The divorce between Al Reynolds and Star Jones apparently came as a shock to Al. Though the nature of Al’s sexual orientation has long been disputed (it’s really hard not to make a Big Gay Al reference here – so I want credit for holding back) apparently he was head-over-heels for Star, and wanted nothing to do with the divorce. In fact he’s still so into her that Al’s mother is worried he won’t be able to pick himself up and carry on without the former prosecutor/former View co-host/former Court TV host. Star’s a lot of former things – I’m not even sure what she currently is.

Despite reports that he engaged in a post-split champagne party with an entourage of sexy singles, Al Reynolds’ mother claims her son was crushed after his marriage to Star Jones fell apart. In an interview with In Touch magazine, Ada tried to set the record straight.

“(Al) is so hurt and so sad,” his mother insisted. “He did not want this divorce at all. He wanted to stay married. I think Star wanted the divorce, not Al.” Ada admitted the relationship between Al and Star initially came as a surprise to her. “I truly believed that he would never get married. He never seemed interested.”

Now she fears how he’ll make it as a single man. “Honestly, I don’t think that Al will move on from this. I am very concerned for him.”

[From MSNBC’s Tabloid Tidbits]

A lot of people are saying that Star seems to think that she can get someone better, now that she’s thinner. There’s a lot of gossip that she’s dating married NBA player Dwyane Wade, though he has of course issued a “We’re just very good friends,” response.

“Star is an unbelievable woman. We have a great, great relationship. As friends,” Wade said Thursday of the state-of-play between him and the former View co-host. “We’re friends, just like a lot of celebrities.”, he insisted during his guest spot alongside Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on the light-hearted TNT show Inside the NBA.

“Are y’all close friends? … Are you the kind of friends that drink out of one cup with two straws?” Smith asked, referring to a much-discussed photo of Wade, 28, and Jones, 46, at a tennis match. “Those kind of friends?”

“We are friends. That’s all,” repeated Wade, who is married to his high school sweetheart. The couple have two sons.

[From People]

Married or not, I wouldn’t want to be linked to Star Jones either. That woman will eat you alive. And I don’t mean that in the fat joke way. In Touch noted that Al Reynolds gave up his well-respected banking job to manage Star’s career after she was booted from Court TV. But when he started working on a book at teaching at Florida Memorial University, Star saw that as abandonment. Be wary Dwyane Wade: if you’re not all about Star, she will take one of those straws you two were sharing and somehow manage to strangle you with it. And she’s a former prosecutor, so she’ll probably know how to get away with it too.

Header of Star and Al at Diddy’s “The Real White Party” on February 9th. Images thanks to WENN. Here’s Star and Dwyane watch the women’s final tennis match at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida on April 5th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Star Jones has finally filed for divorce from her husband of nearly three and a half years, investment banker Al Reynolds. She filed the paperwork on March 26, and according to OK! Magazine it was considered an “Uncontested Matrimonial” case and was sealed. Star must have been pissed that no one picked up the news yet, because she’s issued a statement to ET making sure we all know about it and asking for privacy:

The TV host filed in NYC on March 26 and it was marked as a “Uncontested Matrimonial” case by the court and the records were sealed.

Star tells ET in a statement, “Several years ago I made an error in judgment by inviting the media into the most intimate area of my life. A month ago I filed for divorce. The dissolution of a marriage is a difficult time in anyone’s life that requires privacy with one’s thoughts. I have committed myself to handling this situation with dignity and grace and look forward to emerging from this period as a stronger and wiser woman.”

[From OK! Magazine]

The National Enquirer reported in their March 17 issue that Star had kicked Al out of their NY home and was planning to divorce him. They were said to be fighting over their finances after Star lost her job as a talk show host at Court TV. Al was said to be “either at the gym or playing golf” while she was off earning money. After she lost her job and he was still loafing around it was the last straw for her. It is also said that the “rumors” of his sexual preferences were too much for her to take.

It’s not surprising that these two are getting divorced, but that it took so long. Given how much of a freebie hound Star is, she’ll probably figure out a way to get stuff in exchange for whatever promotion she can provide. I’m surprised her statement didn’t say something like, “I’m getting over my divorce with the help of ‘Lee Press On Nails,’ which come in many colors to match your outfits and moods and are available at CVS Outlets nationwide.” You know they would only have to send her a year’s supply and she’d be all over that.

Thanks to PRPhotos for the header, taken at the Daytime Emmy Awards on 04/28/06.