Here’s a weird story. The last I heard of Dean McDermott’s ex wife, Mary Jo Eustace, she was telling the story of how Dean, her then-husband of over 12 years, had heartlessly dumped her for his “soul mate” Tori Spelling, just three weeks after meeting Tori and right after they’d adopted a baby girl. Things seem to be looking up for Mary at this point, despite the prospect of having to see Dean and his sour-faced wife on television for years to come. Mary, who hosts a cooking show on Canadian television, has penned a cookbook in conjunction with dating website Cougarlife.com* called Cooking for Your Cub.

Eustace instead sought revenge of a different kind, penning multiple books including the controversial “Divorce Sucks.” And now her latest culinary venture “Cooking For Your Cub!” is ready for release – a “cougar cookbook” peppered with gourmet recipes, food aphrodisiacs and tips for “being saucy.”

“I wanted to do something really fun and an anecdote to the whole divorce saga. This is for women who are in their 30s and 40s and are starting again, making a great living and don’t necessarily need men financially,” Eustace told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “The whole idea of the book is to have a woman who is secure, dating a younger man, and cooking for romance and fun.”

In keeping with her own Hollywood experience, Eustace has named each of the 24 recipes after famous females who have been through a marriage break down. There’s everything from Jennifer Asparagus Soup, Courteney Coconut Lemongrass Soup and Oysters A La Madonna, to Mariah Bananas Brandy, Proscuitto Halle Basil Sandwich, Roasted Leg of Lamb (Demi Glace) and Beef Tenderloin with Sarandon Shallots Over Blue Cheese Mash.

“The concept of being a cougar is becoming a lot more mainstream, we’ve got people like Demi Moore who is beautifully preserved and at the top of her game choosing to be with a much younger man, and it is becoming really acceptable that you can have that choice,” Eustace continued. “Then there is the likes of Kim Cattrall who was on ‘Sex and the City’ and obviously with a younger man during the series so we are playing on that, and now Susan Sarandon has a young boyfriend. These women look fantastic. I think it just shows that women have more control and more choice and don’t have to be obligated to a certain type of man.”

Another concept behind the book, which was co-conceived by Claudia Opdenkelder, the CEO CougarLife.com – a niche dating website that caters to professional women seeking younger men – is for older women to help their significant other develop more “mature” tastes.

“I thought it would be funny to introduce them to adult food – introducing them to coffee lobster, maybe a liqueur, you’re trying to sophisticate their palate,” Eustace said. “I also want it to be fun and sexy but do-able. It’s got to be fun and it can’t be taxing to do.”

Eustace also hopes the marriage-rocked celebrities honored by recipes in “Cooking For Your Cub!” which includes the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Newton-John, Madonna and Halle Berry, are flattered by the inclusion and intends to send them each a copy.

“It’s a compliment – a cookbook with good recipes,” she said. “It is a testament to older women who look fantastic and are choosing how they live their life. I think that’s a good message for women.”

[From Fox News]

Look, I get the urge to date younger guys after a divorce. More of them are single without ex wives, kids and the baggage that comes along with age. They’re probably more willing to please and less set in their ways. Good for Eustace for getting hers and moving on. For the love of God, though, why is she calling the guys she dates “cubs” and talking about introducing them to new flavors and “adult food” as if they’re toddlers? It’s creepy and it sounds like she’s talking about a son, not a boyfriend.

To be fair, the book jacket says that Eustace was approached by the CougarLife ceo about cooking for her cub, so maybe she’s just on board for this idea and it wasn’t something she came up with on her own.

The CougarLife lady probably has to cook for her “cubs” at home because it’s embarrassing to take them out. You have the “he looks like your son” comments, along with the sticky issue of who is going to pay for dinner when your date is scraping by and you’ve got a lucrative career. May as well make some coffee flavored lobster and have sex at your place, that way you won’t have to face the reality that your boyfriend is living with roommates in an apartment that needs fumigation. I remember the guys I dated in college and I remember scrubbing some nasty tubs before I was able to take a shower. Some of those guys were really hot, looking back, but life at that time was much less convenient on so many levels.

I guess it seems inevitable that someone has put out a “Cougar” cookbook, because a lot of those young dudes can’t cook anything other than Ramen and it’s not like they can pick up the check on a night out. Ultimately it’s a marketing gimmick, just like the famous women that Eustace uses to name each recipe.

*Note: dating site spammers are the scourge of bloggers. I checked and no spammers from cougarlife have bothered us or I would not have reported this.

Star Magazine’s cover story this week is “Tori Spelling Collapses!” This is not really news – last week, Dean McDermott was tweeting all over the place about Tori’s hospital stay for an unknown stomach ailment. Star doesn’t really know what kind of health problems Tori is facing, but they join together several stories into a pastiche of nasty gossip. First, according to Star’s sources, Tori has an eating disorder because she’s only “95 pounds”. I’ve seen recent pictures of Tori, and she’s not 95 pounds. Yes, she’s very thin. But it’s not that extreme.

Secondly – and the biggest part of the story – is that Tori’s hospital stay and mysterious stomach ailment is all related to Dean’s ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace and MJ’s tell-all book, Divorce Sucks: What to do when irreconcilable differences, lawyer fees, and your ex’s Hollywood wife make you miserable. Last week, Star excerpted parts of the book (Gatecrasher did too). While many of you thought MJ has every right to still be talking, writing and bitching about Tori four years after the divorce, I found the book excerpts revealing of Mary Jo’s lingering bitterness, nastiness and near obsession with analyzing every part of Tori and Dean’s relationship. Personally (and this really is just my opinion), I don’t think what MJ is doing is healthy or mature. Anyway, Star claims that Tori’s health problems are all related to the “stress” of being hit with revelations from Mary Jo’s book.

Tori Spelling has been in and out of the hospital throughout the past week. Now Star has all the details behind her health crisis — and why her marriage may be to blame!

Tori was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center late on Sept. 28, complaining of severe abdominal pains, headaches and dizziness. In our Oct. 19 issue — on sale now — Star reveals how doctors quickly ordered a battery of tests, which ruled out pregnancy, ulcers and ovarian cysts. She was given an ultrasound to check for kidney stones and had blood drawn to test for pelvic inflammatory disease, but these tests also came up negative. With no diagnosis, she was released early the next morning.

Two days later she was back in the hospital, but doctors were no closer to finding the specific cause of her illness at the end of her stay. Says a source, “They believe it could be stress-related.”

In recent weeks, Tori has indeed been dealing with serious anxiety, multiple sources tell Star. The stress caused by scathing revelations from Dean’s best friend and his ex-wife has made her sick and shaken her once-solid marriage.

Dean’s best pal, Michael Olifiers, and his ex-wife, Mary Jo Eustace, said that Dean only got with Tori, 36, to further his career — and that he was never attracted to her. “She feels overwhelmed with all of these statements,” a source says.

For more on the doubts making Tori sick, and the blow-up with hubby Dean that triggered her hospital visit, pick up the latest issue of Star today.

[From Star Magazine]

It could be. I could buy that Tori’s health problems are stress-related. She’s had a rough year with her mom’s crap, and now this “tell-all” from Mary Jo. But Star does have a record of really going after Tori and Dean, especially with their recent cover story about their “loveless marriage”. It could be that Tori just got the swine flu or something. Who knows?

Tori Spelling is shown on 9/27/09 at the Farmer’s Market with her family. Credit: WENN.com. Header via Cover Awards.

Last week Gatecrasher had an interesting early excerpt from Mary Jo Eustace’s new book, Divorce Sucks: What to do when irreconcilable differences, lawyer fees, and your ex’s Hollywood wife make you miserable. Mary Jo is the ex-wife of Dean McDermott, who very publicly and suddenly dumped her for Tori Spelling back in 2005. Last week’s book excerpt was all about how the producers of Tori and Dean’s reality show wanted Mary Jo to come on and make a “guest” appearance confronting Tori. Mary Jo refused – just as she refuses to let her kids on Tori and Dean’s show. I commented that it seemed like Mary Jo seemed pretty mature.

Now Star Magazine is carrying several more excerpts from Mary Jo’s book, and I’m questioning her maturity and her ability to simply move on from her divorce. She really seems like she has an ax to grind. Of course, wouldn’t you have an ax to grind if your husband left you for Tori Spelling? Yeah… I would be devastated. This excerpt also references the cover story Star ran several weeks ago about Tori and Dean’s loveless marriage. There’s even a quote from the source of that article, Michael Olifiers. Here’s some more from Mary Jo:

Mary Jo on how Tori Spelling was like Hiroshima: “I guess I always knew that after the years of mini bombs, one day there would be a big, fat Hiroshima… I just didn’t know that Hiroshima would be Tori Spelling.”

Mary Jo on why Dean left her: Dean told Mary Jo that he was leaving her for “his soul mate”. But she believes it was always about money and fame. “He tells me that money will never be a problem.” Dean told his friend Michael Olifiers, “You have no idea what this is going to do for my career! I’m with Tori Spelling now. I’m going to make millions!”

Mary Jo on her disappointment that women didn’t rally to support her: “I just assumed everyone would rally around and support me, especially the women… Well, not if these women wanted to meet Tori Spelling.”

MJ on seeing a photo of a cowboy-clad Tori with her legs wrapped around Dean: “I will never feel the same way about cowboy boots again.”

MJ on meeting Tori Spelling for the first time: “Was there an area of misery and humiliation that I hadn’t fully explored? My afternoon companion with two blonde pigtails, snugly fitted jeans, and thigh-high boots clicking up my walkway. No recollection of tracksuits [as Tori had described her outfit for the incident]… but then again, I am getting older. Although I was tempted… no broken bones.”

MJ on Dean introducing their son Jack to Tori after 2 weeks of dating: “My son was confused… I told him that it was his father’s girlfriend, and that he needed to talk to his dad about her.” Dean denied the relationship. “Then I had to stand there while my 7-year-old son confronted me and called me a liar! To this day, it still gets me angry.”

MJ on Tori the Usurper: Mary Jo came across a photo of Tori, Dean and Jack with an accompanying interview with Tori. “Tori said, ‘She loved hanging out with ‘her boys’ and that they ‘were like the three amigos,’ doing everything together. My family had been officially usurped. What exactly is wrong with these women pouncing on families when they’re being dismantled?”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 12 2009]

Although I have sympathy for Mary Jo, I don’t think she’s coming across well. She seems very bitter and very much like she’s wallowing in self-pity. She also seems like she’s using Tori as much as she would have us believe Dean is using Tori. Look – I could totally understand how Mary Jo couldn’t stand Tori and everything, but Mary Jo is feeding her own drama and neurosis by picking apart everything Tori and Dean do. It’s pretty obvious that Mary Jo sat down with Tori’s books and read them cover to cover, taking notes for her own response. It just seems petty, immature and vindictive.

Tori and Dean are shown out at dinner on 9/18/09. Credit: Fame Pictures

Tori Spelling is a homewrecker. Just thought I’d get that out there, because I have been accused of bias about some of my favorite homewrecking girls. Tori “stole” Dean McDermott from his wife, son and newly adopted daughter back in 2006. Tori “stole” him even though Dean is an adult man, not a tube of lipstick. It is all Tori’s fault. Meh. What I really think is that people fall in and out of love, that sh-t gets complicated, and that you should try to be as honest as possible.

CB and MSat have different views on this- they think both Tori and Dean are selfish asses, which is totally legit. I get why some people hate them. I’m just saying this – I watch their show sometimes, and I think they’re in love. I think it’s for real. Whether or not Dean has ulterior motives for being with Tori (money, fame and horses), I think he and Tori handled the “homewrecking” the right way – namely, they met, fell in love, and immediately split from their respective spouses, instead of dragging it out for months and lying to everybody.

Dean’s ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace obviously has a different view about the situation. She’s written a new book detailing her side of the story, Divorce Sucks: What to do when irreconcilable differences, lawyer fees, and your ex’s Hollywood wife make you miserable. Gatecrasher has an excerpt from the book, in which Mary Jo details how the producers of Dean and Tori’s reality show wanted Mary Jo to make an “appearance”.

Tori Spelling should thank her lucky stars — her hubby’s ex passed up the chance to turn “Tori and Dean” into “Three’s Company.”

In her book “Divorce Sucks,” Dean McDermott’s ex-wife, Mary Jo Eustace, reveals that a producer approached her to appear on the reality show — and cause as much controversy as she could.

The Canadian TV chef couldn’t be blamed for wanting to stir things up: Her then-husband had an affair with the “90210″ actress, then divorced her and married Spelling in 2006.

In the tome — due Oct. 19 from Adams Media — the abandoned Eustace says she considered hitting the small screen to portray herself as a broken woman and gain public sympathy. She even toyed with how she would fit into the show: She could move in next door and make Dean’s life a living hell. Or, she could take the “organic” route, as producers suggested, and “casually” confront Tori — for two to three hours.

Eustace did end up meeting with the reality show’s honchos, but decided that — although appreciative of the chance to air her dirty laundry — she’d leave that to Tori and Dean, thanks. Instead, she took on a different role: Protective mama. Eustace says that, at the very same meeting where she declined the TV offer, she threatened producers that if her son Jack ever appeared on the program again, there’d be trouble.

“I said, ‘If I ever again see my son with a black X across his face on the show without my permission, we’ll be having a whole different type of conversation,’” she writes. She got her wish: Jack has not appeared on the show since.

“I have managed to keep my son off the reality show and cast him in his very own and wonderfully private life,” says Eustace, who’s mostly glad she helped Jack avoid the pitfalls of child stardom. “I mean, seriously — remember the ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ kids? Enough said.”

[From Gatecrasher]

Mary Jo sounds very mature, although I still think she has an axe to grind if she’s writing a book discussing all of this crap. But the producers sound like idiots. I thought Tori and Dean were producers on the show too? Yeah, they are. At some point, the manufactured drama has to end, for the love of all that is holy. What would happen if Mary Jo actually made an “appearance” on Tori and Dean’s show? Would the world end? Not really. They would probably sit down and talk about their bullsh-t like adults. Scandal!

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott are shown out on 9/19/09 and 9/21/09. Credit; Fame Pictures