明星夫妻为何分手后依然甜蜜

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin were all lovey-dovey in January (above). In March, they announced their breakup, but that hasn't stopped them from being together.

We’re no longer a couple — but I still want to be with you!

Sly celebrities determined to show the world that their breakup was amicable and that there’s no dirt to dig up have been making sure to be photographed looking weirdly affectionate and happy post-split.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin — who announced on March 25 that they would “consciously uncouple” — were spotted days later vacationing together in the Bahamas

They’re not the only ones. Kris and Bruce Jenner held hands at an L.A. airport Wednesday as they returned from a family vacation in Thailand, nearly six months after announcing their separation.

And despite their split, Orlando Bloom and model Miranda Kerr have been seen out and about in Manhattan with their young son, Flynn, with Kerr hanging onto Bloom’s arm and smiling.

Why all this lovey-dovey behavior from people who no longer want to be together?

Part of it is to put on a front that there’s nothing worth watching, according Brian Balthazar, editor of the culture website POP Goes the Week.

“Whenever a celebrity couple splits, if they can agree on one thing, it’s that the press is going to be watching them to see what they do,” he says.

It’s definitely “image management,” agrees Tom Fitzgerald, one half of the celebrity blog Tom & Lorenzo and co-author of “Everybody Wants to Be Me or Do Me.” “Celebrities leverage their personal lives for public sympathy constantly.”

Fitzgerald believes that the reasons behind these kooky displays of love between exes vary.

“With the Jenners, every single thing they do is for the public eye and to keep their story lines going,” Fitzgerald says of the reality TV show family that appears on E!’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” “I wouldn’t call that a public expression of anything.”

And Goop girl Paltrow on a breakup-moon?

“With Gwyneth, I see a very masterful plan in manipulating her own image in this ‘consciously uncoupled’ period they’re going through,” Fitzgerald says. “There have been so many rumors about their marriage for years, and she’s definitely trying to minimize the stuff about them for the next couple months.”

Then there’s the fact that Paltrow doesn’t see herself as “just like us” — and she doesn’t want you to, either.

“So much of what we see in celeb culture today is about making celebs seem ordinary,” says Andrea McDonnell, author of forthcoming book “Reading Celebrity Gossip Magazines.”

“She’s a star who has built her brand on seeming different than ordinary people,” McDonnell adds. “Her split with Chris seemed to be very much about trying to retain that image of extraordinariness — like, ‘Even in the hardest times, I’m still going to be OK and still going to maintain an idealized performance of self. I’m still going to have my vegan lunch.’ ”

There’s also the kids. (Paltrow and Martin have two together.)

“(Celebrities) want them to think their lives aren’t going to change so much, and that everything’s going to be OK,” Balthazar says.

Kerr and Bloom’s post-split affection might be more genuine than the rest, Fitzgerald notes.

“(They) always came across as this sweetly affectionate couple, and it almost felt genuine, especially since neither one of them has been very good about coming up with a story line about who they are,” he says.

And with a young child, Fitzgerald adds, maybe they’re simply trying to make it work.

But sending mixed messages to kids and fans — like hand-holding and snuggling after declaring you’re no longer a couple — isn’t the best idea either.

“It seems like an oxymoron for a couple that is splitting up to do that in public,” says Balthazar.