It’s been nearly four years since Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston and took up with his “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” costar Angelina Jolie. Yet in 2008, one’s alliance with Team Aniston or Jolie has been perhaps as important a statement as being on Team Obama or McCain.

“People are fascinated because many have personally experienced a similar scenario,” clinical social worker Armena Walsh explains. “Having one’s heart broken or being involved in breaking a heart is something people relate to. An obvious draw to this situation is how public the heartbreak was. It’s an issue people have attached moral values to.”