Source: WENN

Back In August when Brandy expressed that she hoped her longtime boyfriend, Ryan Press would be popping the question soon, she caught a bit of backlash. Many called her thirsty and desperate for publicly expressing that desire; others applauded her for being woman enough to boldly state what she wanted. Either way, Ryan heard his lady loud and clear because a mere four months later, he asked for the singer’s hand in marriage. During a recent stay in New York City, Brandy visited the Wendy Show where she chatted it up with Wendy about Ryan’s Christmas Day proposal and future wedding plans. Take a peek at some of what she had to say below.

On Ryan’s proposal:

“He popped the question on Christmas. My Dad had finished praying for the food and after everybody said ‘amen’ he was on one knee, asking me to marry him.”

On if she was shocked:

“We all had a feeling. We didn’t know when he was gonna do it, but we all had a feeling. He asked my parents’ permission. You know, the whole traditional thing. I did not [go diamond shopping]. He did a really good job. I told him that I liked round instead of square and he did a really good job. I’m not a big diamond girl at all, but I like this diamond.”

On her daughter Sy’rai:

“She’s the maid of honor [in the wedding]. She’s 10. She’s my best friend. I love her unconditionally. Everything that I do in my life is for her. Every decision that I make, I have her in mind. It’s just beautiful to have a bond with her and I just thought that would be a special moment for the both of us. You know, for her to share in that happiness on that special day.”

On if she’ll be doing a reality TV wedding special:

“I don’t know. I just wish I could invite a lot of my core fans to the wedding because they’ve been there for me for so long… That’s what makes me think about it that way because I’m very, very close with my fans.”

Of course, as she does with everyone, Wendy advised her not to allow reality TV cameras into her wedding, but I suppose we will all have to wait and see what she decides to do.

Turn the page to see Brandy’s full interview where she discusses her roles in Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor and the new season of The Game.

It’s not often that we hear about a celebrity marriage lasting, and when one doesn’t we all sit and wait patiently for the nasty divorce settlements. With so much money and fame involved, it’s not uncommon for negotiations to get a little dirty, but in the end most of these ex-wives end up getting broke all.the.way.off. Though it’s never a happy thing to see a marriage end, we’re pretty sure some of these women dried their tears in dollar bills and ended up laughing their way to the bank. While love doesn’t cost a thing, divorces really do. Here are 14 of the biggest celebrity divorce settlements in our lifetime.

huffingtonpost.com

How did two of the prettiest people on earth manage to keep their marriage going for twenty years? We don’t know but more celebrity couples need to obviously consult with this very dynamic duo. Iman and David Bowie recently celebrated 20 years of marriage, and even longer in courtship. They met in 1990 on a blind date (how does that even happen?) and haven’t looked back since.

The couple have one daughter between them, 12 year old Alexandria Zahra; Iman has a daughter from a previous relationship, 34 year old Zulekha Haywood, and David Bowie has a son from a previous marriage named Zowie Bowie (isn’t that name just whimsical?).

In all their years of matrimony, we haven’t really heard much in the way of negative rumors surrounding their marriage. When Iman gets a break from her cosmetics business, maybe she can write a how-to book on how to keep a relationship thriving under the celebrity spotlight.

Congrats to the happy couple on reaching such a happy milestone. Check out this pic that Iman tweeted of her and her hubby back in the day.

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Charley Gallay/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus may not be old enough to drink, but she’s certainly exercising her legal right to get married. The 19-year-old starlet recently announced her engagement to her boyfriend of three years,  actor Liam Hemsworth, who is only a few years older at 22.

So what was the first reaction here at Madame Noire? Shock, of course.

Then, personally, I wondered if they’re going in with the expectations of divorce. Besides the fact that they both work in an industry mired with temptations and distractions (and which has definitely added to the high divorce rate of Hollywood), they’re both extremely young. I can’t believe that Hemsworth has gotten everything out of his system at the age of 22. I’m less worried about Cyrus’ fidelity as I am with Hemsworth’s ability to remain faithful without having the chance to experience his “boys will be boys” phase.

Sure, three years is a solid period of time for a relationship but I am doubtful that it suffices when the two in the relationship are both under 24. They’re both in a period of their lives which is ripe for change. When I was Cyrus’ age, I was in my second year of college. I was unsure about my career path, my notions about love, and was yet to fully appreciate my place in the world. In other words, I was changing a lot. I know that everyone “feels ready” at different points in their lives but I doubt most people are ready by 19 to embark on a successful, life-long commitment.

How old were you when you felt ready to take the plunge? 

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eurweb.com

We know Samuel L. Jackson as the man who seems to be in every movie we’ve ever seen.  He comes across as an intense actor who likes to be at the top of his game even if the movie itself isn’t all that great. He’s a man who has overcome addiction and has become the actor who has made Hollywood more money than any actor. EVER. But his wife, actress LaTanya Richardson, recently portrayed another picture for us as her husband.

Two weeks ago, New York Times did a feature on Sam which focused on his acting career and more importantly, a look inside of the man behind the work. Writer Pat Jordan spoke with LaTanya about him as a husband and she described him as “emotionally disconnected.”  She said there were times when he’d be on location for a film and when she’d ask if he missed her, he would say no. LaTanya went on to say:

“But he’s changing. The other day I cut my hand, and he took me to the hospital. Years ago, I’d have to go by myself.”

Ouch. I’m not sure what prompted LaTanya to be this honest in an article that she knew would be published but it is very telling.  Because of Sam’s dedication to his craft, it isn’t too hard to believe that what LaTanya says has held true for 40 years (yes, they’ve been together that long). She also said for a very long time she felt abandoned in the relationship.

What she shared is likely the tip of the iceberg and it probably took a lot of soul searching to be able to deal with something like that for so long. But they come from a bit of a different era and while many couples today would divorce over things like this, couples from their time probably would not. The good thing, like LaTanya said, is that he’s slowly changing.

Oh, the key to making their 40 year relationship work? LaTanya replied with one word: “Amnesia.”

Could you deal with something like this in your relationship? How important is it to you that your partner be emotionally connected, not only to you but to those important in your lives?

Source: New York Times

There are those couples that end in a blaze of glorious dishonor, like when Tiger got busted cheating. Surprisingly, many women prefer it to end salaciously, just so she’s angry enough to never see the jerk again. But some relationships simply run their course, flicker out like a candle at the end of its wick. These couples don’t break up over night. It’s a long drawn out process in play for roughly half the lifespan of the entire relationship. That means if you split with your boyfriend after a years time, the two of you were breaking up about six months.

Whether or not you decide to get married before your couple’s flame expires doesn’t change the fact that all good things come to an end. It comes as no surprise that we have celebrities to look to for prime examples of all that can go horribly wrong because of marriage.

As if they didn’t know their love flame was about to expire, these infamous couples courtship lasted longer than their marriage.

by Selam Aster

So Chad Ochocinco and Evelyn Lozada’s wedding is apparently back on after rumors circulated last week that Lozada decided to put the big event on hold after suspecting that Ochochinco was cheating on her. Is this news just another publicity-seeking ploy?

From the very beginning, folks have been suspicious about Chad and Evelyn’s relationship. Being that they’re both in the business of chasing attention, it seems unlikely that they’re in it to win it (“it” being marriage, not more fame).

You gotta wonder about folks who rush into marriage and don’t take the time to get to “date.” Have they not seen what’s happened with celebrity marriages, not to mention quickie celebrity marriages? I’m sure Evelyn and Chad are ignoring the news about Katy Perry and Russell Brand and instead looking at the financial success of Kim Kardashian’s failed marriage.

If you can’t recall, here’s the lesson that came from that fallacy: although people will hate you, you can still make a boatload of money from a high publicity wedding. If Evelyn is lucky, then that payday from their televised wedding will keep her happy for many years to come (after the high profile divorce from Ochocinco, complete with prenup).

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I know it has been said numerous times already but it is worth repeating: You know our moral compasses are really screwed up in society when two gay people in a long-term, loving and committed relationship can’t marry in about just about every states in the Union yet Kim Kardashian can. Because obviously the sanctity of heterosexual marriage including Kim K’s 72-day media blitz…er…I mean, holy matrimony, will be less meaningful if Gay marriage is allowed.

If you happened to be out Trick-or-Treating yesterday or standing in line all day for the return of the McRib sandwich and missed the news, Kim Kardashian has finally come out of the closet and revealed that her marriage to Kris Humphries was a sham. Okay, she didn’t do that exactly but she did confirm in a statement, released through E! News (on the same network that allegedly helped assemble their short-lived union), that she and Humphries were over.

According to her statement, which was released unbeknownst to Humphries, Kardashian said: “After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage. I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don’t work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best.”

Humphries would later release his own statement in which he poked out his lips, scratched his head in true Willoughby the hound fashion and said: “Duh. Which way should I go, George?” Okay, again, he really didn’t say that but you know that he has to be kicking himself square in the balls for not trying to drag their “marriage” out a few more months – at least until after the NBA lockout was over.

Kardashian will be crying her way all the way to the bank, as she managed to bring in a whopping $17.9 million dollars off her nuptials alone, thanks in part to photo rights, TV specials and other freebies. Just imagine how much she is going to gross during E’s very special Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries divorce split episode?

I’m trying to decide — do I dislike this woman because she is incredible good at capitalizing off of her looks? Or is it really just because she is such a talent-less hack with an annoying baby-voice (I really do have a thing against grown women using baby-voices)? As much as I, and others, ride Beyonce, Rihanna and the likes, at least they sings, dance and work for their fame.

But we, as a society, have allowed people like the Kardashians, who contribute nothing to society to invade our living rooms and reap profit off of our desire to see foolishness played out on TV.  In fact, the whole scenario reminds me of that old reality show called Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire. Don’t remember it? Let me give you a brief synopsis:

Long before The Bachelor and The Flavor of Love, Fox, the station that is solely responsible for the rise of the ultra-conservative right wing, brought us a TV special, in which 50 women from around the globe vied to marry, on the spot, Rick Rockwell, a self-proclaimed wealthy businessman. The show, which was like 2 hours tops, made these women compete in pageant-style fashion for his “love.”  The highlight, if that’s what you want to call it, came when our eligible millionaire bachelor, selected Darva Conger, a 34-year old platinum-blond nurse with old-fashioned values and morals. Eye roll.

Together, they stood hand and hand in the sort of bliss that could only come from meeting each other literally 30 seconds ago, and said their “I dos.”  For her troubles… er… I mean, love, Conger received a three-carat diamond ring and more than $100,000 in prizes, which is not a bad take for someone you met about an hour and a half ago. And although they would divorce two months later, Congers still would come out golden, hawking her wedding ring for cash, making the rounds on the talk-show circuit and doing a spread for Playboy magazine.

As sickening as it sounds, maybe Conger and Kardashian have the right idea. Perhaps marrying for the prospect of money isn’t such a bad idea. The reality is that personal finance issues are the leading cause of divorce.  And if men can marry for looks and sexual vigor, why can’t women marry based solely on how financially prosperous it will make them?

I mean, we all know the statistic: women by and large still earn only 75 percent on the dollar compared to their male counterparts.  And that number decreases if you are a minority and/or a mother, whose careers often stall after motherhood.  Marrying a gold-plated Prince Charming could be the salvation needed to ensure one’s financial stability.  But the flip side to that coin is that gold digging is often risky business. Daddy Warbucks could die before the sunset clause in the prenuptial agreement legally expires and you would be eligible for a share of his wealth (ahem, Anne Nicole Smith).  Or worse, he could be a gambling-addicted drunk, who loses his money and you’re left with a broke drunk man, who you really didn’t love in the first place.  Then where would you be?  Probably on a Housewives show, peddling cheap costume jewelry and flimsy looking clothing, ala She by Sheree.  And you don’t want that, now do you?

As the old saying goes, if you marry for money, you will definitely earn it.  And while you may be able to indulge in life’s better rewards for a time being you always have to remember that the man with the money is the one in control. Unless of course, you have the ingenuity to turn your exploits into a brand, just like Kim Kardashian, who has managed to change the gold-digging game all together, ditching the rescue fantasies and opting to take her destiny into her own hands. And thus far, with her own line of makeup, perfume, clothing and even bed sheets, it has been pretty profitable. Oh and did you know that today, she, along with her sisters, are opening a new store today in Las Vegas?  Great timing, huh? Heavy sigh.

Charing Ball is the author of the blog People, Places & Things.

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