Was the Kate Hudson-Owen Wilson Match Doomed?

June 8, 2007 — -- When actress Kate Hudson split from Chris Robinson, her husband of sixyears, in August 2006, she immediately fell into the arms of "You,Me and Dupree" co-star Owen Wilson.

While fans hoped that Hudson, 28, had finally found true love, for most of Hollywood a different word came to mind — rebound.

Now just months after Hudson and Wilson publicly acknowledged theirromance, the two have apparently called it quits. Which raises thequestion: Was this rebound relationship destined to fail from thebeginning?

Debra Mandel, a celebrity psychologist and author who practices inthe Los Angeles area, said rebound relationships are bound to end as breakups. And Hudson, like other recently single women and men, may have been looking for love for all the wrong reasons after ending her marriage. Mandel said it's the rebounders who are setting themselves up for failure.

"We want to feel wanted again when a relationship isn't working," saidMandel. "There's a drop in our self-esteem, and a new relationshipusually provides a big boost in that self-esteem and fills up thatsense of loneliness."

That desire for acceptance can cloud judgment, and instead of takingthe necessary time to heal from a relationship, rebound daters like Hudson are just looking for something to fill the void. For Hudson, that something may have been Wilson.

"Rebound relationships are based on fear rather than good judgment,"said Mandel. "We're usually in our most vulnerable state, so we're notmaking good decisions. We're trying to ease that pain impulsivelyrather than find someone who will be a good long-term match."

Jonathan Jaxson, former Hollywood publicist and celebrity blogger, says it's even easier to find a rebound partner for that quick fix in Hollywood.

"When you find someone on a movie set, you have three months with them and you're away from home, so it becomes very easy to fall for that person in the moment," said Jaxson.