VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

No, you aren’t the only one speechless.

The divorce of Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his second wife Veronica Lario recently became final and an Italian paper has all the final details.  According to the NY Daily News, Berlusconi will pay Lario $4 million per month in alimony. He gets to keep the estate.

Now for the record, Berlusconi is a billionaire media tycoon and this year, he was named Forbes’ sixth wealthiest man in Italy with a net worth of $5.9 billion and probably still growing).  So he certainly has the means to cut this type of a check every month but this is certainly a wallop of a hit!

Berlusconi and Lario were married in 1990 and married for 19 years when Lario announced she was divorcing Berlusconi in 2009. She cited his presence at an 18 year old girl’s birthday party as her primary reason for the divorce.  She also stated that, in general, he has a “fondness” for young girls. The couple has three adult children (sidenote: all of whom were born while he was still married to his first wife…messy).

So far, no comments have been made by Lario, Berlusconi or their respective lawyers. But really, what is there to say?

By the way, Berlusconi is 76 years old and is currently dating a woman who is almost 50 years younger than him. Wow.

Source: TMZ.com

Pictures of him with another woman purposely being photographed (you can see a friend taking candids in some paparazzi shots) on a yacht somewhere in Italy certainly tell a thousand words, namely, I don’t care who knows or I hope these get back to Heidi. At this point in the game, it’s only been four months since Heidi and Seal announced their split, which by most accounts means it’s awfully soon to have replaced your wife of seven years. But then again, he seemed to not be the one drafted the papers in the first place so maybe this unnamed brunette is his way of coping.

Seal has been pretty mum about his pending divorce since people started questioning why he was running his mouth so much when Heidi hadn’t said a thing, but in a recent interview he told USA Today:

“I’m in an excellent place right now. In a situation like this, your priority is the children. As long as the children are happy, I’m happy.”

He certainly looks happy on that yacht. Check out more pics on TMZ. What do you think about Seal possibly moving on with a new woma already?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Because there is much more to wine than Moscato, I felt the need to share some of the best vino selections for your summer time sipping. Chilled white wine is perfect for this sun filled season so grab a glass and get ready to wine down…

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Swagger New York

Beyonce is just about ready to get back to work on the numerous projects she has lined up for 2012, but not before she gets in one last vacation retreat. Bey and her BFF Gwyneth Paltrow are reportedly planning a relaxing mommy getaway in Tuscany and their bringing their kids Blue Ivy, Apple, and Moses along too. According to MTV UK,

“They’re planning daily yoga sessions at a private five-star villa, which has its own pool… And the pair will get stuck into a menu of Gwyneth’s favorite organic grub while they are away.”

Beyonce has already supposedly been taking Blue, who’s just about 2 months old, to baby yoga classes thanks to Gwyn’s recommendation so sessions at the Italian villa sound perfect for the mother-daughter pair. Maybe the singer and actress will work out Bey’s upcoming role in One Hit Wonders while they’re away too. Either way this vacay sounds fantastic!

If you could go anywhere in the world for a post-baby retreat where would you choose?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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It looks like the cruise ship industry is facing more negative publicity with a recent death of a passenger aboard a Carnival Fantasy ship. A few weeks ago another luxury cruise ship crashed in Italy and now they have yet another cruise related catastrophe to deal with.

Authorities are investigating the death of a passenger who fell from an upper deck to a lower deck while the cruise ship was docked in the Bahamas.

The 26-year-old victim, whose identity was not released, fell from one of the upper levels of the ship’s atrium to the lobby level late Friday night, Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement Saturday. The ship was docked in Nassau at the time.

Bahamas police said the man was from South Carolina and that initial reports indicate he may have jumped. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Read story here..

While most fathers-to-be stay tight-lipped in the delivery room so as not to set off their unborn child’s mother who is writhing in pain and likely to say anything that comes to mind, Charles McDaniel did just the opposite.

The Air Force Staff Sergeant was waiting to welcome his fifth child with his wife, LaQuita, in a hospital in Aviano, Italy, when the fetal monitor started acting up. Unphased, the 32-year-old Houston native took advantage of the opportunity to make light of the situation and started raping about the delivery to the beat of the beeping monitors.

“I just, you know, started singing,” he told MSNBC.

As funny as it was listening to him, I was more shocked that his wife didn’t go off, although Charles says at first she was really irritated and knocked the camera out of his hand. Later, she agreed with friends and family who thought the clip could go viral and decided to upload it to YouTube. So far it’s gotten about 56,000 views.

Charles McDaniel probably won’t get a record deal any time soon, but his antics definitely made us laugh. Check it out and tell us what you think.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Even though there was no red carpet or anxious photagraphers in site, the honoring of the original Tuskegee Airmen at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza theater was nothing less than an memorable event.

The elderly men seen in wheelchairs, using canes or leaning on family for support constituted most of the remaining Los Angeles-area members of the original Tuskegee Airmen group, and they were there on Wednesday for a special showing of “Red Tails,” George Lucas’ multimillion-dollar portrayal of the first African-American air corps in the United States.

The sold-out screening packed in about 400 people, all of whom burst into tremendous applause when the World War II veterans stood at their seats. As some audience members snapped photographs, others took a moment to explain to their children “how big of a deal this is!” And throughout the night, the audience punctuated the film with laughter and applause. When the screening ended, the Los Angeles chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. hosted a private reception with a live band, a buffet, a few short speeches and a movie poster signing by the airmen.

Los Angeles resident Levi Thornhill was one of the Tuskegee Airmen who came. He had been part of the original 332nd Fighter Group, who served with distinction as airplane escorts for bomber planes on strategic missions in Europe. After the film, he praised Lucas for his attention to detail and gave “Red Tails” a ringing endorsement.

“I’m wondering where in the world [Lucas] found all those P-51s, the Red Tails,” said the 89-year-old Thornhill. “I think he did a very good job, a very good job. And I’ve seen a lot of movies with airplanes in it!”

Read the full story here…

When you plan a vacation do you debate between a week long stay in the French Riveria or a luxurious suite at the Plaza?  Unless you’re dreaming, these spots are probably not on your realistic list for a little getaway.  Lucky for you, we’ve uncovered some of the most secretive and breath-taking vacation destinations of the rich and famous that we can try to live vicariously through.  Celebrities are constantly jetting off to “relax” or “recover” from some dramatic event in their life… so where do they go?  Check out the top 9 vacation spots and start saving your pennies!

Recently Rihanna, accompanied by some of her buddies, headed to Italy to enjoy a little fun in the sun. Just because Rihanna was on vacation, that doesn’t mean her style took a hiatus.

Check out these pictures of the pop princess and her friends at our sister site, Styleblazer.com.

After spending four years in jail for killing her roommate Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox has been freed by an Italian appeals court. The American student was convicted of murdering her roommate while participating in a study abroad program in 2007. The decision to convict Knox stunned the world as the Italian jury seemed to make their decision on very scant and weak evidence.

Instead, it appeared that the jury’s original verdict was influenced by the belief amongst many Italians that Knox was a cold and unfeeling roommate. That sentiment was fueled by the fact that Knox had been seen laughing with her boyfriend the day after her roommates’ death. In any case, the trial brought much attention to Italy’s flawed justice system and although it took four years, Knox is finally free. Her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, has also been released today.