Do you know how long Robin Wright and Ben Foster have been dating? I think the first report of them acting couple-y was back in February 2012, but they could have been together before that. So, they’ve been together for well over a year. And there’s no drama in Cougar Town from what I can see. She’s 47 years old, divorced, and a mom to two (nearly) grown-up children. Ben is 32 years old, never married, with no kids. Can this work in the long haul? I think it’s a matter of expectations and desires. Like, if he wants kids, I don’t think this will last. But if he loves her and he’s fine with the way things are… why not? Well, Star says that everything is going so smoothly and their love is so deep and profound that Ben and Robin are talking about getting married:

Robin Wright may be permanently setting up shop in Cougar Town – because, according to sources, she is ready to marry her much-younger boyfriend, 32-year-old Ben Foster.

“They’re in the early stages of planning,” spills a pal. “They’ll tie the knot by the end of the year.”

Robin, 47, who split from Sean Penn in 2009, isn’t fazed by the 15-year age difference.

“Robin calls Ben an ‘old soul’,” says the insider. She even jokes that she feels like the younger one.”

But while Sean is apparently none too pleased with his ex-wife’s impending nuptials, Robin isn’t letting her past affect her steamy present.

“Their sex life is great,” reveals the source. “Ben can’t get over how awesome Robin’s body is, despite already having children.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Well… it could work. Who knows? My natural inclination is to give this the side-eye, but I also think it might work out better than I expect. I like the fact that Robin and Ben aren’t pushing their relationship in our faces and I like that she isn’t making a big production out of being a cougar, like, say, Demi Moore. Plus, I’m giddy at the thought of Sean Penn’s douche-face turning beet-red from pure rage at the thought of his ex-wife marrying her young lover. Take that, Sean.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are some new photos of Robin Wright in NYC yesterday. In the candid pics, Robin was arriving in New York with her young lover, Ben Foster. I like that they’re holding hands in some of the pics – he seems kind of protective of her, but not in “get behind me, woman” kind of way. The other photos – the red carpet pics – are from last night’s premiere of Robin’s new film, House of Cards. Ben was not on her arm on the red carpet – maybe they’re not at that place yet? I would love it if they walked a carpet together though.

Robin chopped her hair last year, if I remember correctly, but lately she’s been rocking an even shorter ‘do. What are your thoughts? I’m kind of meh on it. I’m not a total short-hair hater, but I just think pixie cuts and full-on “grown out buzz cuts” are particularly strong looks that not every woman can pull off. Robin comes close to pulling it off, and I’m sure she feels happy and comfortable with the short hair… but I remember how great she looked with longer hair. Right? This super-short hair emphasizes her more masculine features. It bugs me. I’m also bothered by the idea that “women of a certain age” NEED to have shorter hair – not every woman can or should rock this kind of hairstyle.

Meanwhile, Robin was in Washington DC a few days ago and she met with some of Pres. Obama’s staffers about the Congo:

Actress Robin Wright is hoping President Obama will do more to aid the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She went to the White House Tuesday to meet with officials from his National Security Council and push for a special presidential envoy.

Wright, who was married for 14 years to Sean Penn, told POLITICO she traveled to Eastern Congo last year and was struck by the corruption and violence.

“The minerals that come from the Congo are, shall we say, dirty — blood-diamond dirty,” Wright said. “I just feel it’s our duty to clean them up.”

On Tuesday she accompanied activists from World Pulse and the Enough Project to the White House, where they presented NSC officials with a petition with more than 100,000 signatures seeking the appointment of a presidential envoy.

“This moment is bringing the petition to the front lines, finally,” Wright said.

[From Politico]

I didn’t know Robin was involved in the Congo issue – that’s one of Ben Affleck’s big humanitarian issues too, isn’t it? Anyway, I like that she came to the White House with a set goal, a hard request and a major petition. Hopefully Pres. Obama will consider it!

PS… I really do think that the sex between Ben and Robin is probably HOT HOT HOT.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

It may seem like just yesterday that Robin Wright and Ben Foster stepped out together for the first time since they’d been quietly dating for almost a year. In fact, it was just last week. Most of us were thrilled that Robin found a new man that is not only hunky but is probably a lot nicer than her douchebag ex-husband, Sean Penn. Princess Buttercup deserves the world, you know? Now a story in this week’s Enquirer not only discusses Robin’s new relationship and namechecks Sean’s whiny, nobody-loves-me Esquire interview, but this story also claims that Robin and Ben are engaged and headed down the aisle! How exciting:

Sean Penn’s long-suffering ex-wife is finally having the last laugh!

After a bumpy 14-year marriage to the mercurial star, Forrest Gump beauty Robin Wright, 46, is planning to wed hunky 32-year-old actor Ben Foster, sources say.

The couple fell for each other in 2011 while filming the gritty cop drama Rampart, and they’ve carried on a discreet romance since then, insiders say. “Ben proposed to Robin a few weeks ago, and they’ve already set a wedding date for late spring 2013,” a close friend told the Enquirer.

“For the first time in ages, Robin feels happy and settled. She went through hell wiht Sean’s mood swings and violent temper, and never thought she’d find love again. But Ben worships her and gets along great with her kids.

While raising [she and Penn's] children, The Princess Bride star turned down numerious roles and graciously endured Penn’s reported womanizing and frat-boy antics.

Meanwhile, her whiny ex complained in a recent interview: “There is no shame in my saying we all want to be loved by someone. As I look back over my life in romance, I don’t feel I’ve ever had that.”

The source added: “Sean threw away his marriage to Robin, and now he’s crying about how he hasn’t been loved. Robin feels as if the tables have finally turned. She’s grateful to be movin on with her life.”

[From Enquirer, print edition, January 14, 2012]

I hope this story is true, and I hope that Sean hears about it and starts crying into his beer because he ignored the best thing he ever had in favor of shagging supermodels and the like. Robin put up with a lot over the course of her marriage to Sean, so it must be amazing to be treated well by Ben. Or so I assume that Ben treats her well if she’s really planning on heading down the aisle so relatively soon after extricating herself from the Whiny One. Look, Robin and Ben even walk in step with each other.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

I guess we never discussed this couple when they first happened – I was looking through our archives, and we never got explicit about it. Maybe that’s because we haven’t heard anything about them in ten months? Perhaps. Back in February, Robin Wright and Ben Foster made their debut as a couple, sort of. They had worked together on Rampart, and while Robin was working in Australia, Ben came to visit her and they were photographed looking kind of snuggly and couple-y. So… they’re still together! They were photographed in Santa Monica a few days ago, I guess doing some Christmas shopping.

Is it weird that I don’t even think this is a typical “cougar” type relationship? Robin is 46 years old, Ben Foster is 32 – and, incidentally, I often mistake Ben Foster for Aaron Paul and vice versa. Why isn’t Ben Foster on Breaking Bad? Deep questions. Anyway, as I was saying – I don’t think this is a typical cougar-type relationship. Robin seems to have a low tolerance for stupidity or tomfoolery, post-Sean Penn. And Ben Foster… well, I don’t really have a read on the guy. All I know is that he used to date Zoe Kravtiz, right? And now Robin has a very Zoe Kravtiz-haircut. Hm.

Now, is this photo op a well-timed holiday “f—k you” to Robin’s ex, Sean Penn? Perhaps. It just two weeks ago when his Esquire interview came out and he was all whiney and passive aggressive, telling the magazine: “There is no shame in my saying that we all want to be loved by someone. As I look back over my life in romance, I don’t feel I’ve ever had that. I have been the only one that was unaware of the fraud in a few of these circumstances blindly. When you get divorced, all the truths that come out, you sit there and you go, What the f–k was I doing? What was I doing believing that this person was invested in this way?” So… I really hope that THIS is what Robin got Sean for Christmas. A photo op with a much younger and less whiney dude.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.