TOWIE's Lucy Mecklenburgh shows Mario Falcone what he's missing, we reveal how to keep your cool after being dumped

Getting dumped hurts on so many levels. Even if your heart isn’t broken and you’re feeling well rid of your ex, then your ego will almost certainly be feeling battered and bruised.

Emotional pain equals volatile behaviour, which is why you lurch from those super-submissive late night drunken texts begging your ex to come back, to the quasi-aggressive ‘Look what you’re missing’ Instagrams or Facebook shots involving partying or provocative selfies in your best pair of Primark pants.

So as we enter the season of summer splits - with looming holidays piling on the pressure to re-evaluate your couple status before boarding that flight to a week of undiluted intimate bliss - it might help to take a look at a few celeb couples who have hit the skids recently for some clues on how or how NOT to carry off a public dumping with your pride and dignity intact...

1. TOWIE's LUCY MECKLENBURGH V. MARIO FALCONE

Pitching up to the same event as your ex is always a bone-chilling experience but Lucy carried it off with new levels of body language savvy. This solo pose makes her look classy and elegant, plus it registers she has no need to share the moment to get the attention of the press. The dress shows her newly-slimmed figure off perfectly but there’s enough vulnerability in her smile to make her irresistible to other guys.

Verdict: Perfect.

On the other hand Mario’s pose looks all about undiluted vanity. He’s showing the lot off here: tattoos, pecs, he-man chest, plus a younger-model girlfriend who he clearly can’t wait to snog. This over-congruent signalling pulls out too many stops to be convincing. Fine that he’s been working out in the gym, but why not get a shirt that fits, and those skinny frog’s-leg jeans won’t be doing him any favours with a female fan-base.

Verdict: A strong whiff of desperation that could make Lucy feel she had a lucky escape.

[Lucy Mecklenburgh and Mario Falcone come to blows on TOWIE]

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2. JUSTIN BIEBER V. SELENA GOMEZ

Justin’s ‘Look what you’re missing’ poses included stomping around London topless on a chilly night with his pants hanging below his bum in what seemed to be a bid to show off his machismo. This World-of-Leather look appears equally intended to have Selena gagging to get back into his nouveau-manly arms.

Verdict: Nothing to put the fans off but would an ex fall for the ‘rock rebel’ look?

Hanging out with your girlfriends is a common ruse in terms of intimidating your ex, although Selena might have done better than to nestle up to unlucky- in-love Taylor as it smacks slightly of a split-survivors club outing. They are two high-ranking females though and so the show of strength just about works. Selena did look relieved to shuck off the teen look post-split and go for sexy glamour instead.

Verdict: Selena looks as though she’s thriving while Justin still seems a little lost.

3. LIAM HEMSWORTH V. MILEYCYRUS

Buried in the midst of shades, cap and facial fur, Liam looks like a guy who has retired to his cave to recover his man points post-split. Women like nothing better than guy in need of some TLC though, and those trainers are a hint that he’s keeping buff when he’s not moping. His head is down in a cut-off but that thumb is up, showing he will come through this dark period in his life.

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Verdict: Cleverly adorable.

What girl hasn’t gone crying back to her mum when a relationship starts to go wobbly, after all she was probably the one who knew he wasn’t right for you in the first place. Miley and Liam’s on-off coupling meant Miley swapped her man for her mum here in a show of Cyrus solidarity. Miley’s hand is on top in the clasp, suggesting confidence, but she’s still gone into little girl mode.

Verdict: Brave but vulnerable, with recent Instagrams in what looks like a wedding dress suggesting she’s anxious to get her guy back and down the aisle.

TOP TIPS TO COPE WITH BEING DUMPED:
1. Ban yourself from Internet stalking. Watching your ex’s status change on Facebook then moping over pics of them with their new squeeze will not help you move on with your life.

2. Stop asking ‘why?’ You’ll never be told the truth and they probably don’t even know themselves, especially if your ex is a guy.

3. Work out your wallowing period. Two days should do it, a week if you must, but then stop talking about it and get out socialising again before you test everyone’s patience.

4. Keep away from the sad music. Music is one of the biggest affecters of mood.

5. Keep away from comfort food and booze, too. The sugar will give you a brief ‘high’ but your levels will then dip badly, making you more morose.

6. Ask a close friend to police your use of texts, especially at the end of the evening.

7. Stay away from the hairdresser. We wash up at their salons hoping a new look will delete all memories of the old, unsuccessful ‘dumped’ you but it won’t, it will be the same tragic face staring horrified from a cut you can’t stand.

Give us your verdict on Judi James' dumping tips over on Twitter, now.