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.

Back in October, Ben Harper very publicly dumped Laura Dern – he filed for divorce, claiming that they had been separated for months (when they had just recently been on vacation). Team Dern fought back, claiming that they weren’t separated, and that the filing had left Dern “stunned”. Now, barely two months later, it looks like Ben and Laura are attempting to bury the hatchet. Radar reports that they’ve been spending time together, and that Ben has even invited Laura to come with him to Paris:

Just two months ago, Ben Harper filed for divorce from Laura Dern citing irreconcilable differences, but now RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that the pair is trying to work out their differences and get their marriage back on track.

“It looks like they’re trying to work this out,” a source exclusively told RadarOnline.com.
“Ben’s been coming to the house and showing signs he really wants to reconcile.”

The couple’s sudden split stunned friends as the divorce filing came just three weeks after the couple and their two children traveled to Hawaii for the wedding of their close friend Pearl Jam frontman, Eddie Vedder to model Jill McCormick. The Dern-Harper family joined other celebrities including Jack Johnson and Sean Penn for an almost week-long celebration in Honolulu.

“Harper filed for divorce without giving Laura any notice, the filing came as a complete surprise to her,” explained our source.

The pair had been married for almost five years and had been described as the picture of happiness. In court documents filed in Los Angeles, Harper is seeking joint custody of the couple’s two children, son Ellery, 9, and daughter Jaya ,6, and is asking the court not to award spousal support to Dern.

In mid-November, RadarOnline.com obtained exclusive photos of the couple enjoying a beautiful Sunday at the Brentwood Country Mart with their children. At that point, the two seemed to already be making amends but now they seem to be getting even closer.

“Ben has even asked Laura to come to Paris, France to visit him while he was touring with ‘Fist Full Of Mercy’.”

If all goes well for Harper, the singer/songwriter and musician might just be writing more love songs.

[From Radar]

Maybe I’m an old softie (I’m not really), but I do think it’s nice when a couple with children gives it another go. However, I’m still completely bewildered as to how Ben could have so publicly tried to dump Laura, making it look like he was the injured party and that she had done something wrong. And then he takes her back…? I would love to know that backstory, I really would. If anyone has any good theory/gossip, please let me know.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman were on Oprah yesterday, and I think recent coverage of the slightly additional movement in Nicole’s face has been accurate. She still looked like a delicate porcelain doll. Both Nicole and Keith have projects to promote, with Nicole promoting her new movie Rabbit Hole, out in limited release December 17 in the US, and Keith promoting his upcoming album, Get Closer, out November 16. They each said some very emotional, personal things about each other and their daughter Sunday Rose, two, and I was struck by how alike they are. I’ve found Nicole to be affected and overly flowery, but she seems to have met her match in Keith. They come across as deeply in love and more than willing to share it with the world. Here’s some of what they told Oprah. Keith also read a love note to Nicole, which is included in his CD liner notes:

Keith on how Nicole saved him from addiction early in their marriage
Reality hit home when Nicole and a few close friends staged at intervention for Keith. “It was really a profound moment in so many ways. Then, the way in which Nic handled that moment was just perfect,” Keith says. “Everything was just designed, I believe, for that moment to fuse us together.”

At first, Keith says he questioned whether he should go to rehab so soon after getting married. “[I thought], ‘Surely let’s give it a few years so we’ve got some solidity, because this kind of thing could tear us apart,’” Keith says. “‘This could just destroy us.’”

Ultimately, he decided it was time to get help. Keith left the same night as the intervention for treatment. “I just said, ‘I don’t want to do anything but go,’” he says. “I didn’t care about anything else.”

On how Nicole opened his heart
Early in his relationship with Nicole, Keith says they went to a park. While sitting on a bench, he says he asked her, “How’s your heart?”

“I didn’t know why I asked that question,” Keith says. “I’d never asked anybody that before. I don’t know what answer I was expecting.”

She answered, “It’s open.”

“It was not only beautiful because it said so much about her, but it instantly made me ask myself: ‘Is mine? Is my heart open?’” Keith says. “‘Or is it 80 percent open, but I’ve got a little exit strategy? If I do, then why is that?’”

As anyone who’s ever loved and lost knows, once you’ve had your heart broken, it’s hard to love again. For this reason, Keith says he was scared. “I looked back and realized that I stayed in this pattern because I wasn’t really loving,” he says. “I hadn’t met the right person. I wasn’t the right person, but I wasn’t really giving myself fully. I was holding back because I was scared.”

His love letter to Nicole in the liner notes to his CD
“Nicole Mary—I continue to be brought to my knees by this love of ours… I am in awe of how this blessed family we are creating stretches and fearlessly opens my vulnerable heart…and I just want to be a better man, for you, and father for our heavenly Sunday Rose and have you go to sleep every night knowing that no one has ever, or will ever, love you as much as I do…and all we need is faith.”

Nicole on her marriage
“I think marriage is about, every day, trying to make it better and working through things and when things are tough, saying, ‘I’m going to come to you and talk,’” Nicole says. “We’re just very tight, and we stay really tight.”

Nicole on Keith’s love letter
“He’s got a way with words. The thing that really touches me is that he says, ‘Let me put it into action.’

[From Oprah]

It’s all very sappy to me, but if that’s how they roll and they’re both deeply committed and in love good for them. It’s like Keith is even more of a romantic than Nicole, and she seems to eat it up. I don’t remember hearing that Nicole staged an intervention for Keith to go to rehab. It must have been a tough thing to deal with so early in their marriage, and seems to have made their relationship much stronger.

Former Dancing with the Stars professional and country singer Julianne Hough was on Ellen yesterday. Hough, 22, talked about her relationship with 35 year-old Ryan Seacrest, which is going strong a few months after they first went public this summer. It sounds like things are still pretty romantic for the two of them, as Hough said that Seacrest regularly puts flowers in her car and hotel rooms to the point where she finds it embarrassing.

“He’s phenomenal,” Julianne Hough gushed about her ubiquitously employed boyfriend in an interview airing Tuesday on Ellen. “He’s really romantic. He’s not even in town and I got in my car and there are flowers everywhere!”

And to think, most guys just leave fast food wrappers in the car.

But apparently the E! News anchor, American Idol host, longtime radio personality and Emmy-winning reality-TV producer is good at the in-person stuff, too.

“And for my birthday, same thing,” Hough continued. “Like, flowers everywhere. I was almost embarrassed. You walk in and you’re like, “Is this my room? I don’t even know.’

“I’m kind of embarrassed,” she added, a hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks.

“Like in a hotel room he did that?” asked Generes, a good friend (and onetime colleague) of Seacrest’s who obviously wants to get to the bottom of this oft-long distance relationship.

“Yeah, because we’re obviously traveling,” Hough said, keeping the conversation clean.

And though Hough and Seacrest haven’t done too much parading around in public together, they have spent time with Hough’s parents.

“Yeah, but everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you met the folks!’” Its like…I don’t know. Both of our folks are like our best friends, so when we hang out, its more like hanging out with friends.”

[From E! Online]

I’m surprised that Ryan is with a woman and that they’ve lasted more than a few weeks, but good for them I guess. I just found his relationship with Teri Hatcher a few years back so staged, particularly those makeout pictures taken on what she revealed was one of their first dates. Maybe Julianne is more his speed, although these quotes are making it seem like he’s more into her than she is into him. Also, he must be watching too many romcoms because I’ve never heard of people giving massive amounts of flowers other than in the movies. I definitely don’t run in those circles where anyone could afford that, though. Even if you’re richer than sin, why waste all those flowers when one gorgeous bouquet will do?

Hough is in that Burlesque movie, with Christina Aguilera and Cher. I have to say I like her better as a blonde. Here she is at the premiere of Burlesque last night, in a dress that does nothing for her coloring or figure. (Ryan was there too!) Compare that to the photo of her as a blonde in the yellow dress below. (At the CMT Awards on 6/9/10.) She needed to wipe off the orange, but the blonde looks better on her.

Header image is from 7/7/10. Credit: Bauergriffinonline. Images below credit: WENN.com

Just a few days ago we heard that Jennifer Love Hewitt was producing two new romantic comedies that she sold to ABC and Fox. She’s also developing a series for Lifetime based on her housewife-turned hooker TV movie, The Client List. Hewitt is keeping busy post-Ghost Whisperer and it sounds like she’s carved out quite a career for herself that doesn’t involve waiting on casting decisions.

Inevitably, though, she’s still talking about her love life. This usually gets her plenty of coverage so you can’t blame her. Hewitt recently did a half marathon and later attended an event with her new boyfriend, an actor-director named Alex Beh. They’ve been dating since July and are both comfortable enough about it to talk to the press. It sounds like Alex is quite the romantic, as he gets Jennifer flowers every day. She also gushed about how she believes in love, and hopes to have a family and children.

“Every single day since I’ve met him, he has bought me flowers,” she said.

“He doesn’t miss a day. It never gets old!”

Jennifer and Alex — who started dating in July — recently completed a half-marathon together!

“We really were just there to root each other on. I actually hurt my knee halfway through, so he slowed down and stayed with me, which was really nice!” she added. – From ShowbizSpy

“I’m a hopeless romantic. I love love. My middle name is Love. Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. I want to have a family and children. I am a sucker for every romantic comedy that comes out.” – From US Magazine

[Sources linked in text]

Hewitt reminds me so much of Jessica Simpson. On one side they’re smart businesswoman who are doing extremely well on their own. On the other they seem to idealize men and relationships to the point where they think the right one will solve all their issues. Life is not like a romantic comedy and the cute dopey guy the girl gets in the end can often end up bugging the shit out of her (and vice versa) after the dopamine wears off. Still, in Hewitt and Simpson’s case it seems like the feeling is mutual with their new guys and that’s sweet. What’s going to happen when Hewitt’s guy forgets the flowers though? Is that going to signal the start of a new “serious” phase in their relationship? That’s usually what happens in the movies, and then they’re driven apart by some contrived situation, only to reunite at the last minute. In the romcoms that Hewitt loves, all conflict is solved by the magic of matrimony.

Photo credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures