By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:37am PDT, May 7, 2020
Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the stars who found love, suffered heartbreak or experienced some other major event in their love lives in early May 2020, starting with this shocking but exciting engagement… On May 4, the U.S. version of The Sun broke the news that Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman and his girlfriend of just a few months, Francie Frane, are engaged. "I wasn't expecting it at all," the Colorado rancher said of the proposal. She then detailed how exactly the TV star — who lost his wife 10 months ago — popped the question: "He said, 'I know that God brought you into my life and I don't want to spend one moment of it without you,'" she dished. "And he got down on one knee and he opened the ring box and he said, 'Will you marry me and spend the rest of our lives together?' Who can say no to that? It was wonderful." Dog told The Sun that he wants to have the "biggest wedding there's ever been" and hopes to "open it up" to his fans: "It would be one hell of a party and it's just what people need right now," he said. As for critics of their whirlwind romance, "You know there's always going to be haters, and I probably arrested half of them," said Dog. Chimed in Francie, "There's always going to be people who say we did this wrong or we did that wrong or we've moved on too quickly or too fast. But the truth is that both of us have spent three years walking alongside our spouses sick and we know that God brought us together and that's why we don't believe that it's too soon. … For us to come together the way that we did and build this friendship because of what we've been through, that turned into a love story. We don't believe that it's too soon." Francie's late husband, Bob, died a few months before Dog's late wife, Beth Champman, died of throat cancer. Now keep reading for more of the week's biggest celeb love life updates
RELATED: Stars who got engaged in 2020
What's the deal with Channing Tatum and Jessie J? The off-and-on couple were seen riding a motorcycle together in Los Angeles on April 29, prompting rumors (again) that they've reconciled romantically … again. The following day, "Entertainment Tonight," which published the motorcycle pics, reported that despite how things may appear, they're "just friends right now, nothing more." But then on May 4, the "Magic Mike" star was snapped taking out the trash at the singer's L.A. home, indicating that they're quarantining together amid the coronavirus pandemic. "They have spent a few days in L.A. together. Channing seems very happy," said a People magazine source.
RELATED: Celeb splits of 2020
On May 6, multiple media outlets reported that Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson recently called it quits after two years of coupledom. According to People magazine, they split in early April. "Cara and Ashley always had their ups and down before but it's over now," said a source, adding that the "relationship just ran its course." E! News, meanwhile, noted that the model is "enjoying being single and spending time with great friends."
On the May 4 episode of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," Anderson Cooper revealed that his former longtime love Benjamin Maisani is "going to be a co-parent" to his new baby boy, Wyatt, even though they're "not together anymore." Explained the CNN star, "He's my family, and I want him to be Wyatt's family as well." He added that Benjamin was even in the delivery room when Wyatt arrived via surrogate in late April. (While announcing their breakup back in March 2018, Anderson said that he and Benjamin "are still family to each other and love each other very much.") Their unique arrangement contradicts Us Weekly's May 1 report that they reconciled romantically. "They very quietly got back together and are planning ahead. Ben is selling one of his clubs and cutting back on how much he does at night so he can spend more time at home with Anderson and the baby," said an alleged insider.
On May 4, Dwight Yoakam's PR team released a statement announcing that he and his girlfriend of a decade, Emily Joyce, secretly tied the knot at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California, in March. They exchanged vows in front of "less than 10 attendees" who were "seated at least six feet from one another" to adhere to social-distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic. The bride and groom had reportedly been engaged for "several years." According to the statement, they kept their marriage under wraps out of "respect to so many people affected by and on the front lines of this pandemic."
On May 1, In Touch broke the news that Matthew Perry and his girlfriend of two years, Molly Hurwitz, "very recently" called it quits. "It was very amicable, but they have both decided to go their separate ways," said a source.
Getting serious! Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas made their relationship Instagram official on April 30 — the "Knives Out" star's 32nd birthday. "Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and love! Cheers to another great year," she captioned a slideshow of photos of herself celebrating with cake and balloons during a b-day trip to the desert. The slideshow included a selfie with the Oscar winner and a shot of Ben and Ana taking in the sunset with their arms wrapped around each other.
On May 1, Kristin Cavallari's former BFF, Kelly Henderson, raised eyebrows when she took to Instagram to share a photo of herself enjoying a "much needed happy hour" while sitting beside a mystery man on the patio at a ranch home in Nashville. Fans speculated that the man, who was wearing a colorful beaded bracelet, was Jay Cutler — to whom Kelly has been linked in the past. In early 2019, there were rumors that Kelly and Jay had an affair — which Kristin flatly denied. The former star of "The Hills" did, however, admit that "how Kelly went about" the rumors — "talking about Jay on social media" and "adding fuel to the fire" instead of making it clear that nothing happened between them — caused the rift in their relationship. On May 2, E! News reported that Kelly and Jay aren't hanging out in the wake of his breakup from K-Cav and that the man pictured in Kelly's headline-making Instagram post isn't the former professional football player. "This is 100 percent not Jay. This is Kelly seeking attention. That's all this is," said a source. "It's very sad that she felt the need to do this for some followers. … Jay is not involved with Kelly. Even if he were, he would never risk his position in the divorce by doing something as public as this." Speaking of the divorce…
E! News reported on May 1 that, according to a source, Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler "have made some progress in moving forward" with their divorce. "They are now agreeing that Jay will allow Kristin to purchase the home she has been looking at since November of last year when they started having serious issues, which prompted her to start looking in the first place," said the source. "In exchange for that, they are agreeing to split the time with their children, one week on and one week off. They are having the kids stay in the home and Kristin will stay a week, then Jay will stay a week." The insider added that "things between Jay and Kristin will probably get better once she is settled" in about a month and they don't have "to deal with each other as much." On May 6, Page Six published a report highlighting new claims about one alleged factor in their split. A source told the New York Post's gossip column that Kristin was growing "increasingly impatient" with Jay, whom she felt was becoming "lazy" and "unmotivated" following his NFL retirement a few years ago.
Peter Weber made his relationship with Kelley Flanagan Instagram official on May 2: "You caught me. Let the adventure begin," he captioned a photo of them together from season 24 of "The Bachelor." The pilot's parents also took to Instagram to share posts in support of their son's new romance. "Serendipity," mom Barb captioned a collage of several photos of Peter and Kelley. "Happiness is finding your copilot," dad Peter Weber Sr. captioned a side-by-side of two photos of the happy couple.
What a week for Instagram debuts! On April 29, Paris Hilton and her boyfriend, Carter Reum, finally went Instagram official. In the process, the former reality star revealed that they've actually been an item much longer than initially believed: "Happy Anniversary my love. My favorite thing to do is make memories with you. Your kisses are magical.⚡️ I love being yours and knowing you're mine," she captioned a photo of herself smooching the author-entrepreneur.
People magazine reported on May 3 that Kate Beckinsale and her new boyfriend, Goody Grace, are still going strong: "They are still quarantined together at her home," said a source. "Kate enjoys his company. … She finds him very mature, smart and creative. He entertains her with music, they cook and watch movies. She thinks he is the perfect quarantine boyfriend."
According to TMZ, Leslie Grossman's husband of two decades, Jon Bronson, filed for divorce in Los Angeles on April 28. The "American Horror Story" star and her ex share one child: 13-year-old daughter Goldie.
On April 30, Stacey Dash took to Instagram to announce that she and her husband, Jeffrey Marty, are calling it quits: "My husband and I have made the hard decision of ending our marriage. After much prayer, I feel this is the right path for both of us. I wish him nothing but the best," she wrote. The duo memorably tied the knot in 2018 just 10 days after they first met.
On the May 1 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Ryan Seacrest wished his off-and-on girlfriend, Shayna Taylor, a happy third anniversary. "It is our third time together. So we've gotten together, broken up, gotten together, broken up. This is number three of being together," he said, adding that they "celebrate each trial" of their relationship. "It's an eight-year run, but it's our third run together," he said. "Nothing's perfect," he continued. "You just keep trying until you get it right." He then joked that when they drive past an amusement park, "I always look at the roller coaster and go, 'Look, there we are.' It's all definitely upside-down loops. It's no Thunder Mountain — it's definitely the Mind Bender."
During an interview with "Access" that popped up on YouTube on May 1, Wells Adams said that he and his fiancée, Sarah Hyland, have put their wedding plans on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic. "There are no wedding plans," he said. "I think the thought was that we'd originally start thinking about that around this time, but now that this is happening, what's the point of even trying to get something solidified with everything being just so up in the air?" He nixed the idea of exchanging vows on Zoom but said that if the pandemic lasts "really, really long," they could "do like, a really small backyard thing." Joked the former Bachelor Nation star, "But that's probably not gonna happen. There are too many famous ABC personalities that need to give us gifts. … Ty Burrell, I need a new fly-fishing rod, and Chris Harrison, I need some crystal ware." As for the current state of his relationship with the "Modern Family" star, "This is a really good test to see if we're meant to [be together]," he said. "If we can get through quarantine together, we can get through anything. And so far, so good — we haven't had a fight." He added that they "live well together" and that although the quarantine has "been tough," it's also "been really nice to spend some real quality time" together because when they're working, they have "a FaceTime relationship."
The drama continues! On the April 30 episode of her eponymous talk show, Wendy Williams tore into Ray J over his tumultuous relationship with estranged wife Princess Love, telling him that he hasn't "been the best husband" lately. "I can do better. I can definitely do better, and I will do better," he replied. "I'm working towards making sure that [our two] kids know that we love each other and we love them more than anything." After Wendy accused him of being unfaithful, Ray responded, "Sometimes we go through the ups and downs. But as far as being faithful, I never really had a problem with that. I had a problem with us being on the same page and understanding how to learn each other and compromise. That's pretty much what it was and what it is." Wendy then interjected to say that it sounds like it's his way or the highway. "No, it's her way or no way, and I'm with that," said Ray. "I'm gonna ride with her. But we've got a lot of growing to do."
During an April 29 interview with Us Weekly, Dina Lohan revealed that daughter Lindsay Lohan is "dating a wonderful guy right now" — though that's all the information the mother of four would share about the "Mean Girls" star's mystery man. Later, during an interview with DailyMailTV, Dina called her back-on-boyfriend Jesse Nadler the love of her life. "By meeting him the way I did, of course at first we were friends and it just grew and grew and grew to this amazing, wonderful relationship," she dished, adding that younger daughter Ali Lohan has said Dina and Jesse are "soulmates."
During a May 1 Instagram Live, Jeezy opened up about proposing to Jeannie Mai in March after less than two years of coupledom: "When you get the one, you can't even play with it," he said. "You just know. You can't even play, bro. When you're locked in mentally, that's the battle right there. You wanna build. You wanna grow. You wanna learn. … That's it. Let's do it. Ain't nothing to think about."
In her new memoir co-written with sister Brie Bella, Nikki Bella opens up about the real reason why she and off-and-on love John Cena ultimately called it quits. According to DailyMail.com, the former wrestler explains in "Incomparable," which debuted on May 5, that they "struggled to align" their goals for the relationship — specifically her desire to have children. "Rather than turn and face that, I pushed it under the carpet and figured I could pretend like it wasn't there. Because I was terrified of losing my love, I stuffed my desire for marriage and kids as deep as I could," she reportedly writes, calling the situation "tough" because "the more you grow to love someone, the more you want it all." The reality star writes that she "stopped giving voice to those needs" because she was "worried my ex would call it off and let me go." Says Nikki, "I wanted those things very badly — I just wanted him more." In the book, she details her recovery from a 2016 surgery for a herniated disc in her neck, noting that John, who "wouldn't let anyone send him home" from the hospital, helped her go to the bathroom — even though it made her "want to die with embarrassment." Writes the "Total Bellas" star, "I couldn't stand to feel so needy, even though it seemed to make him so happy to take care of me. … I wish I had seen that experience for what it was: an opportunity for me to identify, and then talk about, how undeserving and unworthy I felt, how terrified it made me feel to be dependent. How uncomfortable it makes me feel when I'm not working for affection but instead just basking in love." According to Us Weekly, she also writes that "by continually putting him first," she didn't give John "the respect of actually hearing about how I was doing." Says Nikki, "I didn't give him, or our relationship, the benefit of the doubt that maybe it could handle more." The wrestler-actor, she writes, "had no idea I wasn't getting what I needed because I never said anything." She thought she had to fit "into the contours of [his] very busy and big life" but was left feeling "pathologically lonely," she explains, adding that "pleasing and keeping him content" was "paramount" to her. "Because I assumed he wasn't willing to make sacrifices, I did not persistently ask. Because I was so fixated on what I believed he wanted, I made many decisions on his behalf, even though I was losing myself in the process," she writes. She then admits that she has "many regrets about that relationship." Writes Nikki, "I wish I'd known myself better before I got into it. I wish I'd understood how the patterns in my life, and my relationship with my own father, informed how I react to love, boundaries, and feelings of abandonment. … I think I could have averted some of what happened. Because my dad left when I was 15, I learned how to fill in the holes. I expect to be left behind and to find a way to not confront or acknowledge those feelings of loneliness and abandonment." Continues the former wrestling star, "I am attached to a very disturbing core belief that I am only lovable when I put other people first. That I only deserve their affection because I am useful and handy. … I learned from my ex that this is a profound fallacy. He could see the real me and love me just the same. It felt too good to be true; I felt undeserving." She finally "woke up" when she competed on season 25 of "Dancing With the Stars" in late 2017 and lived alone in an apartment provided by ABC. "I liked how it felt to be that independent girl. I had been sitting in a jail cell without realizing that the door wasn't locked and that I had built it myself," she writes. "[The show unlocked] the idea that I can stand on my own. I think it's partly growing up as a twin, and then becoming a star based on that twindom, but being involved with a mega-star also undermined some of my faith in myself." The following spring, she and John broke up for the first time.
