Reality show relationships have a tendency to crash and burn once the cameras have been turned off. A little time in the real world usually reveals that happily-ever-after isn't going to happen and the couples split up. But at least one made-for-television hookup seems to be standing the test of time - Trista and Ryan Sutter.
Perennially perky Trista and hunky fireman Ryan met on the first season of the Bachelorette and married in a lavish, televised wedding ceremony in 2003. In July of 2007, the couple welcomed their first child, Max.
The three Sutters may be just settling into family life, but soon they will be four. She tells Life & Style that she is about three months along with her second child. And while she admits that getting pregnant so soon after Max was a bit of a surprise, she and Ryan couldn't be happier.
"I was in total shock! I took a few tests, and they all came back negative. But a few weeks after Max's 1st birthday, all of a sudden I thought to myself, I don't think I've had my period in a while. So I took another test - the line was extremely faint, but it was there!" she said. And Ryan's reaction? "His first words were, "Holy crap!" It was positive shock, one of the best kinds you can have in your life," she said.
Trista admits that she longs for a girl, but would be happy with another happy and healthy boy. Although she is leaning towards having her tubes tied after this baby, she says doesn't rule out the possibility of adopting to get the little girl she's always wanted.
I must have been nine or ten; I remember being almost as amazed that I won the auction for the pocket knife as I was that my mother let me bid on it. That was, however, the first of many knives and other weapons I owned -- a few of which my mother knew about and many which she didn't. Apparently, Angelina Jolie had a similar experience.
According to the Perez Hilton website, Angelina told W Magazine that her mother took her shopping for a knife when she was eleven years old and she is now continuing the tradition -- she recently took her son Maddox knife-shopping. Maddox is a bit younger than both Angelina and I were; he is only seven.
I'm not sure seven is old enough to have a knife of one's own but given his mom's experience, I'll bet Maddox will learn to use it safely.
Levi Johnston wants to set the record straight about a few things: he's not being forced to marry Bristol Palin, he's not being bossed around by the McCain campaign, and he thinks Barack Obama "seems like a good guy."
But he'll be pulling for John McCain and Sarah Palin in November. "I just hope she wins," he said. "She's my future mother-in-law. She better win."
Smart kid.
Johnston admits that he was surprised by girlfriend Bristol Palin's pregnancy, but says that there's nothing shotgun about their upcoming wedding. "We were planning on getting married a long time ago with or without the kid," he told the Associated Press. "That was the plan from the start." The much-publicized MySpace page announcing that Johnston didn't want kids was a joke, he said, set up by some buddies. His own feelings are the exact opposite. "I'm excited to have my first kid."
Johnston hinted that he and Palin are expecting a boy, saying, "I'm looking forward to having him. I'm going to take him hunting and fishing. He'll be everywhere with me." The baby is due December 18.
He also explained the "Bristol" tattoo on his ring finger, which replaced a "promise" ring, given to him by Palin, that he lost on a hunting trip. He figured the tattoo was just easier than a ring, which he would lose anyway.
Other than dropping out of high school to go to work as an oil field electrician, Johnston claims that none of the events of the past few weeks have changed him. "I'm still the same old boy," said Johnston. "I'm just a workin' man."
Knowing that his recent 20/20 interview discussing his divorce would hurt their kids, Peter Cook and Christie Brinkley did the smart thing and got their kids out of town the night it aired. (Though one could argue that it isn't smart to air your dirty laundry in public in the first place). But before he could leave, his method of transportation caused an even bigger ruckus.
As Peter was planning to put his children on a single engine airplane, his daughter Sailor, 10, reportedly called mom Christie Brinkley in tears, because she was afraid to board the plane. Christie survived a 1994 helicopter crash and now always flies her family in bigger aircraft. Christie allegedly called the police, attempting to stop the plane from taking off with the kids on board, even offering to pay for a flight on a larger plane.
Because Peter wasn't doing anything technically illegal, the family was allowed to continue on with their trip. According to a source from the Cook camp, "They left and had a wonderful flight." Peter is trying to spin the incident as just another opportunity for Christie to interfere with his time with the kids. But sources close to Christie say that this has always been a family rule, and that as sole custodial parent, she has the right to make that decision.
Just another celebrity couple reminding us that divorce is never easy, but that a Hollywood divorce comes with it's own set of problems. What do you think?
Considering the grief that Lisa Marie Presley got before she announced her pregnancy last March, I don't blame her one bit for keeping quiet about giving birth. But the word is out now and her publicist confirms that Elvis Presley's only child is a mom again. She and her husband Michael Lockwood welcomed their twin girls this past Tuesday and according to that publicist, "babies and mom are happy and healthy and resting at home."
The girls names have not been revealed, but we do know that they arrived via C-section, one weighing in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces and the other at 5 pounds, 2 ounces.
The babies make three and four for Presley, who has two teenage children from her first marriage to Danny Keough - 19-year-old Danielle Riley, and 15-year-old Benjamin Storm.
When your dad is worth $750 million, you might expect to never have to worry about money again. But Andrew Lloyd Webber's kids aren't getting a free pass from their dad. In a recent interview Webber revealed that he doesn't plan on giving his fortune to his kids when he dies.
Instead, the king of musicals will likely be donating the money toward helping kids around the world succeed in the arts. "(A will) is one thing you do start to think about when you get to my age. I don't think it should be about having a whole load of rich children and grandchildren. I think it should be used as a way to encourage the arts."
Webber acknowledges that since his wife Madeleine will likely outlive him, it'll be up to her to decide exactly how the money is spent and the company is run. And while kids Imogen, 31, Nicholas, 29, Alastair, 16, William, 15, and Isabella, 12, won't be inheriting their dad's giant fortune, Webber says they'll be taken care of nonetheless.
Did you know Christian Slater was a high school dropout? Neither did I. But though the actor of two might not need that diploma to round out his resume anymore, he recently went back to school -- to bone up on academics for the GED test. His inspiration? His children Jaden, 9, and Eliana, 7. "High school was not something that I remotely took seriously, and now I have these kids" he told Parade magazine. "I obviously care for them to get an education, and I want them to take it seriously, so I am going to have to do something."
Christian passed the test, though he claims to have just squeaked by in his most feared subject, math. He told Parade that his children make him want to improve himself. "I wanted to be able to look them in the eye and feel they were looking into the eyes of somebody who was making an effort to take care of himself and be a better person."
That's a pretty profound statement from a dad who obviously takes his job as a parent very seriously. What about you? Has being a parent inspired you to make changes for the better in your life?
Not every child is an athlete. But those who do enjoy sports come in every age, shape, and yes, even gender. It might come as no surprise to you and me that girls can actually, oh, enjoy sports and maybe even be good at them. But according to Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy, girls don't really like sports at all.
In a recent interview promoting his new book Tales from the Dadside, Doocy responded to the different tone his book took when talking about his son versus his daughters. "I was very conscious of that because with boys they actually want to play and hit the ball. With girls, girls don't really want to play these sports. They just want to hang out. Being a coach for girls is like herding cats...."
Now in all fairness, maybe coaching his own daughters was like herding cats. But I think Doocy does a great disservice to young female athletes with this stereotypical statements. Boys like to play sports, girls are just in it for the social scene and the cute uniforms. Right. As a mom to a five-year-old girl who is already a tiger on the soccer field, as well as a friend to several women who have been playing sports since childhood, I can assure Mr. Doocy that girls DO actually want to play and hit the ball too. It's too bad Doocy couldn't see that in his own children and their teammates.
What do you think of Steve Doocy's view of girls and sports?
For a minute there, it seemed like another Spears sister would be singing, "Oops, I did it again." Yesterday, the National Enquirer was reporting that Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant again, just four months after the 17-year-old gave birth to daughter Maddie Briann.
Considering the source, it's no surprise that Jamie Lynn's camp quickly came out with a denial. "She is not pregnant," said her publicist. Jamie and fiance Casey Aldridge have also been fighting rumors of a split.
What's interesting about this story, though, is that the original story quoted the "source" as saying that Jamie thought breastfeeding would protect her from pregnancy. Breastfeeding can provide protection if done exclusively, but as my midwife told me after my firstborn was delivered, "Breastfeeding is effective birth control if you live in a country without access to birth control. You don't, so don't get any ideas." But I know a lot of women who have depended on nursing to space out their children, with varying degrees of success.
As a teen mom, hopefully Jamie is being more careful than that. What about you? Did breastfeeding play a role in your birth control plan?
There's a new trend among Hollywood parents -- no, not twins, silly! I'm talking about the decision not to sell photos of the new baby to a magazine or tabloid. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban said no thanks to some big offers, and Halle Berry passed as well. And now new mom Minne Driver has chosen to skip the big photo shoot, too.
But Driver isn't keeping her son Henry Story under wraps -- instead, Driver, 38, posted photos of her wee bundle of joy on her MySpace page. You know, like mom bloggers have been doing for years. According to Driver's rep, the actress "wasn't trying to make a statement with Henry's public debut - she simply wanted to share the photo with friends and fans."
I think that's really cool; it's a nice reminder that Driver is a mom, like the rest of us, even though she's a celebrity. Driver has been famously private about this pregnancy, refusing to identify baby Henry's father (she says that he will be involved but that they will not get married) so posting a photo on MySpace is a nice way to bridge wanting to show off her son with not wanting to make an issue of her private life.
New parents Brad Pitt and Angelina are on the move with their ever-growing family. The couple recently returned to the states with all kids six in tow to hit the red carpet for Angelina's newest film The Changeling.
Angelina shared a few tidbits of news with the press. "Everybody's great," she said, "The babies are getting big and healthy and developing personalities." She also shared that they've finally hired a little help a couple of nights a week, so everyone is a little more well-rested.
Angelina has also had a little work done, ink-work that is. The mom has a tattoo on her upper arm that has the map coordinates for each of her children's birthplace. She's added Nice, France to the list to honor twins Vivienne and Knox. You didn't expect Angelina to keep a simple baby book, did you?
Finally, when asked whether they planned to adopt again in the near future, Angelina replied, "I think we're going to wait a little while." Maybe in Knox and Vivienne, Brad and Angelina have finally met their match!
Dancing With the Stars pro Tony Dovolani and his wife Lina welcomed twins Adrian and Ariana to their family last month. The twins make three for the couple, who are also mom and dad to three-year-old daughter Luana.
While fellow celeb dad of twins Brad Pitt may complain about being sleep deprived, Tony recently said in an interview that he's surprisingly well rested. That's because his wife won't let him do nighttime daddy duty during the DWTS season. Tony, who called his wife "a fantastic person," recently told Lifeline Live: "I'll give you an example -- at 3 in the morning, I got up wanting to help and she was like, 'Go back to bed. Until the season's over, you're off the hook.'"
Somebody go and get my "fantastic person" badge, because I've been the nighttime go-to girl for FIVE YEARS. Sure, I could poke him in the ribs and tell him it's his turn, but my conscience would pay when his alarm went off. But just because a women is willing to take care of nighttime awakenings, doesn't mean she doesn't get utterly exhausted. Here's a tip for Tony and other dads who get to sleep through feedings and nightmares: An offer to help goes a long way, as does giving her a sleep-in day, doing the dishes, or just taking the baby out of the house for an hour or so while she regains her sanity.
I'm not sure I'd ever want to be famous. There comes a point in everyone's life when they say something they wish they could take back, but when you say it on national television ... well, that's a problem. I'm wondering if Naked Chef star Jamie Oliver is feeling like that now.
The husband and father of two recently admitted that when conceiving his third child with wife Jools, he really, really wanted a boy. So strong was his desire for a son, he did a little experimenting. A specialist had told him that when it comes to conceiving one sex over the other, it was all about "temperature." So Jamie bought an adult diaper, soaked it in water and froze it, cut a hole, then slipped that baby on. Can you say romantic?
Whether it worked or not, the couple doesn't yet know. Jamie and Jools are already parents to Poppy Honey, 6, and Daisy Boo, 5, and have made no secret about their desire to have a son. To see Jamie make his hilarous admission to talk show host Jonathan Ross, watch the (possibly NSFW) video below.
My favorite line? "I actually didn't plan on having this conversation." I bet!
It's a baby girl for actress Joely Fisher and husband Christopher Duddy. The couple recently adopted newborn Olivia Luna Fisher-Duddy. Not only are the new mom and dad swooning over their latest addition, but siblings Cameron, 22, Collin, 20, Skylar, 7, and True, nearly 3, are said to be doting on her as well. Olivia was adopted from the U.S., and out of respect to her birth mother, the family is keeping mum on the details.
Fisher plays Joy Stark on the FOX sitcom 'Til Death opposite Brad Garrett, and Christopher Duddy is a cinematographer. The couple have been married since 1996. Fisher is active in several charities that serve needy children, such as Save the Children and Kids Care Camp.
Presidential nominee John McCain allegedly had a date set with actress Jenny McCarthy. The topic of their discussion? Not love but, rather autism, and specifically the link between the condition and the use of thimerosal in the vaccines McCarthy believes cause autism.
McCarthy was eager to meet with McCain after learning he believes there may be a link as well, and apparently flew herself out for a meeting with the Republican senator to try to make autism a major part of the presidential campaign.
According to reports, however, McCain backed out after his flack decided the subject matter was too controversial. Right, like presidential nominees should avoid discussing anything controversial! If they did all they'd end up doing at debates was drinking Yoohoos! Although not attributed anywhere, the post on IMDB claims McCain also bailed after learning there is no hard evidence linking vaccines with thimerosal and autism. Either way, McCain declined to meet with the former Playboy centerfold (huge mistake, dude!) and McCarthy has now set her sites on meeting with Senator Obama.
Reality show relationships have a tendency to crash and burn once the cameras have been turned off. A little time in the real world usually reveals that happily-ever-after isn't going to happen and the couples split up. But at least one made-for-television hookup seems to be standing the test of time - Trista and Ryan Sutter. 
I must have been nine or ten; I remember being almost as amazed that I won the auction for the pocket knife as I was that my mother let me bid on it. That was, however, the first of many knives and other weapons I owned -- a few of which my mother knew about and many which she didn't. Apparently, Angelina Jolie had a similar experience.
Levi Johnston wants to 
Knowing that his 
Considering the grief that Lisa Marie Presley got 
Not every child is an athlete. But those who do enjoy sports come in every age, shape, and yes, even gender. It might come as no surprise to you and me that girls can actually, oh, enjoy sports and maybe even be good at them. But according to Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy, 
For a minute there, it seemed like another Spears sister would be singing, "Oops, I did it again." Yesterday, the National Enquirer was reporting that 
There's a new trend among Hollywood parents -- no, not twins, silly! I'm talking about the decision not to sell photos of the new baby to a magazine or tabloid. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban said no thanks to some big offers, and Halle Berry passed as well. And now new mom Minne Driver has chosen to skip the big photo shoot, too.
New parents Brad Pitt and Angelina 
Dancing With the Stars pro Tony Dovolani and his wife Lina 
It's a baby girl for actress Joely Fisher and husband Christopher Duddy. The couple 
