So Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson’s split came as a surprise to almost no one. We knew they weren’t together often and there were rumors of trouble for some time. Now comes the speculation about how and why the broke up exactly. The distance was a major factor from what we’re hearing, but we’ve also heard rumors that Ryan was screwing around, maybe with Blake Lively or with some unnamed ex girlfriend. People now has an article on how and why Ryan and ScarJo are finished, and it sounds like the official line from their publicists (disguised as an ‘insider story’ as is People’s MO) is that they just “grew apart” due to incompatible work schedules. Here’s the PR-sanctioned version from People:

Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson, who announced Tuesday that they have split up, simply grew apart under the strain of managing two thriving careers, a source close to the couple tells PEOPLE.

“There’s no third party,” says the source, who adds that the pair made the decision to end their marriage about a month ago. “Ryan and Scarlett had been having some issues for a few months now. Distance and their careers played a big role. When you don’t spend a lot of time with your partner you grow apart.”

Reynolds, 34 and Johansson, 26, were married in 2008. Recently, they had “started to lead different lives, and it was harder and harder to come back together and pick up where they left off,” the source says. “Scarlett was young when they married. She’s a mature person but at points they were just on different pages.”

Reynolds, who is filming a movie in Atlanta, and Johansson, who is currently in Jamaica with some girlfriends, remain firmly on good terms, the source says. “They had an intense and loving relationship, and they’ll always love and respect each other.”

[From People]

Ok so it sounds like this is from Ryan’s publicist, not Scarlett’s, because there’s a minor dig at Scarlett isn’t there? “Scarlett was young when they married. She’s a mature person but at points they were just on different pages.” It’s like they’re really saying “She’s not mature enough for Reynolds. He was ready to move on.” We’ve heard that Scarlett initiated the split, and maybe this is Ryan’s passive aggressive way of getting back at her.

Reynolds was known as an incredibly arrogant prick for years, but something changed with the guy after he filmed that scary Buried movie. He was much nicer and more level headed during that press tour, and he admitted that filming in the dark in that confined space was very difficult and emotionally draining. Maybe he had a revelation and realized that Scarlett wasn’t the one for him, or maybe once he changed it threw their dynamic off and lead to problems.

The NY Daily News reports that Scarlett and Ryan had just bought a house together over the summer and were planning to build a nursery in it. According to their sources, Scarlett told Ryan she wanted a divorce after she did some soul-seeking and went to personal therapy.

Radar has news of their trip to the Swiss Alps together in late August. They’re said to have looked more like friends than lovers, with onlookers claiming “They rarely held hands and while they didn’t argue in public there seemed to be no passion between them.”

A lot of splits seem to be happening right now before the holidays. Researchers have found that this is prime breakup time, based on analysis of how many people change their statuses on facebook. We tend to analyze our lives and priorities at this time of year, prompting many people to end unsatisfying relationships. There’s also a theory that testosterone peaks in early December, giving people that added hormonal boost required to make personal changes.