That title doesn’t capture the full quote that Bon Jovi recently gave about his 19 year-old daughter Stephanie’s heroin overdose, while she was away at college last fall. (Stephanie had recovered by the time it was news and in fact she told her dad about it.) He said “she was by no means sticking needles in her arms,” which is essentially the same thing. (We only have so much room for titles.) This wasn’t the first time Bon Jovi has spoken about Stephanie’s OD. In December, a few weeks after her overdose, he said that he was shocked that his daughter was doing drugs, but that “hopefully, we caught it when we did and that’s the end of it.”

In this new interview, with UK’s Daily Mirror, Bon Jovi reveals more personal details about how he found out about his daughter’s OD. I was impressed with how candid and humble he was about it. He’s currently on tour with his band in Europe:

On learning of his daughter’s OD
First she calmly insisted: “I’m all right”, but any relief was short-lived as she went on to tell her devastated rocker dad she had overdosed on heroin.

“It was horrible, a horrible moment,” he says. “It was my worst moment as a father.

“The first thing she said, I’m all right but then she said this is what happened. You wake up, you shake it off and put your shoes on and say OK, I am on the way home.”

Police were called in November to 19-year-old Stephanie’s dorm at her university, Hamilton College, and found her unconscious. A small amount of heroin was found in her room at the $55,000-a-year liberal arts institution in Kirkland, New York.

She recovered in hospital and later charges against her and companion Ian Grant, 21, were dropped due to a local law that prohibits prosecution of people who have had a drugs overdose.

On coming to terms with his daughter’s drug use
“We went through something that a lot of parents do, many more than I thought. Many more people who have been in my life that I had no idea they had been through it with their own children at one point or another.

“There’s a lot of pressure on this generation. They have a lot easier access to things than yours or my generation had.

“She was by no means sticking needles in her arms. But there’s a lot of synthetic stuff in the world and a lot of temptation and access and pressures that just a generation ago you and I didn’t know about.

“I wasn’t aware of it, not because I’m not home but because it is a different world. Our world is far more relatable to our parents’ world than the kids’ world.

“There’s many more pressures on kids – what is this college degree going to do for me, what am I going to be when I grow up, will I be able to accomplish things?

“I feel it was a terrible tragic lesson of life but I thank God every day because she is whole. It happened and it has gone. I know personally people whose sons and daughters, where it was a lot, lot worse. That could have been Stephanie.”

On staying faithful to his wife of 24 years
“I have a wife who I adore, without her the cards would crumble. Every day there’s temptation. I don’t go looking for it either. Am I perfect? No. But do I aspire to finding a mistress somewhere? I really don’t.”

On still playing his hit songs
“I still enjoy playing Living On A Prayer immensely. You can’t not play Wanted or Prayer or Bad Name every night. Both for you and for that audience, they want to hear it. They are bigger than the band.”

[From Mirror.co.uk]

Isn’t that nice how he’s so mellow about playing their hit songs and how he knows it’s all about their fans? He also sounds like a great husband and father, and someone who is there for his family. Jon and his wife, Dorothea Hurley, have four kids and have been together since 1989. They have daughter Stephanie and three younger boys: Jesse, 18, Jacob, 11, and Romeo, 9. The more I hear from Jon the more he seems like a total standup guy. It sounds like his daughter is going to be ok, fingers crossed.

Jon and his wife are shown above at the Golden Globes this year. He’s shown with his wife and daughter in the header image in 2010 and with his family in August, 2011. Credit: WENN, PRPhotos

Ben Affleck was the host on the season finale of Saturday Night Live this weekend. I’m not going to front like I even bothered to tape it. Just about the only celebrity that could get me to watch SNL again is Matt Damon, and he hasn’t hosted it since 2002. (He did do a short in 2011 with Val Kilmer, Katy Perry and Andy Samberg.) In contrast, this is Affleck’s fifth turn on SNL. He wants us to like him, he wants us to think he’s funny, and he’s willing to mock himself.

In his opening monologue (video below), Affleck referenced his Oscar acceptance speech and blamed “uncharitable souls” on the Internet for pointing out that he called his marriage “work.” You said it, Ben, no one put words in your mouth. You know this was his idea. He claimed that his speech was misconstrued, and then had Jennifer Garner come on stage to verify that she knew what he meant.

While winning an Oscar was a huge thrill, giving an Oscar acceptance speech is completely terrifying. You remember in my speech I thanked my wife while also saying the essence of marriage is work. And we’ve worked together on our marriage. And then some uncharitable souls on the Internet took that to mean that our marriage is some kind of manual labor. That’s not it, you define what’s important to you by what you dedicate your time to. And my wife knew exactly what I meant. And so to disprove the naysayers I asked her to come tonight.

Would you just now dispell this notion and tell the people what I meant?

Garner: Well yeah, it’s a way that we talk privately about how committed we are to our marriage. Not sure why you had to share it live to a billion people.

Affleck: Our marriage is the work of love. What would you have called it in a speech?

Garner: A gift. I would have said thank you to my wife, ‘our marriage is a gift.’

Affleck: Yeah, that’s one way to go, I guess. It’s a gift to the work of marriage which you gifted me with enormous work.

Garner: Well if we’re going to be completely honest here why don’t we go ahead and mention who does all of the work.

Affleck: That’s too inside the people don’t want to hear that…

I want to tell you how I wish I had ended that speech, ok? I couldn’t do any of the things I do without your support. You’re my angel, you’re my life and my world.

Garner: You’re reading that (shows cue card)

Affleck: I mean yeah, but it’s true. I love you.

Garner: Thank you. You’re a lot of work. [they kiss]

That was cute! It won me over. I thought it would be cheesier than it was, and it kind of speaks to their whole media strategy. Ben opens mouth, sticks foot in it, Jen saves his ass by being gracious and sweet about it.

As for the rest of the show, Pajiba has the rest of the skits for us as well as a nice overview. They call Ben “gracious” and “charmingly bumbling.” It was the last episode for castmembers Fred Armisen and Bill Hader and they got an emotional send off. Maybe they’ll get decent comedians to replace those two but it won’t be the same. Kanye West was the musical guest.

Ben’s marriage comments start at about 1:50

Here we have some of the lesser fashion from last night’s Billboard Awards. We’ll have more coming up for you shortly. Taylor Swift was the big winner and took home eight awards! She won for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Female Artist of the Year among others. In this post we’re talking about some of the lesser celebrities and musicians, and who better to start with than engaged Canadian couple Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger? Neither of these two was nominated for anything, although Avril was a presenter. She wore her best black leather strapless mini-dress paired with ridiculous black gladiator shoes and a few extra applications of liquid eyeliner. She accessorized with stacks of rhinestone (I’m guessing) bracelets and a giant cocktail ring to balance out her huge pear-shaped engagement ring. These two look perfect for each other, don’t they?

Also in black we have Hayden Panettiere, who was unfortunately not accompanied by her hulk of a man, boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko. We’ve heard for weeks that Hayden and Wladimir are engaged and yet she hasn’t been wearing a ring. They were just spotted together last week, so I’m not suggesting there’s trouble, just that I bet Wladimir isn’t as gung-ho about getting married as sources would like us to believe.

Hayden is in Halston Heritage. That’s a gorgeous dress that flatters her but it’s a little conservative for this event. I love her styling! Check out the little gems in her hair and her very understated blush-colored makeup accented with green eyeshadow. She’s so pretty.

Jennifer Morrison is also in black, in one of the unfortunate trends of the night – see through gowns. She’s in a designer I’ve never heard of before, Kristian Aadnevik, and this dress is just awful. It looks like something out of the Fredericks catalog. It’s little more than lingerie with a mesh skirt overlay. Morrison rarely gets it right and needs a new stylist. Something nice – her hair and makeup are well done.

Here’s another see through dress, although this certainly isn’t the last of them – Emmy Rossum in polkadot Zuhair Murad. This long fishtail gown is too fancy and fussy, and it looks bizarre with the mesh paneling. Plus her matronly updo is dragging this look down. She looks hot despite all that though, and I really like her makeup.

Jenny McCarthy wore her best black cotton tank top with a blue cut-out glitter skirt paired with platform ankle boots. Trash to the E. This is actually a whole “look” by Tom Ford. Maybe he’s letting his interns design now that he has a baby at home.

Finally Chloe Moretz, 16, was cute in a Fendi minidress. This dress reminds me of some of Emma Watson’s looks and I really like the bold mix of patterns. It would have worked better with some neutral shoes, those clunky checkerboard shoes are overkill.

photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

Kaiser pointed out these photos to me of Courtney Stodden, 18, at some event, let’s see… the “Sizzling Sexy Summer Event at Shekhar Rahate Haute Couture.” This is the same very budget tacky prom dress-looking designer whose event she attended with her mom two months ago. Kaiser wrote that these photos were “amazing” and that “she looks 50 years old.” Well that makes sense, because Courtney’s husband, Doug Hutchison, is 53 years old and is said to control every aspect of her life. Neighbors of Courtney and her husband/dad claim that Doug “drinks day and night” and that he’s often heard loudly arguing with Courtney.

Courtney Stodden and Doug Hutchison… are once again making headlines for a blowout fight – this time on May 4, after Doug, 53, came home in a drunken rage. “He was out of his mind,” reveals a source. “Neighbors could hear Courtney crying.” The boozy encounter, which has family worried for 18 year-old Courtney’s safety, is nothing new. “He drinks day and night,” considers the insider. “Doug controls every aspect of her life.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, May 27, 2013]

I believe this. If Courtney’s extreme age difference with her husband and bizarre appearance didn’t convince you that she’s in an unhealthy relationship, this video of her in goth garb as an alter ego calling herself a “slut” who moved to Hollywood “to marry some old, washed up, D-List, saggy-balled actor” will do it. She made that back in March, and of course her enabling manager mom dismissed it, calling it “funny” and “edgy.” There’s nothing funny or edgy about this whole sketchy situation, but this girl is 18 years old and her only life skill involves wearing lucite heels and posing in a bikini. She probably is unable to take care of herself and I doubt she could divorce this guy and get any support from her parents. They’re the ones who thought it was perfectly fine that she marry a 50-something washed up actor in the first place.

I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me much earlier, but Courtney’s mom probably set her up with Doug from the get-go, right? This wasn’t a situation where these two found each other online like they’re claiming, I bet her mom planned it all and pimped Courtney out to these creeper in some grand scheme to make her daughter a “star.” Look how that’s working out. Courtney is playing the role as she’s expected to, but I just feel sorry for her.

Update: I just read over on Starcasm that Courtney announced to E! news that she has a sex tape. Of course she does. She said it’s “not out in the media” or on her computer and adds “I don’t want to put any images in people’s mind; I’m gonna leave it up to you guys to think what you want.” She claims she’s not going to release it (unless the money is right) claiming that “this is personal.” Isn’t that what Farrah Abraham said too? Courtney claims It’s “just me… I turned 18 in August, so you do the math.” If she has no plans to release it, why did she wait until she was 18 to make the tape?

Courtney with her mom:

Courtney, her mom and the designer, Shekhar Rahate

Courtney and Doug are shown on 5-13. Event photos are from 5-16. Credit: FameFlynet

The last time we reported on Bethenny Frankel she was claiming she’d made the wrong choice in marrying her now estranged husband, Jason Hoppy, and should have trusted her instincts, basically. Bethenny added that she did have her daughter by Jason, but it sounded like she was backtracking. She also admitted that she was still sharing an apartment with Jason while they were going through a contentious divorce, and she claimed that he made her feel like a bad person while they were married. Oh and she also called divorce “the most difficult thing you can go through in your life” and complained that her divorce hadn’t been amicable like she was expecting.

So is it any surprise that Jason, who hasn’t talked to the press at all as far as I can tell, is going to court to try and keep Bethenny from talking any more crap about him? Radar has the story claiming Jason is trying to get a gag order that enforces the privacy clause in their prenup:

The latest missive in the War of the Roses split comes after Frankel gave an interview to People in which she revealed the marriage was “a mistake,” and the divorce was making her “miserable.”

Jason, 41, “has had enough and asked his lawyers to go to court asking the judge to impose a gag order on the entire divorce proceedings. He doesn’t want Bethenny discussing the divorce in the media. There are specific clauses in their prenuptial agreement that prohibit either party from talking about their relationship in the press. Jason wants Bethenny to just zip it when it comes to the divorce,” a source told RadarOnline.com exclusively.

As we previously reported, the former Real Housewife of New York star revealed that her marriage to Jason was a mistake, and that she regrets ever getting married in the first place.

“In my marriage, I made a mistake. It is what it is,” she said. “I made the wrong choice. But I do have my daughter, who is so beautiful and amazing in every way.”

Bethenny said that she was devastated when her marriage to Jason turned sour, and she hit a dark and low point with self- reflection.

“All the things that I’ve tried to resolve in therapy and get past from my childhood reared their ugly head in my marriage. My marriage made me feel like I was a bad person, like I was damaged, I was dysfunctional, I was never going to be happy,” Bethenny said.

“But I don’t believe that to be true. Yet there I was in a relationship that made me feel that way.”

Multiple sources tell us that the “Bethenny will fight any gag order. She wants to be the victim, and she can’t do that if she can’t talk!”

[From Radar Online]

Bethenny needs to keep talking about Jason so that she gets press. This is how she makes a living, by making people interested in her train wreck of a personal life. So Jason is talking about Bethenny to Radar, but he’s doing it off the record, which is smart. This reminds me of how Gabriel Aubry attempted to handle his custody battle with Halle Berry, and was ultimately triumphant.

I have to mention some great quotes in an earlier story on Radar, in which they claimed that Jason was “taking the high road” and “refusing to publicly bash” Bethenny. They quote sources who say that Bethenny “is having a temper tantrum because Jason isn’t giving in to her demands, and she wants him to give up custody of their daughter, and move out of their Tribeca loft. There is no way Jason would allow Bethenny to have full custody of Bryn without a dog fight in court. Jason gave their marriage 100% and was always very supportive of Bethenny. She is going to end up a bitter old lonely woman, just like her mother, whom she loathes and despises.” Jason may not be publicly bashing Bethenny, but he sure doesn’t mind doing it through a “source.”

Jason and his daughter, Bryn, are shown out on 5-10. Note that he’s still wearing his wedding ring. He’s also shown outside of court on 4-19-13. Bethenny Frankel is shown on 5-11 and 5-15-13. Credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

I guess it was always the plan to have Christina Aguilera back on The Voice after her hiatus this season, and it’s happening. The Wrap reports that Christina has inked a $12.5 million deal to return to the show as a coach, and that Cee Lo Green is returning as well for substantially less. In comparison, XTina earned a whopping $17 million for the same gig last year. So she’s taking a pay cut, but she’s still raking it in. The Wrap reminds us that Britney made $15 million for X Factor and Mariah’s salary on Idol was $18 million. So there’s some kind of benchmark for overpaid divas on reality judging shows.

Cee Lo Green is in advanced negotiations to return to Season 5 of “The Voice” alongside Christina Aguilera, according to an NBC executive with knowledge of the situation.

“We are not there yet, but working toward it,” said the executive.

As TheWrap reported earlier on Monday, Aguilera is already set to return next season as a coach on NBC’s hit singing competition.

Aguilera has signed her contract to return to the NBC talent competition, an individual with knowledge of the deal has told TheWrap. According to the insider, Aguilera’s return has been kept under wraps for a couple of months.

The pop diva will be paid $12.5 million for Season 5, said the executive with knowledge of the deal.

Another insider close to the negotiations said Aguilera made about $17 million when she was a coach on Season 3, which made her one of the highest paid women on reality TV. The insider said she could earn a figure as high as that again, depending on the number of hours she appeared. (Believe it or not, “Voice” coaches are paid by the hour.)

Green would not make anywhere near Aguilera’s salary. Negotiations are still underway for coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, who are also expected to return, the insider said.

For comparison, Mariah Carey currently makes a reported $18 million on Fox’s “American Idol” and Britney Spears made a reported $15 million on “The X Factor.”

Aguilera announced that she was leaving “The Voice” last December to promote her “Lotus” album and tour. Cee Lo Green also announced his exit at the same time. Shakira and Usher replaced them on the current season.

At the time, executive producer Mark Burnett played down the departures, saying that he expected that his coaches would rotate in and out as they are working artists. He also said they were always welcome to return. Shakira is likely to return in a future season.

[From The Wrap via Radar]

This must mean that Usher and Shakira are off The Voice for now. I haven’t been paying attention to the show this season but Shakira has been spouting a lot of crap recently about how hard it is to be a working mom and lose the baby weight. She sounds like Goop lately, and there’s a good reason for that. Shakira also trains with fraudster Tracy Anderson. Shakira just claimed that she looked like a “Shar Pei” after she gave birth. You know this is the exact same thing that Gwyneth Paltrow said about her post-partum figure. Does Tracy encourage these women to sound clueless or are they drawn to her because she justifies their narcissism? Unknown.

Getting back to XTina, I hope this means that she’s going to stay somewhat sober and coherent. She had issues during her last stint on The Voice but she seems to have cleaned up recently and I hope that sticks for her. Not that I’m too invested in her well being. Drunk diva XTina is fun. Plus she wears the best outfits.

Photo credit: WENN.com

We’ve heard rumors for some time that Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s youngest child, Willow, 12, wants out of the show business career her parents are creating for her and her brother, Jaden. Willow has laid relatively low lately while Jaden, 14, has a new blockbuster scifi movie coming out with his dad called After Earth. That movie premieres at the end of this month and Jaden is poised to become a young superstar. He has a rap career and a fashion line as well. So in comparison Willow’s pop stardom was short lived and she’s being a kid and doing her thing. But that’s ok, because her mom promises Willow is going to “make a comeback.” Willow is 12 freaking years old. How do you make a comeback at 12 years old? Yes she had a hit single, but please.

Jada said this in an interview with the AP, in which she’s promoting her new documentary about 70s activist Angela Davis. Will has told this story about Willow rejecting the lead in Annie before, but it’s interesting to me how Jada words it.

AP: Wasn’t Willow supposed to star in “Annie”?

Pinkett Smith: She was supposed to star in “Annie” and Willow has decided not to. … She decided that she wants to be 12 and says right now she’s really concentrating on music skills. She’s taking piano lessons, taking her singing lessons every day and writing. She’s really just developing herself. … She’s taking her time to develop her skills, so when she feels like people are ready to know the real Willow, then she will make a comeback.

AP: As an actress, businesswoman, and the matriarch of a high-profile family, how do you deal with the constant rumors about you and Will?

Pinket Smith: They’re quite easy obstacles. When I really think about what people are going through in the world today, and dealing with people’s speculations is one thing. And knowing simply that that’s all that it is. (laughs) When you’re living your truth and you understand your truth, things get very easy. They get less complicated at least, so I’m very blessed. I am very blessed, so speculations I can deal with.

[From Huffington Post]

Notice that Jada doesn’t deny any of the rumors about her troubled maybe-open marriage with Will. She just talks about living her “truth,” which she’s talked around for a while now.

Getting back to the topic, the last we heard from Will on parenting he was saying that they let their kids do whatever they want, basically. Will said “as young as possible, give them as much control as possible.” This is the Scientology hands-off, old souls in little bodies approach to parenting, although the Pinkett-Smiths have denied that they’re members of that famous cult.

I think the Smiths have this philosophy as long as their kids are doing what they expect of them in general. It seems clear to me that stardom and fame is expected, hence Jada promising that Willow will make a “comeback.” Does that mean a comeback to her music career or a comeback that involves multi-hyphenates like Jaden? It doesn’t seem fair to these kids. They’re not just growing up in the spotlight, they’re being expected to perform just like their parents. But I do give the Smiths credit for letting Willow say she wasn’t going to do Annie. If Willow told her parents she wanted to go to school and get a degree towards a professional non-Hollywood career would they support that too? I hope so.

Oh and Willow got new hair! She dyed it lilac/purple. I like that her parents let her do her own thing with her hair and fashion.

Willow is shown on 5-9-13 with purple hair and on 2-13-13 at the Michael Kors show at Fashion Week. She looks so bored there! Credit: WENN.com

A couple of months ago we heard that Elisabeth Hasselbeck was leaving The View, she was reportedly pushed out for being “too right wing” and polarizing viewers. She’s been there for 10 years, so it seemed more like they were trying to mix up the panel rather than anyone being surprised by the same crap she’s been spewing daily. At that time, Joy Behar announced that she was vacating as co-host as well, and that she plans to leave her 16 year post when her contract runs out in August.

Then just last month co-host Whoopi Goldberg had some hilariously candid things to say about her job. She made it clear that she phones it in for a paycheck, explaining “I take a paycheck every other week. That’s all I do. I could give a sh-t what comes. I do my job — I have a contract. That’s where I stand. I don’t give a f-ck.” I want to hear Whoopi’s thoughts on the fact that her boss, The View’s creator Barbara Walters, is finally announcing her retirement at 83. Walters suffered an accident and hospitalization earlier this year and has only been on the television panel sporadically. She will finally step down in 2014, but assures us that the show will continue without her:

Barbara Walters is keeping her promise.

E! News has confirmed that the veteran newswoman will make her official retirement announcement during tomorrow’s episode of The View.

“I am very happy with my decision and look forward to a wonderful and special year ahead both on ‘The View’ and with ABC News,” she told ABC News. “I created ‘The View’ and am delighted it will last beyond my leaving it.”

She continues to say, “I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain. I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women—and OK, some men too—who will be taking my place.”

ABC News President Ben Sherwood says, “There’s only one Barbara Walters, and we look forward to making her final year on television as remarkable, path-breaking and news-making as Barbara herself. Barbara will always have a home at ABC News and we look forward to a year befitting her brilliant career, filled with exclusive interviews, great adventures and indelible memories.”

After word got out that Walters was planning to retire in May of 2014, rumors began swirling that she would let everyone know about her career plans on the show in early April.

[From E! Online]

I’ve covered Barbara Walters many times and I didn’t realize that she’s 83 years old. Her plastic surgery is obvious but well done. I assumed she was in her mid 70s tops. Barbara is at an age where it seems inevitable that she steps down, but you get the impression that she’s holding on because she doesn’t want to lose control of her empire. She should have left back in 2007 when she got into that big to-do with Rosie O’Donnell. Remember that? Rosie and Barbara couldn’t shut up about it. Barbara was in yet another public feud with a different ex host, Star Jones, whom she trashed in her memoir. At that point Barbara was in her late 70s. She should have seen the writing on the wall earlier than this.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Two women who have both slept with Charlie Sheen and received large payouts from him, who have both been in rehab more times than they can count, and who are both in rehab this latest time against their will, are now in the same rehab together. What could go wrong? I’m sure they’re there to get sober and support each other as they work the program. Both TMZ and Radar report that Brooke Mueller has checked into Betty Ford so that she can be in rehab with Lindsay Lohan. Let’s see, Brooke’s rep recently confirmed that his client was in rehab for a prescription drug habit (cough crystal meth) and that she would be there for 30 days. Lindsay is in court-ordered rehab for 90 days. This is Brooke’s 20th time in rehab, that’s no exaggeration, and it’s really hard to confirm this but I think this is Lindsay’s sixth time.

According to Radar, Brooke went to Betty Ford because she wanted to hang out with Lindsay:

Charlie Sheen‘s ex-wife Brooke Mueller Thursday entered the Betty Ford clinic for a 30-day stint, because she specifically wanted to be in rehab with Lindsay Lohan RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.

The 35-year-old mother of Sheen’s twin boys Bob and Max was not legally forced to enter rehab, sources told us, adding that she’s not guaranteed to receive custody of the boys back when she’s through.

Insiders told us the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services didn’t want the former Palm Beach socialite going to the Rancho Mirage, Calif.-based facility because of the LiLo factor – Mueller apparently disagreed with their opinion.

The boys are currently cared for by Sheen’s other ex-wife Denise Richards who’s slated to attend a hearing in child dependency court early next month.

As we previously reported, Sheen last week issued a statement in support of DCFS’s decision to remove the 4-year-olds from their mother’s home.

All parties in the case have been instructed not to publicly speak on matters.

[From Radar Online]

This is such a bad idea, but these genius addicts are anything but practical. If there are any staffers at Betty Ford left who will stand up to them, you know that they’re going to get pelted with telephones while these two carry out a crack scheme to sneak out to a local bar. Or they’ll call up Charlie and promise him a threesome in exchange for drugs. What a mess this is going to be. At least Lohan is supposed to stay another two months after Brooke leaves but I doubt that’s going to happen. I’m surprised that we haven’t heard anything about her in a couple of days. It seems just about time for her to bust out and go shopping for some sea jasper.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Nick Lachey was a guest Monday on Watch What Happens Live, on Bravo. He was there with his 98 Degrees bandmates promoting their new album, 2.0, which is their first release in 13 years. Also, they’re going on tour this summer with – I sh*t you not – New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men! That makes me lol so hard, but it’s kind of genius. (Barely related sidenote: did you see John Krasinski and Jimmy Fallon’s lip sync battle in which they do Boys II Men? It’s awesome.)

Anyway Nick was playing this game with host Andy Cohen called “Plead the Fifth” in which he gets asked three questions and he can only plead the fifth on one of them. He was asked about the most overrated boy band of all time (he said “O Town”) and the second question was “What is the best thing about no longer having Joe Simpson as a father in law?” His brother quipped “everything” and Nick said:

“The best thing about not having Joe Simpson as a father in law is that I don’t have to play grab ass under the table on Easter Sunday.”

He was smiling when he said it, and his brother Drew joked “our publicist is freaking out right now.” I swear he was telling the truth, especially when Andy said “that’s funny,” and Nick added “it may not be [funny] tomorrow but it is tonight.” Oh snap, that story is true!

The third question was “a famous person you hooked up with that no one knows about.” Drew said he couldn’t think of anyone because “all my skeletons are out there.”

Later, he was asked about Jessica Simpson and if he still talks to her and he made it clear that he doesn’t. He said “it’s been years, probably six years. It was like another lifetime ago.”

That was a long time ago, but I remember it well since it was such big news. Nick wasn’t the one who wanted to end the relationship. He did an interview back then with Rolling Stone admitting that Jessica pulled the plug before he wanted to break up. He said that still loved her and wanted to be with her and admitted he was heartbroken. He even broke down crying in that interview, but he didn’t trash Jessica or her family, he remained very classy about all of it. There were stories that Joe Simpson caused the end of Jessica and Nick’s marriage, but Nick didn’t pin it on Joe. He just said Jessica was a grown woman. “I don’t pretend to understand Joe. And I can’t speculate about what he did or why he did it or for what purpose. It would be easy for me to blame my divorce on him. That would be convenient. But at the end of the day, Jessica is a grown woman, and she made her own decision.”

So Nick was massively hurt by Joe’s daughter, and he could have easily aired his suspicions at the time that Joe was a creeper. He didn’t do that, he just dropped a line in an interview many years later when it was already known that Joe preferred the company of very young men.

Comments on Joe are at 1:50 into this video:

Nick and Jessica in 2005

photo credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com