You know what? I’ll just say it: I would totally marry Aretha Franklin. Just as I would have married Elizabeth Taylor, God rest her soul. I would marry Nora Ephron or Etta James or that fabulously bitter Olivia de Havilland. I would marry them because I like good gossip, and no one has better gossip than an old(er) lady who has been famous for decades, who has been married and divorced a bunch of times, someone who partied with the greats and doesn’t take crap from anybody. I’m not saying these would be healthy marriages. But they would be fun. And I would have a lot to say in my memoir.
So it doesn’t surprise me at all that Aretha Franklin has found what will likely be her LAST husband. Aretha announced that she and her “forever friend” William Wilkerson are getting hitched. Get yours, ‘Retha.
The Queen of Soul will soon have a king.
Aretha Franklin and her “forever friend” William ‘Willie’ Wilkerson are engaged to be married, her rep tells PEOPLE.
The iconic singer, 69, and Wilkerson are discussing tying the knot on Miami Beach, with an exclusive reception aboard a private yacht.
And for her dress?
“Ms. Franklin is considering Donna Karan, Valentino and the queen of wedding dresses, Vera Wang, to design her gown,” says her rep.
Franklin lost 85 pounds last year after a health scare and told PEOPLE, “I feel fabulous.”
Adds Franklin herself of the upcoming nuptials: “We’re looking at June or July for our date and no, I’m not pregnant, LOL!”
God, I love old broads. Aretha is like Miss Marple with a even more fabulous hat collection. And Aretha doesn’t solve murders, she just sings the blues. RESPECT. Anyway, congrats to Aretha and William. William has been Aretha’s “gentleman companion” for years now, so if he’s a golddigger, he was definitely playing a loooong con. I think it’s just more likely that William and Aretha are close friends, and Aretha thought, “Why the hell not?”
Matthew McConaughey on WhoSay
Did you know that Matthew McConaughey was on Twitter? I didn’t. Matthew used his Twitter account to make a major announcement this Christmas: he proposed to his longterm girlfriend, Camila Alves! Matthew, 42, and Camila, 29, have been together since 2006. They are parents to son Levi, 3 and a half, and daughter Vida, who turns two next week. McConaughey tweeted the above photo yesterday with the caption “Just asked camila to marry me, #MerryChristmas” I wonder what prompted McConaughey to propose after so long. In April, McConaughey told Cigar Aficiando magazine that he wasn’t opposed to marriage, but that he didn’t feel like it was necessary:
“Marriage isn’t something I’m against. My parents married each other three times – and divorced twice. I know a few older couples who have been married a long time and are happy; I’ve been around healthy marriages. I knew I wanted a family and I found a woman I love and felt was right for me. I thought, ‘That’s the woman I want to make a family with.’ But marriage – it’s not something we feel we need to be complete. It doesn’t mean we won’t do it.
“It doesn’t make my mom that happy that we’re not married. But it doesn’t make her mad either. Of course, I was raised to believe that you don’t have sex until you’re married. So there you are.”
So it sounds like he’s been cautious about it for a while, but that he finally felt ready to take the plunge. Congratulations to Matthew and Camila! I find holiday proposals so romantic, and I’m hoping they have a big showy wedding with a photo spread in People. Maybe they’ll do a barefoot beach wedding, though. That’s sounds more their style.
For those of you who are going to mention the blind item about the famous couple doing cocaine that has been neglecting their kids, I hope it’s not true. It was obviously written about McConaughey and Alves, but that doesn’t mean it’s true at all. That’s the problem I have with blind items: even if you figure out who they’re supposed to be about, that doesn’t make them accurate. That’s why no names are used.
Here’s another photo Matt tweeted of his newly-shorn head. He’s looking a little thin, but I like him bald. Matthew McConaughey on WhoSay
Matthew and Camila are shown on 6/9/11 and 9/25/11. Credit: PRPhotos
LaineyGossip had this yesterday, and now major celebrity news outlets are running with the story as an unconfirmed rumor. Allegedly, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have gotten engaged while vacationing in Wyoming. They have been staying at a luxury resort, and there’s some gossip on Twitter that Justin proposed to her. Of course, all of this could be a figment of the imagination of Jessica’s publicist.
With their five-year anniversary fast approaching, have Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel decided to take the next step?
The rumor mill is a-churning with rumblings that they recently got engaged at a swanky Wyoming resort, although details are scarce to nonexistent (not to mention Twitter-based) and their reps have yet to comment.
The question-popping whispers come nine months after Justin, 30, and Jessica, 29, announced their split.
Among the alleged reasons for the apparently mutual breakup: his wandering eye, her desire to walk down the aisle, and their feeling that the relationship had run its course.
But the romantic breather lasted only until July, when they were spied bike-riding in Toronto. From there, they quietly picked up where they left off.
“She is the single-handedly most significant person in my life,” Timberlake told the July issue of Vanity Fair. “In my 30 years, she is the most special person, OK?”
Jessica, meanwhile, downplayed a possible knot-tying in the December issue of Elle, saying, “I don’t feel pressured. I was never one of those girls who dreamt of my wedding and my prince charming.”
I don’t think it should count as “five years together” when they have broken up a few times, for months at a time. How about “five years of on-and-off BS with lots of infidelities”? That sounds right.
If this is true and Jessica finally got the ring… congratulations? Sure. I wonder what she really thinks that will accomplish, though. Will she get more scripts as an A-lister’s wife? Ask Katie Holmes. As for Justin… ugh. I just think he’s really screwed up about women, and I don’t really understand it at all. Does he really think that his relationship with Jessica is healthy, and she should be his wife? I don’t mean to be the wet blanket, but this whole thing seems like a disaster in the making.
The “Britney Spears and Jason Trawick are getting engaged” story has been around for months – it’s equivalent to “Kirstie Alley lies about her weight” stories and “Leonardo DiCaprio is boning some random” stories. Everybody knows what’s going on and it’s not really noteworthy to print some random rumor. That being said, I think this engagement story might actually be on. Britney tweeted some stuff last night that made it seem like Jason proposed, and Jason was spotted picking out an engagement ring a short while ago. So… maybe?
Britney Spears is ready to live happily ever after with Jason Trawick! The pop superstar, 30, is now engaged to her former agent, a source confirms to Us Weekly. Trawick popped the question on Thursday night, his 40th birthday, when he and the “I Wanna Go” singer shared a romantic private dinner.
“This is something they’ve both wanted for a long time,” the source explains to Us. “It’s a way to cement their family. They’re both extremely happy and can’t wait to become man and wife.” The spouses-to-be plan to celebrate their engagement Friday night at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Spears coyly hinted at the big news on Twitter Friday morning, writing: “OMG. Last night Jason surprised me with the one gift I’ve been waiting for. Can’t wait to show you! SO SO SO excited!!!! Xxo”
(After wrapping her Femme Fatale world tour in Puerto Rico last weekend, Spears and Trawick — along with Sean Preston, 6, and Jayden, 5, her sons with ex Kevin Federline — moved to a 10,000 square-foot estate outside of L.A.)
The duo first met in 2006 in a professional capacity. Then at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Trawick began representing the “Hold It Against Me” singer while she was still wed to Federline, 33.
(Spears, who dated Justin Timberlake for three years until 2002, also famously wed childhood pal Jason Alexander in 2004 in a Las Vegas marriage that was annulled within 55 hours.)
Following her late 2006 split from Federline and tough personal struggles in 2007 and 2008, Trawick proved himself to be a true friend to Spears during some of her darkest hours.
Indeed, a source told Us earlier this year, Trawick “was one of the only people who stuck by her through everything.”
By 2009, an on-the-mend Spears was ready to take their friendship to the next level. “Britney has liked Jason for a long time,” a source explained in April. “The fact that they were great friends gave them a foundation for a solid relationship.”
The former teen queen “made the first move,” she told Us — and he quickly took a shine to her adorable little boys. “Jason is just amazing with the boys,” the multi-platinum singer raved to Us. “They look up to him so much — they adore him. He’s their hero.”
“We have such a great time together!” Spears added back in April. (Trawick, who underwent an impressive body makeover and lost 50 pounds in the past two years, even made his acting debut alongside his world-famous girlfriend in her sexy “Criminal” video earlier this year.)
“He makes me laugh, and we are so comfortable being ourselves,” Spears said of her guy. “I’ve never been happier.”
Radar’s sources are confirming this, as if that makes a huge difference. Their sources claims that Jason proposed last night, as he and Britney were celebrating his 40th birthday. The sources also say that the ring Jason picked out is “classy and under 4 carats.”
So, is there a problem? Kind of. Britney is still under her conservatorship, which means that she’s not legally allowed to make any of the big decisions herself, at least not without her father’s and a judge’s approval. Britney’s conservatorship was used as the “reason” why Britney can’t give testimony in two pending lawsuits (one with Sam Lufti and one with Elizabeth Arden… and isn’t there something with that former bodyguard too?). Radar’s source says: “She could get married under the conservatorship, but the judge would have to sign off on it. If that were to happen, lawyers repping Lutfi would absolutely go into court and argue that if Britney were able to get married, she should be able to be deposed. There is no way Team Spears is going to let that happen. It will likely be a long engagement, which is fine with Britney and Jason. They are 100% solid and very much in love.” Meaning that Jason and Britney may be engaged, but they won’t get married for a while, y’all. Not until Britney’s legal issues are disposed of.
Peaches Geldof is only 22 years old. God, it feels like she’s 30-something, doesn’t it? Anyway, Peaches is 22, and she’s already got one marriage under her belt, plus a would-be engagement to Eli Roth, which I still think Peaches tried to force on Eli and he finally realized what a weird, creepy famewhore she was and is. So, SURPRISE, she’s engaged again, this time to her boyfriend of year, Thomas Cohen. Peaches began dating Thomas shortly after she and Eli ended things, and Thomas gives my gaydar a massive headache.
She became divorced at the tender age of 19 in 2008 after marrying boyfriend Max Drummey just one month after they met. But it seems her past relationship hasn’t put Peaches Geldof after the idea of marriage, as the 22-year-old singer has announced she is engaged to her boyfriend Thomas Cohen.
Peaches confirmed that she and S.C.U.M rocker Cohen, who have been dating for a year, are set to wed, but not in the near future.
She told the Sunday Mirror: ‘Yes, I’m engaged! We don’t want to get married for a couple of years yet though so don’t expect me in a dress yet. I’m so happy!’
Peaches also revealed she has been keeping the engagement a secret for six months. The socialite, who is also buying a house with rocker Cohen, eloped to Vegas and married American musician Drummey in Vegas in 2008, after dumping her previous boyfriend Faris Badwin of band The Horrors to embark on a whirlwind romance with her new beau.
But cracks appeared early on in the relationship and it was reported in November 2008 that Peaches, who was trying to forge a career as a writer in America at the time, had told Drummey after a series of rows that the relationship was over.
In February 2009 they confirmed their split in a joint statement. It read: ‘After much soul searching we have made the mutual decision to end our marriage and have agreed to go our separate ways. Our parting is amicable and both of us still respect and care about each other immensely. There were no other people involved in this decision and we both look forward to a future as good friends.’
Peaches had hinted that she didn’t think she would end up with Max in a previous interview.
She said: ‘I didn’t go into it with Max thinking, “This is going to last forever”. But I did go into it thinking, “I love him right now and I know that I will continue to love him for a long while”.’
So Peaches and Thomas got engaged six months ago? And now they’re announcing it and claiming that they don’t want to follow through for another few years? Hopefully, someone will come to their senses in that time, right? Someone will look around and have the realization, “I like dudes.” And the other will agree and they’ll part amicably. Also: why does Peaches move so fast? I realize she doesn’t have a lot going on besides famwhorin’ and dating, but a 22-year old divorcee who jumps into another engagement after dating her fey dude for six months? Ugh, Peaches.
The last we reported on Rosie O’Donnell’s new girlfriend, Michelle Rounds, her dad went on the record to the National Enquirer to say that he didn’t know his daughter was gay and that he found out through the press like everyone else. Roger Rounds told the Enquirer “It totally hit us out of left field. We only found out about Michelle liking girls when all this came out about them a few weeks ago. It’s been hard to take!” As I mentioned at the time, given that Michelle’s parents responded so negatively and were so willing to talk to the press about it, you can understand why their daughter didn’t come out to them personally.
Well I bet Michelle’s family is in for another surprise. Their 40 year-old daughter is engaged to the abrasive TV personality just a year after they first met. Rounds lives and works in New York, and same sex marriage was legalized in the state this June. Rosie made the announcement on her flailing talkshow on OWN.
Rosie O’Donnell has a lot to celebrate.
The TV star, 49, not only launched The Rosie Show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network in October, but now she’s preparing to say “I do” to girlfriend Michelle Rounds.
She broke the news to her audience Monday during a break set aside for commercials during the taping of her show in a Chicago studio. Her rep later confirmed it to PEOPLE.
On Friday, she posted a photo of Rounds on her Instagram page with the word “love.” She also Tweeted a link – this time with the caption “happy – in love” – of her new fiancée the same day.
The duo met earlier this year at a Starbucks. In October, O’Donnell joked that her “gaydar was way off” because she thought Rounds was heterosexual and just 28 years old, when really she is a gay woman and 40.
“It’s fun and very exciting,” O’Donnell recently said about the relationship. “I did not expect it.”
It looks like Rosie and Michelle are rushing into things, but maybe it will work out for them and maybe they believe they’ve carefully considered it. Rosie told Howard Stern this fall that she was hoping to marry Michelle and that they had even talked about it at that point. She said “We’re gay women come on. We’ve met the family, we’re getting wedding invitations printed… I think it could be in the cards, it’s legal in New York. We’ve discussed it.” They’re moving forward with those plans. It’s well overdue that they have the right to marry, even if I still doubt that these two will last. Rosie just seems like a hard person to get along with and from an outsider’s perspective it’s been a whirlwind relationship.
Update: here are a bunch of photos from Rosie’s Twitter account. They look really happy together and that’s a gorgeous ring.
I can’t even imagine what Matthew Rutler’s life is like right now. A few years ago, he was just a production assistant in LA, enjoying his early 20s, perhaps living paycheck to paycheck. He goes to work one day on Burlesque, and suddenly Christina Aguilera is leaving her husband and she moves Rutler into her house and he becomes part of her entourage of sycophantic yes-men. Perhaps Rutler is even the most important part of her entourage – he’s in change of making sure his girlfriend wears pants in public (he fails at that job sometimes), he’s in change of driving his girlfriend home every night after she gets hammered at random bars (he failed there too), and what else? I guess they have sex too. Although I imagine it’s a mess, both literally and figuratively. A whirl of orange foundation, clown lipstick, booze, bleached wiglets, chicken wings and sadness. But maybe Christina is a better lover than I’m giving her credit for – she seems like a void of narcissism, and sometimes “egotistical” makes for a good lover.
Anyway, the rumor going around In Touch Weekly is that Rutler wants to marry Christina, and Christina wants to marry Rutler, but as of yet, no one has actually proposed.
Christina Aguilera is so anxious to marry boyfriend Matthew Rutler that she’s preparing to pop the question herself. Indeed, Christina, 30, has not been shy about telling friends and family that she and her beau are definitely getting married.
According to friends of the couple, “She makes jokes about him proposing all the time in front of him. He gets a little embarrassed, but it’s obvious they’ve talked about it. It’s coming soon. She wants to start over and thinks that asking him to marry her is the way to start.”
But another friend says Matthew, 26, may actually beat her to the punch. He wants to propose over Christmas but he’s scrounging for money to buy her a rock. Unlike Christina’s ex-husband, Jordan Bratman, Matthew doesn’t have the funds to keep up with Christina’s lifestyle or extravagant tastes.
“He wants to buy her a major diamond, so he’s saving his pennies,” a friend said. “He’s going to propose this year, even if he has to buy the ring on credit.”
[From In Touch Weekly, print edition]
I don’t have a problem with a lady proposing to her dude, but let’s just call this what it is – a rich, boozehound diva wanting to marry the guy that cleans her up when she’s had too much of the sauce. We don’t have to put a bow on it. Christina should buy herself a gigantic diamond and order Rutler to propose to her. That’s how Jessica Simpson did it, right?
Is a holiday proposal more romantic? I think it is. Christmas is kind of romantic anyway, so whenever that time of year rolls around there will be small reminders of that special moment. People Magazine is reporting that Britney Spears’ longterm boyfriend, talent agent Jason Trawick, is about to propose to her. We’ve heard this story many times before, and Britney has been wearing what looks like an engagement ring, off and on, for ages. Given that this story is in People, I think we can assume it’s the official sanctioned version from Britney’s camp. Does this mean that she will finally be let out out of her conservatorship now that she’s entering her third marriage? (Does that first one even count?) I do think Britney and Jason are the real deal, but this also sounds like somewhat of a business arrangement to me. Like now Britney is ready to have another team take over her business, and they’re rolling it out along with a marriage because legally that’s the easiest way to do it. I know that’s cynical, but that’s just my read on it. Here’s more, from People:
Britney Spears is getting ready for her 30th birthday on Friday and will finish up a successful world tour next week – but that’s not all she’s gearing up for.
A source close to the singer tells PEOPLE that an engagement is imminent for the pop star and longtime boyfriend Jason Trawick, 39, who sources say has picked out a ring.
“They’ve been talking about marriage for a long time,” says the source. “It would be surprising if they are not engaged by the end of the year.”
Adds the source: “Britney is really looking forward to turning 30. She is having one of the best times of her life.”
Well congratulations to Britney and Jason. We’ve heard that they’ve had problems in the past, but they’ve stayed together for a few years, they’ve known each other longer than that, and they do seem solid to me. Plus Jason is close with her boys and that counts for a lot.
In related news about Britney, she recently called Jennifer Lopez her “idol.” She said “She’s so beautiful and even though she’s gotten older, she hasn’t aged at all. She looks more amazing than ever and I really admire and respect that.” Is this Britney’s way of forgiving J.Lo for maybe copying her act at the AMAs?
Also, Britney is going to do a free open air concert in Mexico City this Sunday as part of the city’s holiday festivities. A Mexican government official Tweeted the news, so it’s probably accurate. Maybe she’ll get engaged in Mexico!
Britney and Jason are shown out in London on 11/1 (red shirt) and out in London again on 9/16 (green and black dress). Credit: Fame and WENN
Damn, I just had a conspiratorial side-eye in the Christian Bale post about Anne Hathaway, and now here she is, all princessy and engaged. Yes, People Magazine is confirming that Anne is engaged to her boyfriend of three years, Adam Shulman. Three things: one, Adam is Anne’s first relationship after her years-long relationship with imprisoned con artist Raffaello Follieri. Two, after the Follieri mess, Anne got the reputation as a very high-maintenance girlfriend, so good luck to Adam Shulman (who I think looks sort of like Ryan Gosling, right?). And three, I still kind of think Anne might have cheated on Adam with a costar. Mostly because of this Lainey blind item. But anyway… congrats to Anne and Adam!
Is the ultimate on-screen princess finally getting her fairy-tale ending?
Anne Hathaway is engaged to wed longtime boyfriend Adam Shulman, 30, whom she began dating in 2008, her rep confirms to PEOPLE.
On Sunday, the actress was photographed sporting a ring in a Brooklyn park along with Shulman.
“I am very much in love with him, [only] Adam totally ruined my plan,” Hathaway, 28, previously said of their three-year relationship. “I was really actually looking forward to a little alone time, and then I fell in love like a fool!”
Her relationship with the actor-jewelry designer followed a less happy ending with ex-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri in the summer of 2008, after he pled guilty to 14 counts of money laundering, conspiracy and wire fraud.
“I hate talking about the breakup because I don’t want it to define me, but as is to be expected, there were a lot of lingering trust issues,” she said last year of their highly publicized fall-out.
Over the summer, she gushed about Shulman at the premiere of her movie One Day.
“I’m a romantic at heart,” she told PEOPLE. “He’s the best!”
I used to find Anne rather cloying and annoying, but I’ve grown to like her a great deal over the past few years. She came out of the Follieri mess relatively unscathed, she started working really hard and turning in some good to great performances in film after film, plus I kind of like that she seems like an anal-retentive girly-girl. She seems organized, smart and yes, high maintenance. And if Adam wants to marry her… good for them.
Did you remember that Amber Tamblyn, 28, and David Cross, 47, were engaged? I didn’t. Kaiser put it in the links in August, and a quick look back at our archives reveals that these two were first spotted making out at a party back in 2008. They’re still together, they’re engaged, and it sounds like they’re having a lot of fun. US Weekly got a brief quote from the happy couple on their upcoming wedding. There’s no date given for when it’s planned and they just joke around about it, but their wedding is probably coming sometime soon.
David Cross and Amber Tamblyn’s nuptials will be “a fun show for our guests,” the Modern Family actor, 47, tells Us. “We’ll take the piss out of a traditional wedding.” He cheekily adds that he knew the actress, 28, was The One because “a letter in the mail” said so. Jokes the bride-to-be: “He’s a pathological liar.”
[From US Weekly, print edition, December 5, 2011]
Well good for them! I know Amber from “House” and she was also in 127 Hours. I don’t watch “Modern Family” and I didn’t get into “Arrested Development” when it was on, so I’ll always know Cross as Ian from Alvin and The Chipmunks. Cross is coming back in the third installment of the series, Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. It’s out this December and I’m sure my kid will drag me to it. The Chipmunks movies have CGI characters as stars so there’s not likely to be a ton of promotion from the voice actors or the actors who play humans. I’d love to hear more about Cross and Tamblyn’s wedding, though. It would be great to see photos too. It sounds like they’re going to throw a great party.
Photos are from 11/15/11, 11/14/11 and 9/16/11. Her engagement ring is cool! Credit: WENN.com/FayesVision and Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com
