When Ryan Seacrest, 38, and Julianne Hough, 24, first got together a little over two years ago, a lot of us thought it was a publicity stunt. I remember that he took her shopping for luxury goods in Paris and made sure the paparazzi were there to document their PDA-heavy outing. The more time that passes, the more they come across like a regular, committed couple. It also helps that we’re getting to know Julianne and that she seems like she’s much wiser and more mature than her years. During his Golden Globe red carpet coverage, Ryan gushed about Julianne’s (goofy) dress a few times, and he was genuine about it. It’s like he was looking for excuses to talk about her.

In a new interview with Chelsea Handler, Ryan continued to praise his girlfriend, calling her “the best part of every day” and admitting that they were considering starting a family together.

“She’s so beautiful…stunning,” the American Idol host said about his girlfriend of two years, Julianne Hough, on Chelsea Lately tonight when Handler flashed a pic of the glamorous duo at the Golden Globes earlier this month.

Agreeing with Handler’s assessment of Hough as a “great girl,” Seacrest called her “phenomenal.”

“She’s the best part of every day,” he said—and, since Seacrest never sleeps, that’s a long day to be the highlight of!

Asked if he wants to get married and have a family, the 38-year-old multihyphenate said, “We both do,” but that the 25-year-old [sic] Hough—not Handler—would be the first one to know when that’s about to happen.

They touched briefly on American Idol, too, Seacrest diplomatically saying that Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have “come to work and disagreed about a thing or two, here or there, but now, today, they’re fine.”

“It just sort of depends,” he added, a master of ceremonies, as always.

[From E! Online]

In the video segment posted on E!, Chelsea ribs Ryan and tells him that she’s heard that the decor in his new house “is very feminine.” She makes constant references to the rumors that he bats for the other team. It’s a testament to Ryan’s personality that he didn’t get defensive or deny anything. Plus he practically owns E! He could easily tell Chelsea or The Soup to stop making fun of him, but he accepts the ribbing and doesn’t pull rank. When Chelsea introduced the topic of Ryan’s girlfriend, she said “I believe this relationship, actually” later adding that unlike Ryan “I don’t have to prove to anyone that I’m straight.” That’s Chelsea for ya. (Also, Chelsea says in the interview that Julianne is 25, but she’s not. She doesn’t turn 25 until July.)

As far as Ryan starting a family, I just get the sense that the dude is way too busy to think about it now. He has a radio show, he’s on Idol, he produces multiple reality shows. He looked so tired on Chelsea Lately. He probably can’t even consider having kids at this point, but at least he has plenty of time for that with Julianne. She’s young and seems too busy with her career too.

These photos are of Ryan and Julianne in St. Barts on 1-4 and 1-5-13. Credit: Fame Flynet. They’re also shown at The GG on 1-13-13. Credit: WENN.com

Yesterday we heard a bunch of arguably mildly douchey quotes by Ben Affleck about his marriage and about other women he’s worked with. At least that’s what I read into it, some of you may disagree. To The Hollywood Reporter, Ben said he still e-mails his exes like Gwyneth Paltrow, some little-known girl he dated in high school, and Jennifer Lopez. He also said of his wife, that “We don’t have a perfect marriage, but she inspired me; and finding myself in that marriage and having a child dovetailed with getting to be a little more mature.” So Garner helped him grow basically. It just didn’t sound like high praise and more like grudging acceptance. When asked why he was drawn to Garner, Affleck said “She truly is kind. She means no one any harm. She doesn’t have ill will for any person. She’s not competitive with other people. She’s not spiteful. It’s one of those things where it becomes almost aggravating at times.” Uh oh, right?

Then, on Anderson Cooper, Ben sung Blake Lively’s praises while telling a story about her he loves to repeat. (You can read about it here.) He called Lively “fabulous and gorgeous,” while only saying Garner is “a saint and does so much of the work [raising their three kids] because I’m inept and she’s a genius.” He did call his marriage great, saying “Forty kind of coincided with having three kids and having this marriage that is great and working in ways that I am really proud of.” So that’s good, but it sounds more like he’s referring to his marriage as some kind of business project. I just would like to hear him sing Garner’s praises as more than just a mom, and to compliment her specifically. (Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it’s my job and I don’t knock it.)

Well now US Weekly has a little blurb of an article, basically saying that Garner has Ben under control and that he does appreciate her. I would bet one of them planted this as kind of a response to the negative publicity. Garner probably just shrugs when her husband says stuff that can be perceived as careless like “that’s Ben.” So maybe he runs his mouth more than he should but things are fine at home. Here’s more:

After seven years, Ben Affleck is still amazed at his luck in finding Jennifer Garner.

“Any man who wants to have a marriage work needs to know who the boss is,” the Argo actor-director, 40, recently said. “The smart thing about me is I know how great she is.”

The Butter actress, 40, has become adept at helping Affleck balance a career with kids Violet, 6, Seraphina, 3, and Samuel, 7 months.

“He tends to get wrapped up in work,” says a Garner confidant. “Jennifer is the one who can get him out if it.”

Adds the insider, “She has him figured out and will never let him down.”

Affleck detailed exactly what it is that first drew him to Garner during a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter.

“She truly is kind,” he gushed. “She means no one any harm. She doesn’t have ill will for any person. She’s not competitive with other people.”

Thanks to Garner’s unwavering support, Affleck says he’s in an incredibly positive place right now.

“I’m very lucky . . . I feel tremendously grateful,” he told Us at a screening of Argo earlier this week. “I have a great family. I’m very inspired by where my career is right now. I’m fortunate . . . I’m happy with where I am.”

It’s true that Ben has totally admitted that he doesn’t do much work around the house and that he gets wrapped up in work. That was in his Details interview. He did say on Anderson Cooper that they try to switch off caring for the kids when they’re working, and he told an anecdote about visiting Jennifer on set. You know that the childcare falls firmly on Jennifer’s shoulders and that he’s away working more of the time, not that they don’t have plenty of help.

I think what’s happening is that Ben is doing so much press for Argo that he’s starting to be too honest and is showing his cards. For someone so skilled at playing Poker, and playing the Hollywood game, he should get his head in it a little more. I don’t think it will affect his Oscar chances though, this is minor stuff that only us gossip sleuths are noticing.

As for Ben and Jen’s relationship, I would like him to appreciate her as more than just saving his ass at home with the kids. He may do that, but he’s not talking about it much. I have the feeling that if he lost her he’d know for sure what an incredible woman she is and what he’s missing. I don’t want them to break up though! I hope this is a wakeup call for him. I still like both of them, maybe a little more now that I know they’re having normal couple issues. Maybe this is all part of the damn Oscar plan!

Here’s Jennifer out in Santa Monica yesterday and on Capital Hill on Wednesday as part of a campaign for Save The Children. She’s shown out with Ben on 9-12-12. Ben is shown alone shopping at Barney’s yesterday. Credit: FameFlynet

This story reminds me that American Horror Story is coming back in October, (there’s no definite return date yet), and that venerable lead actress Jessica Lange will be back. I’ll save some mild spoilers for the end of this post, and let this be a warning that you shouldn’t read further if you want to avoid them, although they won’t ruin it for anyone. This show has so many insane twists and turns it’s impossible to spoil unless you get minute-by-minute details of the plot.

Moving on to this story, The Enquirer claims that Jessica Lange, 63, is in a relationship with her co-star Sarah Paulson, 37. You might know Sarah as the creepy clairvoyant friend of Jessica’s character, Constance. The way this story is worded makes it unclear whether Lange and Paulson were already together when they worked on American Horror Story. Either way, they’ve known each other for years. Lange was previously in a long term relationship with actor Sam Shepard, they were together for almost three decades, have two children together, and separated around 2009. Apparently, Paulson was there for Lange during her breakup and in the past year or so it turned into something more:

“Jessica and Sarah’s friendship has recently blossomed into a full-on romance,” a close source confirmed to The Enquirer. “They’ve been dating for the past year, but they’ve been close friends for much longer than that.”

Ironically, Jessica turned to Sarah after her relationship with Sam collapsed in 2009.

“Sarah was a good friend and a shoulder to cry on,” said the source. “Eventually, their friendship blossomed into love.”

According to the source, Sarah, 37, who formerly dated Tony winner Cherry Jones, has had a crush on Jessica since 2005, when they appeared on Broadway together in “The Glass Menagerie.”

“Jessica’s always been a free spirit who doesn’t like to put labels on people. She says she loves whoever [sic] she loves, and Sarah makes her really happy.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, September 3, 2012]

Good for them. The age difference seems a bit much to me, but 37 is not 27, and Paulson is a grown woman. They’re both such talented actresses too. Paulson wasn’t on my radar prior to AHS, but she was superb at playing creepy and foreboding. AHS creator Ryan Murphy has confirmed that Paulson will be back, as will Lange’s character’s homicidal dead son, Evan Peters (Tate) and Zachary Quinto. Given how whack this show is, just about anyone could come back in whatever role Murphy can scare up. There’s no continuity within a single episode, we can’t expect it between seasons.

Mild spoilers for upcoming season of AHS
As for what’s next for American Horror Story, it’s going to be set in an asylum run by nuns in 1964, with Jessica Lange running the joint. I want to have closure on some of the plotlines from last season, particularly the demon spawn kid, but honestly I don’t remember enough of them to care too much. If you’d like to see some teasers for the upcoming season, FX has put six short video previews on Facebook. I think the first video is the creepiest.

Update: The Daily Mail reports that Jessica Lange’s “spokeman” told them “This story is completely fabricated and untrue.” I was hoping it was. Maybe they’re just good friends then.

These photos are from 8-12-12 (Sarah in a red floral dress), 3-2-12 (Sarah in the multicolor floral dress, Jessica in red), 3-10-11 (Sarah in red, Jessica in blue) and 8-20-11 (Sarah in black, Jessica in red). Credit: WENN.com

I didn’t even remember that Carrie Underwood and Chace Crawford were together in 2008 as some sort of couple. I’m really reporting this because I think Carrie is calling out Chace Crawford for staging fake relationships. She told Now! Magazine (dubious source, but still) that she was unsure why Chace was with her back then and feels like it was a publicity stunt. Here’s what she said, and you can tell Carrie is parsing her words.

Carrie Underwood says dating Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford back in 2008 was definitely one of the biggest mistakes she ever made in the romance department. “In my heart, I knew it wasn’t right,” she told UK’s NOW Magazine. “You never really know why someone is with you. I feel like it was more of a publicity stunt.”

[From In Touch, print edition, May 28, 2012]

I looked up what Carrie said about the relationship at the time, and she admitted that they broke up over text message. She also said that the media made more out of it than it was. “It’s difficult while you’re dating because people always make a lot bigger deal of things than they actually are.”

So did Chace spurn her and is she getting back at him for using her for fame, or is she saying that they never really had much going on? Back in 2008 there were plenty of rumors about Chace and his costar Ed Westwick, who were living together at the time. Those two laughed it off and denied there was anything romantic going on between them. Chace was also spotted vacationing with N Sync singer JC Chasez in 2008, and Chasez similarly denied a relationship with him.

Carrie has a history of talking smack about her exes so this doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s calling out Chace for staging a fake relationship. She told Esquire that her song “Cowboy Casanova” wasn’t about her ex, Tony Romo, because “I would never immortalize a guy that did me wrong. I would never give him that much credit.” What about “Before He Cheats?”

Chace Crawford is now said to be interested in ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews. According to US Weekly’s latest print edition the two have gone on dates “a couple times” and “they’re getting to know each other.” A source close to Andrews says “she only sees him as a friend.”

Update: Thanks to those of you who pointed out that Tony Romo is now married to Chace’s sister, Candice Crawford, with whom he just had a baby. So that may be affecting Carrie’s view of her relationship with Chace quite a bit.

Photo credit: WENN.com

You know how Bradley Cooper’s mom used to get photographed out with Renee Zellweger all the time? Well now that Coop is allegedly dating Jennifer Lopez (and is “so into her” and pursued her and everything), his mom supposedly does not approve at all. For all the preening Zellweger can do on the red carpet, she seems very down to earth and we’ve heard stories of her random acts of kindness. J.Lo – not so much. She’s a diva of the highest order and B. Coop’s mom is telling him to cool it with her. Remember, Cooper may currently be living with his mom (I can’t verify that, but it was rumored that he asked her to move in with him) and she probably has a ton of influence over him. Is this true or is this a publicist’s way of preparing us for the news that these two are about to “fizzle out” and make an announcement that it didn’t work out for them?

Well Bradley Cooper may be smitten with his new girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, but his mom, Gloria, doesn’t approve of the blossoming romance. “She thinks Jennifer is too much of a diva for her son,” a friend tells In Touch. “Plus, she’s not even divorced from Marc Anthony yet, so she’s asked Bradley to cool it.”

Making matters worse for Jennifer? Gloria loved Bradley’s ex Renee Zellweger. “She was heartbroken when her son ended that relationship,” says the friend. So while no woman would ever want to compete with Jennifer for a man’s attention, in this case, Mom may have the upper hand!”

[From In Touch, print edition, November 14, 2011]

I’ve said it before and I’ll mention it now, I don’t think Bradley Cooper is gay. I think he’s a metrosexual dude who doesn’t come across as particularly sexy or interested in sex at all. He’s a leading man now, though and I find him to be a decent actor. He had swagger and sex appeal in The Hangover and he seemed like a loser, then a guy who was on top of the world in Limitless. I just saw Limitless and I liked it, but Kaiser thinks it had too many plot holes and that Cooper wasn’t believable in the lead. We were just e-mailing about this and she says he’s more of a character actor than a lead. I see her point as I do find the guy vanilla. I don’t mind watching him on screen though and think he’s convincing.

This Lopez romance sounds overblown or fake to me, but it could be on. She dated Ben Affleck after all, and doesn’t he seem to have some things in common with Cooper? Is his momma going to try and shut down this relationship? If this story is true, that would be amusing.

Cooper is shown above on 9/6/11 looking orange with a bad haircut. Lopez is shown on 10/25/11. Credit: Fame

It was just last week that the National Enquirer reported that Vampire Diaries stars Nina Dobrev, 22, and Ian Somerhalder, 32, were very close to getting engaged to be married. They’ve been dating for over a year, and Ian was said to be planning to propose, which wouldn’t be a surprise to Nina, according to the Enquirer’s source. Well US Weekly got them both on the record at Fashion Week gushing about each other, so I would bet that the Enquirer story was accurate. You can tell from the quotes that they tried to give kind of low-key general statements about each other, but that they couldn’t help but gush a little. I wonder if they were standing right next to each other when they said this, and if they heard each other saying it. I wish there was a video! I sound like a fan girl, don’t I?

When Us Weekly caught up with the couple at The CW’s Fall Premiere Party in Burbank, Calif. Saturday, Somerhalder, 32, said there are “a million things” he loves about his girlfriend of more than a year.

“She truly enjoys life,” he gushed. “Her desire to experience and appreciate everything around her, and chuckle and enjoy it, is great.”

That’s not the only reason Somerhalder is head-over-heels for the Bulgarian-Canadian actress, 22.

“When you’re really close to someone, they can make fun of you a lot and get away with it,” he said. “But they sort of poke you in all of the places — it all makes sense because they know you so well and it really pisses you off, but it forces you to sort of be introspective and ask yourself, ‘Wow, is that really how people see me?’ Apparently so!”

Dobrev — who wowed in a Dior dress and Brian Atwood shoes at the star-studded event — is equally as enamored with Somerhalder.

“He always has a positive outlook and positive energy, and he’s always happy,” she told Us. “He is a glass-half-full kind of guy, not half-empty.”

[From US Weekly]

This makes me squee a little, and not because I’m a big Vampire Diaries fan. I gave up on it midway through the last season. A lot of you made the case in the comments on the last post that it’s a very good show and that it’s not fair to compare it to True Blood. Maybe I’ll give it another chance, although I still maintain that it got too hard to follow recently. I also read the books for Vampire Diaries, and while the first four were ok, the fifth one (The start of The Return series) was outrageously bad and I put it down. I’ll admit that it colored my expectations for the series, which was not fair. I liked it a while ago, I can probably enjoy it again.

Candid photos are from 5/24/11. Credit: Fame. Event photos are from 6/6/11. Credit: WENN.com

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were photographed out together, supposedly looking for a school for one or both of their daughters, and they looked pretty happy and content for once. They often seem disconnected and upset in candids, but I think their mood is usually a reaction to the paparazzi that hound them and isn’t necessarily a reflection on their relationship. Kaiser isn’t a fan of Garner, and I understand that criticism that Lainey and Kaiser lob at her – that she’s shuttling her kids out to promote stuff, that she’s arranging photo ops. I don’t agree with that take on her, and I’ve seen video of the paparazzi absolutely swarming her when she’s out with her kids. I think that Garner and Affleck live a predictable life, that they’re followed everywhere and and that they deal with it the best they can. The worst that Ben has done is flip the bird a few times and scowl, which is completely understandable and a pretty mild response to what he goes through daily.

These two don’t even have a bodyguard (Kate Gosselin has one for God’s sake) and while Garner has admitted to having a nanny she isn’t usually seen out with a lot of helpers. I like them, I can’t help it. They don’t seem to think they’re regal, they do live the high life but they don’t seem to flaunt it or overextend like Ben’s ex J.Lo and her diminutive control freak husband. I’m rooting for them, but frankly I’m surprised they’ve lasted as long as they have. I had to say something negative and there it is. I’ve seen a lot of friends split up and marriage is a tough prospect for anyone, particularly two people in the spotlight with such different schedules. We’ve heard a lot of stories about trouble in their relationship, and this blind item may point to them. It’s got to suck when your movie bombs too, although Garner wasn’t the main headliner on Arthur.

Last week Garner dished on her sex scenes with Russell Brand in Arthur. She said “I’m very familiar, in my own way, with the anatomy of Russell Brand — and it’s good.” He was wearing underwear, though, or she may have needed some antibiotics to stop that familiarity from itching.

Photo credit: Fame

Matt Damon says so many nice things about his wife of nearly six years, Luciana, that you wonder if they ever fight. Like what’s life like at the Damon mansion in Miami? When Matt isn’t on set do they play happily with their kids during the day, marveling at the cute things they do and letting nannies change diapers? Do their evenings consist of sitting down to chef prepared gourmet meals and then retiring to their huge master suite to have kinky sex? I’m sure that’s just my fantasy and that life is still a pain in the ass for super rich married people who seem to be hot for each other, but it’s probably less of a pain.

On Ellen, Damon told the story of how he met his wife in Miami where he was somewhat accidentally filming that otherwise bad career move, Stuck on You. (He never names the film, which goes to show how much he thinks of it.) He almost didn’t go out that night, but then he reluctantly went to a bar, saw his wife working there across the room and the rest is history. It’s also a nice tie-in to promote his new movie, about fated romance vs. career, The Adjustment Bureau.

On turning 40 and “the big questions that weren’t answered when I turned 30″
Well I always hoped that I would meet someone that I wanted to spend my life with and start a family with and then that happened. But before that happens, you’re going, “I wonder if I’m ever going to meet somebody.” And then I met her and everything got easy after that.

On meeting his wife at the bar where she worked
I decided to do this movie with the Farrelly brothers in 2002. I met with them and we talked about it. I made the decision to do that which was a big decision. We were supposed to shoot in Hawaii and then the movie got moved to Miami. I had never really hung out in Miami. One night in the middle of the shoot, the crew, a couple guys, said, “We’re going to get a beer somewhere.” I said, “I’m not really into it.” They said, “Come on,” and kind of dragged me along. We ended up at a bar where my wife was the bartender. I literally saw her across a crowded room, literally, and eight years and four kids later, that’s my life. I don’t know how else our paths would’ve crossed if that didn’t happen. If all those things didn’t happen.

[From the Ellen Degeneres show, received via e-mail]

Damon’s interview with Ellen will air today and I can’t wait to watch it! The guy always cheers me up when I see him interviewed. He has a real joy for life and he’s genuinely funny. It’s also touching to hear a celebrity gush about their partner and seem to really mean it, too. I don’t get the impression that Damon has much to hide, but he’s also one of the best actors in the world so I could be surprised. He does play “angry” exceptionally well.

Here’s an interesting interview with comic Steve Harvey, 53, who has a second book out about relationships called Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man. I’ve never paid much attention to Harvey but apparently he has a syndicated morning radio show and also holds relationship seminars. He put out another relationship book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man in January, 2009. Some critics on Amazon say he’s arrogant and isn’t giving us any dating advice we haven’t heard before. Others say he’s on the money and that his advice is helpful.

Harvey has been married three times and has four children. He’s only been married to his third wife for about three and a half years. On CNN, the guy repeated the same old argument from When Harry Met Sally about why men and women can’t ever really be friends – men always want to sleep with attractive women no matter what.

All of my friends are men. I don’t have female friends. I’m incapable of that. I have a wife and I don’t really have female friends.

[To female interviewer] You’re an attractive woman. There’s some guy somewhere saying ‘we’re friends.’ That’s not true. He’s your friend only because you have made it absolutely clear that nothing else is happening except this friendship.

We remain your friends in hopes that someday they’ll be a crack in the door, a chink in the armor, and trust and believe – that guy you think is just your buddy, he will slide in that crack the moment he gets the opportunity. Cause we’re guys. 99.9% of us think that way.

You tell this to a woman and it just blows her back ‘No I have male friends.’ You have male friends because they know it can be nothing else right now. I tell you what, all your male friends just ask them in a friendly way ‘If I wanted to date you would you be ok with that?’ Watch the fireworks.

[From CNN interview, video above via ONTD]

In my experience this is true – for those few men like Harvey that think that way. (With their dicks.) In no way are all men like that. There are married guys and loyal committed boyfriends that would not consider sleeping with another woman and who don’t look at female friends sexually because they don’t want to cheat. Still I’ve been surprised by men who try and score despite the fact that you might assume they would be loyal to their wives/girlfriends or would respect that fact that another woman is married/in a relationship. It’s only a matter of time before those type of men find a “friend” who is willing to give it up.

This Harvey guy sounds like a lousy husband. At least he’s upfront about it and is giving his wife fair warning.

Chelsea Handler is ready to go public with her relationship with 50 Cent. She tweeted a photo of the two of them in bed, along with the caption “I don’t know why anyone thinks I would ever date a rapper.”

Chelsea also made her characteristically boring deadpan jokes center around her relationship with 50. On her show last night, while talking about the end of her “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” book tour, she quipped “The biggest changes that happened over the course of the tour actually took place inside me. Literally. My love life became as ridiculous as a comic book. When the tour began, I was dating Superman. [cut to picture of Ted Harbert in Superman suit], then I dated Tarzan [cut to picture of that Animal Planet dude with a loincloth], and finally I ended up with Batman, aka ‘The Dark Knight’ [cut to picture of her kissing 50 Cent]. See you in the bat cave, ‘ma boo.” (Video of that is above)

You know, I’m going to say something nice. They look really happy together. Chelsea bugs the crap out of me, and so does 50 in his way, but these two found each other and they seem to be in lust, so good for them. Chelsea has talked about 50 before, but never called him anything more than her ‘friend.’ It looks like he’s thrilled that she’s ready to admit they’re together. Maybe Chelsea will tone down her meanness now that she’s getting laid. No, I doubt it either.