Mandy Moore: Better Off Without Braff

I wanted so badly to dismiss my misgivings about that clever but weasely Zach Braff and whether he was treating my beloved Mandy Moore right. But now there is no more room for denial. As longtime readers will recall, back in April I expressed concerns over whether Zach and Mandy, both Aries, were too individualistic to make it work with each other. Now comes word that they have broken up and Zach is already showing himself to be an utter cad:

Scrubs star Zach Braff and Mandy Moore have ended their relationship.... mainly due to the nine-year age gap between them. Us Weekly West Coast Editor Ian Drew says, "They both decided that after two years, Mandy was a little young. Zach was ready for something different and they wanted to just kind of test the waters a little bit. It was an amicable break." A source tells the American magazine, "Mandy was very young when they got together and she wanted to see what's out there, now that she's a woman. Zach was mature and realized it is time to let her do that." .... The 31-year-old Garden State star has wasted no time moving on, he was recently seen partying with pals at Hollywood hot spot Hyde on June 8 and unsuccessfully romancing Jessica Simpson. {Source: IMDB}

First of all, Jessica Simpson? As if! Secondly, I'm not so sure about this "amicable break" thing. As I mentioned in my earlier post on Z&M, all Zach's Aries planets could make him self-centered and impulsive. ~ See Zach Braff's birth chart (Astrotheme, no birth time) I can't help considering PerezHilton.com's allegations that Zach cheated on Mandy {Source}, which seems believably consistent with the actions of men who somehow manage to land women they don't deserve. (See also: Halle Berry's ex.)

Lately, transiting Jupiter (growth and expansion) has been retrograding over Mandy's natal Saturn (life lessons), while Venus (relationships) opposes Saturn and Mercury (thought and communication) trines it. ~ See Mandy Moore's birth chart (Astrotheme, no birth time) Mandy has been doing a lot of thinking about what she wants in the long term and what commitment and loyalty mean to her. She may have decided that she values herself too much to continue putting energy into the relationship. With the Jupiter aspect, she is indeed interested in exploring other possibilities as she grows and evolves.

Unlike insta-rebound Zach, Mandy may take some time to figure out how she can learn from the breakup as Jupiter retrogrades over her Saturn and opposes her natal Mercury. Jupiter will station in July and make a direct conjunction to Mandy's Saturn in early September, perhaps signalling her readiness to move on. (This timetable would accord neatly with the month-for-every-year formula for getting over a breakup.)

Zach is actually going through his Venus return right now, meaning Venus is on the same point as in his natal chart. This isn't a long-lived aspect (it's in effect for a matter of days), but as it coincides with the outing of their breakup, it does connote a moment of coming to terms with his own relationship style and perhaps a "don't know what you've got till it's gone" epiphany of sorts.

I hope that both of them do learn something from this and that Mandy never again dates someone who doesn't deserve her, no matter how well-received his quirky indie movies may be. Come September, I'd like to see her with a sweet Libra guy or maybe a Leo. Any suggestions for the lovely Miss M? Email me or post a comment.

Related: Mandy Moore and Zach Braff: Two Aries in a Pod (4/14/06)