Bill and Melinda Gates to divorce, but charitable foundation to remain

SEATTLE, United States - Billionaire benefactors Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders of one of the world's largest private charitable foundations, filed for divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage but pledged to continue their philanthropic work together.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become one of the most powerful and influential forces in global public health, spending more than $50 billion over the past two decades to bring a business approach to combating poverty and disease.

The Gates have backed widely praised programs in malaria and polio eradication, child nutrition and vaccines. The foundation last year committed some $1.75 billion to COVID-19 relief.

In a joint petition for dissolution of marriage, the couple asserted their legal union was "irretrievably broken," but said they had reached agreement on how to divide their marital assets. No details of that accord were disclosed in the filing in King County Superior Court in Seattle.

Bill Gates, 65, who co-founded Microsoft Corp, and his spouse, Melinda French Gates, 56, met after she joined the software giant as a product manager, and they dated for a few years before marrying in January 1994 in Hawaii.

"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the two said in a joint statement posted on each of their individual Twitter accounts.

"We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life," they said.

The divorce petition, which states that the couple have no minor children, comes after the youngest of their three offspring recently turned 18.

Launched in 2000, the nonprofit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ranks as the largest private philanthropic foundation in the United States and one of the world's biggest, with net assets of $43.3 billion at the end of 2019, according to the latest full-year financials shown on its website.

From 1994 through 2018, the couple gifted more than $36 billion to the Seattle-based foundation, the website said.

Last year, investor Warren Buffett reported donating more than $2 billion of stock from his Berkshire Hathaway Inc to the Gates Foundation as part of previously announced plans to give away his entire fortune before his death.

NO CHANGES TO THEIR ROLES

In their divorce petition, the couple asks the court "to dissolve our marriage" and to divide their communal property, business interests and liabilities "as set forth in our separation contract," though that accord was not made public.

Bill Gates is ranked No. 4 on the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest individuals, with an estimated $124 billion fortune.

In a separate statement, the Gates Foundation said the couple would remain as co-chairs and trustees of the organization.

"They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall direction," the foundation's statement said.

The split comes two years after another leading Seattle-based billionaire and philanthropist, Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, said that he and his then-wife, MacKenzie, were getting divorced.

At least one critic of billionaire benefactors cited the Gates' split as a cautionary tale in the wisdom of concentrating so much sway over global humanitarian issues under the control of super-wealthy individuals.

"The Gates divorce will do more than upend a family's life. It will ramify into the worlds of business, education, public health, civil society, philanthropy, and beyond," Anand Giridharadas, author of the book "Winners Take All" told Reuters.

"That is because our society has made the colossal error of allowing wealth to purchase the chance to make quasi-governmental decisions as a private citizen," he said.

Gates dropped out of Harvard University to start Microsoft with school chum Paul Allen in 1975. Gates owned 49 percent of Microsoft at its initial public offering in 1986, which made him an instant multimillionaire. With Microsoft's explosive growth, he soon became one of the world's wealthiest individuals.

After an executive tenure in which he helped transform the company into one of the world's leading technology firms, Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in 2000 to focus on philanthropy. He remained chairman until 2014 and left the company's board in March 2020.

Known in the technology industry as an acerbic and ruthless competitor, Gates drew the ire of rivals and eventually the U.S. government for Microsoft's business practices.

The software giant was convicted of antitrust violations in the late 1990s. But the verdict was overturned on appeal, and the company then settled the case out of court.

Gates' public persona softened into an avuncular elder statesman as he turned his attention to philanthropy, and he has largely steered clear of the many controversies currently roiling the technology business.

Melinda French Gates, who recently added her maiden name on most of her websites and social media, was raised in Dallas and studied computer science and economics at Duke University before joining Microsoft.

In 2015 she founded Pivotal Ventures, an investment company focused on women and families, and in 2019 published a book, "The Moment of Lift", centered on female empowerment. 

-reuters

Kristen Stewart can’t wait to propose to GF, reminisces about ‘first love’ Robert Pattinson

Actress Kristen Stewart reminisced about her Twilight years and her past relationship with Robert Pattinson in a recent episode of the radio program The Howard Stern Show. She also talked about potentially proposing to her writer girlfriend Dylan Meyer.

Stewart admitted that she has plans to get married, as per her interview published on the radio show’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, Nov. 5. When Stern asked if she was in love, she answered “yes.”

Stern’s next query was if she plans to propose, to which Stewart answered, “Absolutely.” As to when this proposal will exactly be, Stewart emphatically declared, “I can’t f*ck*ng wait.”

Stewart refused to disclose specific details about her proposal, stating that her girlfriend might find out. But she did confirm that she won’t be going for the traditional route of getting down on one knee.

The couple appears to be seriously in love, if Meyer’s romantic Instagram post last Oct. 28 would be an indication.

Meanwhile, when asked if she would have married her former boyfriend Robert Pattinson, Stewart appeared flustered.

“I don’t know, I wanted to… yeah, no,” Stewart answered.

Stern asked next if she would have married him had he proposed, to which Stewart replied, “I don’t know… Every relationship I’ve ever been in, I thought that was it.”

Stewart also talked about her faith in the sanctity of marriage.

“There is nothing like feeling sure about anything because we don’t know anything,” Stewart said in the interview. “[And] that is the only thing you can feel like you know, is that if you’re in love with someone.” Cha Lino/JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra celebrate wedding in US at Jonas family restaurant

After a Hindu ceremony and Christian nuptials held in India last December, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra took the wedding party to the United States.

The couple had a reception last Sunday, Jan. 27, in North Carolina, which was relatively more relaxed than their initial ceremonies.

Nick’s parents, Jonas Sr. and Denise Miller-Jonas, hosted the celebration in their family restaurant, Nellie’s Southern Kitchen. It has a menu based on food recipes by the singer’s late great grandmother.

Chopra marked the event with a picture of her, Nick and family members on both sides, which she shared on Instagram yesterday, Jan. 28.

“Thank you @nelliessouthernkitchen @mamadjonas@papakjonas for a wonderful reception! We love you! This was amazing,” she said.

For the occasion, she wore a strapless white dress with silver detail while her husband donned an olive green button-down shirt.

Jonas Sr. personally welcomed the couple as they made their entrance into the venue, as seen in social media posts collated by Instagram fan account @np_globaldomination.

Papa Jonas was among the performers at the party, which also included Joe Jonas and his pop band DNCE.

Among the food offered were a dessert bar and a white three-tiered cake, which the couple sliced.

In attendance were Kevin Jonas, his wife Danielle, and Joe’s fiancee, actress Sophie Turner.

After their weddings in India, the newlyweds went on a ski trip with Joe and Sophie in Switzerland. This January, they honeymooned in the Caribbean, and according to E! News, the entire trip was a surprise planned by Nick.  /ra

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Zac Efron: I’m ready to settle down, find ‘the one’

Alert, single ladies and “High School Musical” fans: Zac Efron is planning to settle down.

The hunky “Baywatch” star disclosed to Cosmopolitan that he wants to relinquish his bachelor life in the following years. “I didn’t think much about settling down until recently,” Efron realized. “Now that I’m getting closer to my 30s, I’m around some great relationships and I’ve seen expert couples at work. I’m realizing that you have to find your own happiness before you can make somebody else happy.”

Whenever he is hooked to a girl, Efron runs to his 25-year-old brother Dylan for helpful advice. “If I’m dating someone, one of the few people I need to weigh in on the situation is my brother. We live together, and we’re different in a lot of ways, but he’s really grounded,” he bluntly said.

“He lived a more normal life than I did growing up, so he’s a great barometer for me. He’ll be like, ‘Are you sure you’re happy? Is this what you really want?’ Having my little brother around is a really great thing,” Efron expounded.

Efron, 29, was previously linked to model Sami Miro and actress Lily Collins. He was previously in a five-year relationship with “High School Musical” co-star Vanessa Hudgens.

While recovering from his split with Miro, Efron promotes his new film “Baywatch,” which also stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Priyanka Chopra.  Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Johnny Depp weds Amber Heard—reports

LOS ANGELES, United States – Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp has married actress Amber Heard in secret at their home in Los Angeles, US media said Wednesday, ahead of a larger bash at the weekend.

Depp, 51, and Heard, 28, got engaged in 2012 and plan a bigger wedding this weekend on Depp’s private island in the Bahamas, People magazine reported, citing a source.

Depp, a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild winner, was married previously to Lori Anne Allison and has dated a string of glamorous and famous women including Winona Ryder, his co-star in “Edward Scissorhands,” British model Kate Moss and French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis.

Depp has two children with Paradis.


He and Heard, who tied the knot on Tuesday, met on the set of the film “The Rum Diary” in 2011.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Clint Eastwood and his wife finalize divorce

MONTEREY, Calif. — Clint Eastwood and his wife of 18 years have finalized their divorce.

A Monterey County Superior Court judge finalized the Eastwoods’ divorce Tuesday and approved a judgment that does not state how the pair will divide their assets.

Clint and Dina Marie Eastwood have one daughter together. She turned 18 years old earlier this month.

The Oscar-winning director’s wife filed for divorce in October 2013, citing irreconcilable differences.

The Eastwoods have been married since March 1996. They met when she was assigned to interview the 83-year-old actor for a TV news station.

Clint Eastwood was previously married to Maggie Johnson from 1953 to 1984.

The judgment was first reported Tuesday by celebrity news website RadarOnline.com.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

‘Snooki’ ties the knot in New Jersey

EAST HANOVER, New Jersey — Snooki has officially tied the knot.

Former “Jersey Shore” reality TV star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi married boyfriend Jionni LaValle in a church ceremony Saturday in East Hanover, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of New York City.

The Record newspaper reports that among the guests were “Jersey Shore” castmates Sammi Giancola. Deena Cortese and Jenni Farley. Polizzi currently stars with Farley in MTV’s “Snooki and JWOWW.”

A few dozen onlookers waited outside the church.


Seventeen groomsmen and 15 bridesmaids attended the ceremony, which had a “Great Gatsby” theme.

Polizzi and LaValle have two children, ages 2 and 2 months.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon headed for splitsville?

MANILA, Philippines – Singer Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon are living separately, Cannon himself said in an interview.

“There is trouble in paradise.  We have been living in separate houses for a few months,” Cannon told Yahoo’s The Insider.

Cannon, however, insisted that his infidelity was not the reason for their split. 


He said their utmost duty now was not to put their three-year-old twins in the middle of their personal issues.

Meanwhile, in a separate report by E! Online, Carey was reportedly devastated about the comments Cannon told Yahoo since they had agreed to work on a statement together.

“A joint statement was being prepared when he went and gave those quotes to The Insider,” The E! Online report said.

After Cannon went public about the state of their marriage, Carey posted in her Instagram account a photo of their three year-old twins hugging each other.

(Insert Instagram Photo saved in images folder)

The singer and former American idol judge, however, neither confirmed nor denied her husband’s statement and kept mum on the status of their relationship.

Carey and Cannon got married in 2008.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Adam Levine marries model Behati Prinsloo

MANILA, Philippines – Adam Levine, 35, and Victoria’s Secret model Behati Pinsloo, 25, exchanged “I do’s” in a star-studded ceremony in Mexico, US Weekly said Saturday.

The Maroon 5 frontman married Pinsloo after two years of dating.

US Weekly said the wedding ceremony was held in a tent at Flora Farms, Los Cabos, Mexico.


Victoria’s Secret models served as Prinsloo’s bridesmaids while Maroon 5 keyboardist Jesse Carmichael was reportedly the best man.

Another of Levine’s bandmates, guitarist James Valentine, earlier said he would be playing acoustic guitar during the event.

Also in attendance were Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and Stevie Nicks.

The couple will be spending their honeymoon in South Africa where Prinsloo was born.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Khloe Kardashian files for divorce from Lamar Odom

LOS ANGELES —After months of speculation, Khloe Kardashian is ending her four-year marriage to Lamar Odom.

The reality TV star filed for divorce Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. She also wants her last name restored to Kardashian from Kardashian Odom.

The filing comes days after Odom pleaded no contest on Monday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge.

The 34-year-old athlete was arrested last August after his Mercedes-Benz SUV was seen weaving on an LA freeway.

He seemed to address rumors of personal problems when he tweeted a cryptic message in September, saying he had been “Seeing the Snakes.”

Only the Kardashian family, Odom said then, was standing by him.

The 6-foot-10-inch power forward has been out of the NBA since going unsigned as a free agent after a miserable season last year.

Odom last played for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2012-13 season, averaging a career-low 4.0 points and 5.9 rebounds. Clippers coach Doc Rivers met with him last month, but apparently nothing came of those talks.

He had his best years with the Los Angeles Lakers between 2004 and 2011. The team won NBA championships in 2010 and 2011 and Odom won the NBA’s sixth man award during that second championship run.

Kardashian, 29, is best known for starring with her sisters Kim and Kourtney, and her mother, Kris Jenner, in the long-running reality TV series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

She also runs an upscale clothing store with her sisters and was featured in the short-lived reality series with Odom, called “Khloe & Lamar.”

The two were married in 2009 in a large ceremony that was taped for the E! network, following a whirlwind engagement that was also filmed.

Kardashian laughed last spring when asked about critics who said that the marriage wouldn’t last.

“I think everyone said it wouldn’t last, but I can totally understand why,” she said. “We knew each other for only 30 days and then we got married. … I just felt it and same with Lamar. Thank God it worked because it very well could’ve gone the other way.”

In recent episodes of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” Odom hasn’t been featured and the show has hinted at marital issues.

TMZ first reported Friday’s divorce filing.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Illinois same-sex couple set to be first to wed

CHICAGO—Illinois’ new same-sex marriage law hasn’t taken effect yet, but the first gay couple to take their vows in the state could do so as early as Wednesday.

Vernita Gray and Patricia Ewert met five years ago. The women, both in their 60s, have been engaged for several years but Gray is terminally ill. She has cancer in her brain and bones and has undergone numerous treatments. Her partner fears she won’t make it until June 1 when the same-sex marriage law goes into effect.

Earlier this week a federal judge allowed the Cook County clerk to issue an expedited marriage license after Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a lawsuit.

The wedding ceremony will be private and could be held as early as Wednesday.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Even ugly people can find love on the Internet

You, yes, you: what if I ignored your call? Or we passed each other by in a crowded room? Isn’t it disturbing that Cupid’s arrow could be so hit-or-miss?

And yet these days, two complete strangers could be thousands of miles apart, but with a click of a mouse, light a flame of love. They could be fat, old, disabled and have STD; they could be anyone they want to be—married, single or widowed—and embark on journeys of love.

“There’s a saying old, said that love is blind, still we’re often told, seek and you shall find,” so the song goes. Searching for love (heck, looking for sex)—if it isn’t yet an epidemic, it will soon be.

Sometimes I let myself out of the 19th century and wonder: what’s happened to serendipity, the preambles of courtship?

Remember the thrill of getting ready for dates: the outfit, the movie, the restaurant; the chaste kiss at the end of an evening which was never really long enough for falling in love; so, you, breathless with bewitchment, arrange to meet again.

That was then. Today we’re in a postdating world of infinite opportunities. Maybe it’s all the same. Maybe the past was better, just slower. Maybe today is better, just faster.

Sure, couples from well-matched castes can find happiness in traditionally arranged marriages, complete with eye-watering dowries. In the time-honored fashion of dynastic alliances and endogamy, couples still court and marry within their tribes: an Astor marries a Churchill; a Marcos an Araneta; a Fariñas a Singson.

What if you go off-grid? Today, no longer is there a stigma attached to online dating, a multibillion-dollar industry which has opened up many ways for meeting new people.

More satisfied

In the United Kingdom, one in five relationships now starts online, with more than 10 million Britons registered on dating sites.

A recent University of Chicago research found that more than a third of couples who married in the United States, between 2005 and 2012, met online, and that they were more satisfied and less likely to break up than couples who met in the traditional manner.

Oh, the mass and volume! Match.com (17 million users a month); MatchAffinity; eHarmony; thegaggle; craigslist; DatingDirect, to name a few. Because the Internet is a vast and transgressive market catering to all kinds and kinks, it even has a site for ugly people—theuglybugball.com. “Ugly people,” said the site’s founder, Howard James, “are easier to please; they have lower expectations.”

Surprisingly, people in their 50s and 60s are the fastest-growing demographic in the online dating pool. Retrosexuals—fleeing loveless beds and carcasses of sex-drought, failed or stale marriages—are logging on to reheat relationships with childhood sweethearts, first loves or old flames.

Beware, for as many as there are sites, so, too, are the risks. Many have been duped and fleeced of their money by online fraudsters creating fictitious profiles with photos of attractive men and women. A spark is ignited and a scam usually starts with a request for a small sum of money—to pay off a debt, or for a relative’s medical treatment.

Philip Hunt, 58, went online for love after two failed marriages. He met Rose, a “young and beautiful woman living in Nigeria.” Over eight months, through e-mails and texts, Rose bled Philip dry. He remortgaged his house, took out loans, and when he put himself on the path of an express train that killed him instantly, he had debts of £82,000.

Millionairess Carole Waugh, 49, described herself in her online profile as “posh totty fun,” promising “true girlfriend experience.” Two gambling addicts hooked up with her, stole her identity, sold her home and stripped her of her bank accounts and assets. She was fatally stabbed in the neck, her body stuffed in the boot of a car.

Leaky sieve

You could find yourself in a fever of love with Emma, a hot doctor practicing in Toronto; only it turns out Emma’s an Uzbek tosser with a mustache. And he wants your credit card details.

Websites, always in danger of being hacked into, often fail to protect their customers, with information about them falling into the hands of stalkers, convicted rapists and sex offenders. “The Internet is a leaky sieve, so keep your emotional credit balance low,” warned psychotherapist Phillip Hodson.

Personal ads and lonely hearts columns in newspapers and magazines still hold their charm. “Fifty from the neck up and 14 from the waist down”; “sixty but still rather nifty.” Sometimes you have to view lies as the building blocks of good manners, but people who crow like cocks for all they’re worth usually hide something.

People have forgotten so much about wooing that they’re paying dating coaches to teach them the art of courtship—flirting with intent, chat-up lines, flowers and small gifts, what to say on a date. In Vegas, coaching from Same Night Seduction Bootcamp will set you back £2,000.

But it’s elite matchmakers which are creaming off the dating scene. These are go-to agencies for highly educated, professional men and women who do not have the time or the inclination to indulge in traditional courtships.

For huge fees, high net worth individuals with specifications of their ideal would-be partners brief exclusive dating agencies who search and screen candidates, and enable introductions and dates.

Duncan Cheatle is a successful entrepreneur who has been on several agency-enabled dates. He told The Times: “Why would I not invest eight grand in someone I trust to help me find connections when I’m busy?”

Eight grand? Peanuts! Berkeley International, with offices in key global cities (i.e., where the money’s at), has 3,000 crème de la crème members who think nothing of paying $75,000 for a one-year membership. This is “headhunting” for trophy wives and husbands on a rarefied scale.

Stubbornly single

Have a heart then for China’s “leftover” men—so-called because, in their advancing years, while desperate to get married, they remain stubbornly single. Every Sunday at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven Park, hundreds of parents hawk their sons’ CVs to potential wives who, because of their scarcity, can afford to be picky: does he have an apartment, a car, a permit to reside in Beijing?

The gender imbalance is marked, with an average of 150 men to 100 women. China’s Academy of Social Sciences predicts that, by 2020, there will be some 24 million marriageable men without wives or partners.

This is not a problem for very wealthy Chinese alpha males who outsource their search for brides to exclusive marriage bureaus with their armies of “love hunters.”

Before you sally forth into your amorous adventures, remember that nobody’s perfect, not even you.

Don’t hope for too much, but don’t settle for less

Don’t settle for someone with the personality of a bread mold, the IQ of a pot plant, or the manners of a lowlife bottom-feeder. Private lives can be rumpled and messy, and some of us are damaged goods carrying heavy emotional baggage.

Don’t be an intellectual slouch, but don’t be a howitzer, either. Don’t frighten them away on your first date with talks about having children or the diagnosis of a disease, or launch into boastful sexploits. Desperation is like body odor: it is rank, unpleasant and unsexy.

Agree to split the bill. And take care of your personal safety.

What an utter desert, Charles Darwin said, is life without love. That we can ache and fret in places of our hearts we didn’t know existed.

So, maybe, go, give it a whirl. A low-expectation encounter might just result in fireworks and a ring on your finger.

But, it’s not always simple; if it were, everyone would be doing it. Margie David Collins

Apps to meet your match

A free app for iPhone and Android, Tinder is the 21st century’s take on “cruising.”

It’s a matchmaking service linked to a Facebook account. The app registers your current location, asks who you’d like to meet and then flashes up photos of potential matches near you.

You swipe “Like” and, presto, you could meet more people in one evening than in a week or year of waiting to hook up with someone. Ditto Foursquare.

Facebook’s new Graph Search helps you find your “perfect match” and sets up potential dates. For example, type in “Who are single in Metro Manila and graduated from The Wharton School?” Boom! Margie David Collins

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Angel Locsin wants to be the first to know

Angel Locsin wants to be the first to know when and if she gets engaged to be married.

The actress said that was what she told boyfriend Phil Younghusband after receiving congratulatory messages from friends.

“I felt really nervous. Aside from people congratulating me, many asked me when the wedding would be. I asked Phil if he granted any interview recently. He said he couldn’t remember,” Locsin said. “I honestly don’t want to find out about my own engagement that way. When that happens, I need to have my private moment.”

Locsin said she breathed a sigh of relief when Younghusband said he made no such announcement.

“I really don’t know if we’re ready for the next level. We both have our families as our priorities. We both have a lot of things to consider,” she pointed out. “I remember saying in interviews that I hope to get married by (the age of) 22, but I’m 28 now. I don’t know how I’d react if I’m asked that question.”

Locsin and Younghusband, a British-Filipino football star, have been dating for two years.

Younghusband, 26, is one of the frontliners of the national football team Azkals. When schedule permits, he appears on ABS-CBN’s sitcom “Toda Max,” where Locsin is a mainstay.

“He’s not interested in joining show business at all. He’s just doing it for me,” the actress clarified. “Football is his life just like acting is mine. I prefer that we have different interests. I support him in his dream to represent the country through his sport.”

“Toda Max” will be celebrating its second anniversary in November. Locsin admitted she felt depressed when lead actor Robin Padilla decided to leave the show.

“Adjusting was hard when he left, but we respect his decision. He had to resign to give priority to his movie commitments,” she said. “I asked the other cast members, ‘Can we do the show by ourselves? Must we step up?’ We’re very thankful when Ms Ai-Ai (de las Alas) agreed to join our group.”

Down-to-earth

Locsin did not think Ai-Ai would accept the offer. “I thought, since she was already a big star, she would want her own show and not just be a replacement for another actor,” Locsin explained. “I was surprised to learn how down-to-earth and honest Ms. Ai was as a person. The funny Ai-Ai you see on TV is the same person you get to bond with off-cam. Wala siyang ere.”

She added, “It’s amazing that, despite her stature, Ms. Ai doesn’t mind hanging out and sharing funny stories with the rest of the cast. I remember feeling tense to be working with her for the first time. I even told our director (Malu Sevilla) about my worries. Direk said Ms. Ai was one of the easiest people to work with and Direk was right.”

During a visit to the “Toda Max” set inside the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City, Locsin gamely answered current issues, like her alleged nude photos circulating on the Net.

Locsin said she chose not to pay attention to them. “The pictures have been posted on websites again and again. I can’t do anything about them so I just close my eyes. I’m sure that they’re not mine anyway. What’s important to me is that my family and the people close to me know the truth,” Locsin stressed. “I have nothing to say to people who benefit from spreading fake pictures of innocent celebrities—I don’t know them personally. All I know is that I’ve done nothing to deserve what they did.”

The actor refused to be judgmental of other people who got involved in sex scandals. “I have a friend who has a sex video, but this doesn’t change how I look at him. I still respect him. He is still one of my closest friends,” said Locsin, referring to Parokya ni Edgar frontman Chito Miranda. The singer’s video with his girlfriend, actress Neri Naig, was the subject of many show biz stories last month.

Locsin also addressed rumors she would once again play the role of the Mars Ravelo superheroine “Darna,” now that the Kapamilya network had acquired the rights to it.

“I don’t mind doing it again. Portraying the role helped boost my career,” she said. “Let’s just wait for the network bosses’ decision. I also would not take it against them if they decide to give the role to someone younger. I don’t want to rob others of the chance to be Darna, especially since I’ve already experienced playing it.”

Locsin first wore the Darna costume when the series aired on GMA 7 in 2005. It holds the record of being the first primetime series to reach a rating of 47.1 percent (according to AGB and AC-Nielsen) during its pilot episode.

In 2009, the series aired on GMA 7 once again, with Marian Rivera in the title role.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

5 Financial Tips for Starting Your Marriage Out Right

Marriage is a huge life decision. Your marriage will affect all aspects of your life, including your finances.

If you are planning on getting married, it’s important to start out your life on the best possible footing. This includes starting out on the right financial foot. Before you tie the knot, here are 5 tips that can help you avoid some of the financial pitfalls that can come when you combine finances:

1. Be Honest about Your Finances

Before you get married, you need to have a financial show and tell. Be honest about your debts and where you stand. Your partner should also be forthcoming about his or her finances. Get it all out there on the table so that you can see what your combined finances could look like.

Once it’s out there, you can also get a good idea of where you need to go from there. Seeing the big picture can help you figure out how to improve your finances and make a plan for achieving your shared goals.

2. Determine Your Shared Financial Priorities

Next, you need to make sure that you have some shared financial priorities. What are the things you want to accomplish together? Do you want to buy a home?  Have children? Save for retirement? Use your money to travel the world? Give to charity?

If you start spending, and you have different priorities, one (or both) of you is going to be very unhappy if you are unwilling to compromise. When you aren’t spending money on the things that are important to you, it starts to feel as though you are “wasting” your money — and no one likes that feeling.

Make sure that you come up with shared financial priorities, and that on items that you differ on, you come up with a way to ensure that both partners are able to spend money on what’s most important to each.

3. Plan a Sensibly Priced Honeymoon

My husband and I didn’t have what many would consider a “real” honeymoon. We spent a couple of days in New York City. However, our honeymoon was very affordable. There are some that recommend you choose a honeymoon that you can pay off within a year. I prefer to save up for a honeymoon. Since my husband and I had something of a whirlwind romance, there was no time to save up for a grand vacation. And we had to be back at school a week later anyway.

Don’t plan a honeymoon that you will both regret as you continue to pay for it year after year. The same is true of your wedding. If you know that both of you won’t mind paying for the wedding and honeymoon for the next five years, then go all out. But you have to agree that it’s something you both feel is worth going into debt for, and worth paying all the interest on.

4. Create a Spending Plan that Works for You

Work together to create a spending plan that works for your situation. If you have separate accounts, you need to figure out who will pay what bills. Should you set up a joint account and each of you contribute money to the account to cover shared expenses?

Also, figure out how much you can afford to spend on groceries, entertainment, and other items. Look at your income and your expenses, and note recurring costs like insurance premiums, housing payments, and retirement account contributions.

You will also need to find out about obligations your partner has (and share yours). While debt is an obvious obligation, your spending plan will also need to take into account the possibility of child support and alimony.

5. Be Wary  of Taking on Your Spouse’s Debt

You don’t have to be responsible for your new spouse’s debt. But you have to be careful to keep it separate. Debt incurred before the marriage only becomes your responsibility (in most cases — check your state law) if you are added to the account, or if you co-sign to refinance the debt.

Think long and hard before you take on your spouse’s debt. You might find that it makes more sense to encourage your spouse to carry on with paying down his or her own debts.

source: financialhighway.com

Jared Followill of Kings of Leon Is Married

The last King is taken!

Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill, 25, wed girlfriend Martha Patterson, 21, on Saturday, a rep for the band confirms to PEOPLE.

The couple, who got engaged in April, tied the knot in an outdoor ceremony in Charlotte, Tenn. They then celebrated with friends and family in a rustic house on the grounds.

Followill, who looked country-cool wearing Lucchese boots, and his bride worked with celebrity event planner Sharon Sacks to create a bash that matches their casual vibe.

A guest tells PEOPLE, "They had a great farm-to-table cuisine with all of their favorite things. It was down home and very real. It was very much true to their style."

Before the ceremony Followill sent a lighthearted Tweet: "Today, I get married. It's the biggest step I've ever taken. I've dreamed about this day since I was a little girl."

Patterson added on Twitter: "Marrying my best friend today. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. :)"

Jared is the last of the Kings of Leon clan to settle down.

Nathan wed singer-songwriter Jessie Baylin, 28, in 2009 and the couple will welcome their first child in December.. Caleb, 30, married Lily Aldridge, 26, in 2011 and welcomed their first child, daughter Dixie Pearl, in June.

Cousin Matthew, 28, who is married to Johanna Bennett, 27,had their first child, son Knox Cameron Patrick, in April 2011.

The bassist appears to have found his perfect mate in Patterson. Last year, Jared spoke to PEOPLE about the pressure he feels from his brothers to find the perfect girl to marry.

"I know it's stupid," he said, "but you feel pressure in the sense that people are judging you. It goes into your decision-making, like, 'What are my brothers going to think?' I'm not talking about looks obviously, even status, you just have to find somebody that people like because everyone has settled down."

Followill is getting back to work quickly. He'll release his debut EP with his new side-project Smoke & Jackal on Oct. 16.

source: people.com

Denmark approves gay weddings in church

Denmark's parliament has approved a law allowing same-sex couples to get married in formal church weddings instead of the short blessing ceremonies the state's Lutheran Church currently offers.

MPs voted 85-24 on Thursday to change Denmark's marriage laws.

The law takes effect June 15 and will put Denmark on par with countries such as Iceland and Sweden that allow full wedding ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.

In 1989, Denmark became the first country to allow the registration of gay partnerships.

Since 1997 gay couples in Denmark can be wed in special blessing ceremonies at the end of regular church service.

source: skynews.com.au

Carrie Underwood: My Husband Mike Fisher Is 'Hot!'

Nearly two years into their marriage, the flame is still going strong for Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher.

"I mean, he's hot!" Underwood, 29, gushed to PEOPLE on Thursday. "He's a hot guy."

The Southern songstress, who still refers to herself and Fisher as "newlyweds," says she cherishes the time when she and her hubby get even "three seconds alone" with each other, which is why she's holding off on children.

PHOTOS: Carrie Underwood's Sexy, Sparkly Style


"I honestly think that if we brought a kid into it, it would mess things up right now," she says. "We're good right now."

But the country singer, who hasn't seen the Nashville Predators hockey pro, 31, "in over a week," says she doesn't depend on Fisher to get by on a day-to-day basis.

"We talk on the phone quite a bit, but we are not the kind of people who need to talk to each other every second of the day," she says. "We will text sweet little 'I love yous.' He will send me pictures of [my dogs] on a daily basis and makes sure that I know they are okay."

As for when she made a crack to PEOPLE about Fisher's "playoff beard," she wants to make one thing clear: her comments were heavily exaggerated by other outlets.

"I answered that once, and it got picked up everywhere that Carrie hates her husbands face," she said with a laugh. "He always has stubble, [but] I like that."

source: people.com

'Happily Divorced' star Fran Drescher on marriage, show's second season

(CNN) -- In "Happily Divorced" Fran Drescher plays Fran, a Los Angeles florist who is learning to navigate the dating scene after her husband (named Peter) announces he is gay after nearly 20 years of marriage.

In real life, Fran was married to her high school sweetheart, Peter Jacobson, for just over two decades and after they split he told her he was gay.

The show starts its second season Wednesday on TV Land and CNN caught up with the Flushing, Queens, native while she was in New York busily promoting the show.

The 54-year-old actress may have a strong New Yawk accent and an, um, unique bray, but in reality she is anything like the TV Fran. In person she is thoughtful and articulate, a New York Times best-selling author and the visionary behind the Cancer Schmancer Movement. She also has been instrumental in getting laws passed regarding women's health.

Drescher talked to CNN about moving on after her divorce, her dating status and how much some folks are willing to pay for her laugh.

CNN: So, new season of "Happily Divorced."

Fran Drescher: We're going to go deeper into Fran being a single, middle-aged woman and what that's about, how difficult it may be, trying to make peace with the chapters in her life she may have missed and we'll meet Peter's brother and we're going to expose a part of my body in the premiere episode which has never been seen before.

CNN: Which is...?

Drescher: Well, should I tell you? (Laughs) It's a little risqué.

CNN: Are you using real life experiences for the second season?

Drescher: Always, I'm the one that kind of runs the story writing room and the scripts all have origins in real emotions or actual experiences and then we kind of build a sitcom story around it. So yes everything is formed by a base of truthfulness.

CNN: You were with your ex for a long time.

Drescher: We met when we were 15, we married when we were 21 and divorced when we were around 41, so yes we were together for a long time.

CNN: Peter came out to you after you had divorced.

Drescher: Yes and he didn't want the divorce. He was very opposed to it and was very mad at me but when he was told I had been diagnosed with cancer, one of the silver linings was that he let go of his anger and we started to rebuild our friendship.

CNN: Did you have any idea he was gay during the marriage?

Drescher: He was going to therapy and told me he had discovered he was bisexual but had never acted on it. He told me he wanted to be with me, he loved our life and he loved me. I just kept on going forward with him but it was a couple of years after that (confession) I began to feel suffocated in the relationship and I felt like I couldn't find who I was or what I really wanted with him. I needed to be on my own to hear myself think.

CNN: So he was very controlling.

Drescher: Yes, and in hindsight I think that he realized that was a manifestation of him suppressing his true orientation.

CNN: How is your relationship now?

Drescher: We're the best of friends. We're in a wonderful place. We're business partners, we're very close friends and you know we believe we're soul mates. Let's hope that you get more than one soul mate in life.

CNN: Are you dating anyone now?

Drescher: I'm not currently. It's been a couple of months since I broke up with somebody after 3½ years together and now I'm back in the meat market. I don't date while I'm working on the show because it keeps me awfully busy, but I do rely on setups and blind dates as a means for meeting people. I certainly can't go on Internet dating sites, so it makes it a little more difficult, coupled with the fact that I'm a celebrity. I wield power and have money, so my success can be threatening to a lot of men.

CNN: That must be hard.

Drescher: It is a handicap. I have learned the hard way that I need to now date really exclusively men that are more successful than myself.

CNN: That's a small market.

Drescher: I guess it helps narrow the pool. I don't do married men, I don't do gay men and I need a man who's successful in his own right.

CNN: You also have a children's book called "Being Wendy."

Drescher: It's about a little girl who lives in a very provincial town called Boxville and everybody in Boxville thinks inside of the box and she just can't do it. Her interests are too diverse. At first she's ostracized for being that but in the end her parents realize her specialness is unique and should be celebrated.

CNN: Is that how you felt as a kid?

Drescher: I think so. I was an over-achiever and ambitious and had big dreams and I grew up in a place where mostly everybody was really not thinking beyond the town we grew up in. I wanted to travel the world and be a journalist and actress and writer and politician and kinds of things.

CNN: Your laugh is really one of a kind.

Drescher: I know! Sometimes we sell my voice at charity auctions to be somebody's answering message. I think the highest bid was around 15 or 20 thousand dollars.

CNN: Isn't that amazing?

Drescher: I was told a lot when I was pursuing acting in high school that I couldn't make it with that voice and the first time I met Peter, I said, 'Hiii,' and he thought I was joking but in the end we figured out a way to monetize it and poke fun at it first so other people would feel comfortable laughing along with me.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/07/showbiz/tv/happily-divorced-fran-drescher/index.html

Ben Harper and Laura Dern Check Yo'self Before You RECONCILE Yo'self?

Estranged husband and wife Ben Harper and Laura Dern may not be so estranged after all ... the former couple kicked it together in Bev Hills yesterday ... more proof they're trying to get back together.

TMZ broke the story ... Harper blindsided Dern with divorce papers back in 2010 ... after 5 years of marriage and two children.

But last month, the two were spotted arm-in-arm at a Golden Globes after party ... and yesterday they looked pretty coupley strolling around Beverly Hills.

2nd time's the charm?

source: TMZ

Sugarland lead singer Jennifer Nettles is Married

Country duo Sugarland lead singer Jennifer Nettles, 37, married her boyfriend for two years- Former Model and entrepreneur Justin Miller on Saturday in a small ceremony in Tennessee according to people.

The marriage function was just a small group of family and close friends, including Jennifer Nettles’ Sugarland bandmate, Kristian Bush. Jennifer Nettles wore a dress from Alexander McQueen, it was the same fashion house that designed Kate Middleton’s wedding gown.