never Let Me Go in London to resume work on Drive with Ryan Gosling. There’s been some buzz that she’s been seen with a handsome new guy but this is not super slamdunk information.

As for Shia, he was grumpy with photos the other day in DC – video here - and was also seen on a lunch outing with a friend/mystery girl a few days later back in California. Photos are here. Which means he and Carey are both in LA and may or may not be together but haven’t been seen together.

So are they over? The cutest and most promising young couple, my favourites, is it done?

Thing is, neither of them have friends who sell them out. And they’re not the types to release a break up statement through their publicists. It could very well be a case of work schedules keeping them apart, which is what the optimist in me is desperately hoping. The optimist in me however is frequently bitchslapped by the cynic in me. And they are so young, and young love is dramatic enough when you’re up in that person’s face all the time, imagine what distance can do – it magnifies insecurities, creates insecurities, and these actors, they’re already very, very insecure people.

All I know is that the last time I checked, which was mid September, I was told they were fine. Seeing them together personally in Cannes, what I can tell you is that I observed two people totally intoxicatingly in love, like the first time it’s been that strong, when you don’t think you’ll ever, ever love again. The kind of devastating love that often flames out rather intensely. What happened between then and now, or if a split even happened at all, I have no idea. The optimistic is on life support. But she’s not dead.

As for Shia – Elizabeth asked me to comment an article in the LA Times last week about his next career moves. Profesionally, Shia has perhaps the most kick ass resume among his peers if you’re taking box office into account. It’s winner after winner after winner. But after Transformers 3 next year, he has nothing booked. And his people are trying to figure out his direction.

The LA Times notes that he could play Karl Rove in a comedy-drama called Young Republicans. Apparently Shia is very interested, and it sounds like a great part to show some variety in his ability, to show that he can be funny as well as super super serious. He has those moments too, sarcastic stress moments in his films that are my favourites – I loved this about him in the first Transformers – and it would be a refreshing change to see him expand on that, to say nothing of the benefits that would yield to allowing him to move into the next phase.

But there’s an urgency to the LA Times piece that, to me anyway, seems a little unnecessary. It wouldn’t hurt for him to go away for a while. To lay low for a year, maybe even more, and re-emerge convincingly as a proper grown-up actor, and not a kid. Not unlike Leonardo DiCaprio who has also taken two year breaks between releases at critical times in his career and that seemed to work out ok for him too, non?

Where Shia’s concerned, especially as the focus is so much on his love life right now, that’s probably not a bad idea. To recede, to get his sh-t straight, because there’s always been something white knuckly about him that I worry about. Some time off wouldn’t be horrible, would it?

As for Carey, if she is single now, there’s no better time to be working with Ryan Gosling. That boy can make you forget. Funny a friend of mine after seeing their set photos recently commented that she’ll definitely watch the movie AND would probably fangirl over them as a couple. Me too. That feels like a betrayal, but fickleness is a great antidote to heartbreak.


File photos from Richard Beetham/PPNY / GSNY/Splashnewsonline.com