By Mark Gray
8:22am PST, Jan 26, 2018
It is officially over between Christina and Tarek El Moussa. The "Flip or Flop" stars have finalized their divorce, it was reported on Jan. 22. The on-screen duo separated in 2016. In January 2017, Tarek filed for divorce. A few months later in August 2017, Christina responded to Tarek's divorce petition. On Jan. 22, Christina posted an inspirational quote to Instagram. "I want to thank my family, friends, and supporters for all the love and kind words the past few years," she wrote. "Officially ready for the next chapter ✅ Life's too short to tolerate negativity … #choosehappiness." She's now dating British TV host Ant Anstead. Tarek — who's reportedly started dating lingerie model Patience Silva in recent weeks — also took to Instagram to share a photo of Dwayne Johnson. The picture said, "Distance yourself from the people who 1. Lie to you. 2. Disrespect you. 3. Use you. 4. Put you down." He captioned it, "I saw this on my feed and thought, 'Wow, what a true statement.'" As part of the divorce, the duo agreed to not make disparaging or derogatory remarks about the other person while around their two children.
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Kicked out?
Matt Lauer has been kicked out of the family home and his wife will be filing divorce documents soon, claims a new report published on Jan. 22. Page Six said the disgraced former newsman is staying at another house nearby so that he can continue spending time with his kids. The same day the report came out, both Matt and his wife, Annette Roque, were spotted at a horse farm in Sag Harbor, Long Island (although they were seen separately). Matt is reportedly trying to save his marriage, but Annette is "being very cold," a source told the paper. Matt was fired from "Today" in November amid a sexual misconduct scandal.
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Sued
Judge Judy is no stranger to legal proceedings, but it's a little different when she's the defendant! The TV judge is being sued by two women who claim they helped develop her show but haven't been reaping the financial rewards. They're looking for at least $4.75 million. TMZ reported on Jan. 22 that the estate of Sandi Spreckman and Kaye Switzer are suing the hugely popular judge and CBS. In the lawsuit, they said they helped bring the show to fruition in 1995. In fact, they imply that they basically discovered Judy and took her in to meet with the man who eventually produced the show. The women say they were dismissed early on.
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Best in the business
Seriously, when are we just going to rename the Academy Awards after Meryl Streep? The celebrated actress broke her own record this week by being nominated for an Oscar for the 21st time (in Vegas, that's called blackjack!). The "The Post" actress owns the record for most acting nominations by a wide margin. Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson are tied for second place with 12. Others, of course, were giddy after seeing the 2018 Oscar nominations come out this past week. Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" led with 13 nominations. "Dunkirk" garnered eight nods, and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" earned seven. "I, Tonya" star Allison Janney, up for best supporting actress, said, "I could not be more excited. It's a dream come true." Jordan Peele, nominated for best director, best original screenplay and best picture for "Get Out," tweeted, "You know when you're on the phone trying to disguise the sound of an ugly cry? I failed at that." There was some controversy. Amid the Time's Up movement, former NBA star Kobe Bryant was nominated for best animated short for "Dear Basketball." Kobe, if you'll recall, was charged with raping a woman in 2003. The case was eventually dropped when the victim refused to testify. While Kobe was nominated, James Franco was snubbed, despite winning the Golden Globe for his performance in "The Disaster Artist." Since the Globes, there have been five allegations of sexually inappropriate and exploitative behavior again James. "James is disappointed in not getting an Oscar nomination, but also very understanding and somewhat relieved," a source told E!. "He doesn't want it to look like the snub is correlated with the allegations against him." A source told People that James is "a mess" and "hasn't slept in days."
Engaged
And for his next stunt, "Jackass" star Steve-O will be getting married. For real! Steve-O popped the question to girlfriend Lux Wright on stage in Denver while filming a comedy special. He announced the news on social media on Jan. 22. "Last night, in front of a bunch of my Jackass buddies, my closest friends, my dad, and my sister… she said 'yes,'" he wrote on Instagram. "I planned that for more than six months, and I'm so happy — I can't wait for you all to see it." She also posted a photo of the duo kissing after they got engaged. "Last night was the absolute best! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you❤️ @steveo ❤️ #yes #duh," she captioned the photo.
Cheating scandal
In mid-January, The Chainsmokers star Alex Pall was caught on CCTV kissing a woman. The problem is, that woman was not his longtime girlfriend, Tori Woodward. Tori got her hands on the video, posted it to Instagram and, as expected, the couple split. "I'm moving on with my life," she said. On Jan. 23, Alex addressed the cheating scandal. In an impromptu interview with TMZ, Alex said he hoped his ex would find someone more deserving. "It's been a little rough," he said. "She deserves the best… She deserves a better guy than me." Alex said he's been "miserable" but that he's learning "to be a better person and take care of those who love you."
Medical announcement
Neil Diamond has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he announced on his website on Jan. 22. The singing legend is now retiring from touring due to the "onset of the disease," the announcement said. "It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring. I have been so honored to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years. My sincerest apologies to everyone who purchased tickets and were planning to come to the upcoming shows. I plan to remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come. My thanks goes out to my loyal and devoted audiences around the world. You will always have my appreciation for your support and encouragement. This ride has been 'so good, so good, so good' thanks to you."
Money, money, money
So, you think you got into the cryptocurrency game early on? Try telling that to 50 Cent. The rapper was in on the bitcoin game early on… and it paid off! Get this: In 2014, the rapper released his "Animal Ambition" album. He decided to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. At the time, one bitcoin was valued at $662. He allowed his fans to pay with a fraction of a whole bitcoin, and, after all was said and done, he hauled in about 700 bitcoin, TMZ reported. At the time, 700 bitcoin was valued at $400,000. Fiddy didn't touch the bitcoin for years, and some suspect he totally forgot about it. Now, though, he's looking like a financial genius. Bitcoin's value has skyrocketed — the value sits between $10K and $12K per coin. His 700 bitcoins from that album are now valued at between $7 million and $8.5 million. 50's next career: Financial planner?
Disney star arrested
Wow! Disney alum Adam Hicks, who starred as Luther on "Zeke and Luther," was arrested for allegedly committing four or five armed robberies in Los Angeles. According to a Jan. 25 report from TMZ, the actor and his girlfriend have been robbing elderly women at gunpoint for cash and their cell phones. This isn't Adam's first brush with the law either — he was also arrested two times in 2017 for firing a gun and for domestic violence. Both cases were dismissed for lack of evidence, but only time will tell how this most recent arrest shakes out.
Banding together for equal pay
Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain have been good friends since they worked together on the 2011 flick "The Help." And now that friendship is making waves in Hollywood. During a panel at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, it was revealed that Jessica stood up to film execs so that she and Octavia would get paid the same amount once it was revealed Jessica was making more than Octavia. "She [Jessica] was like, 'It's time women get paid the same as men!'" Octavia explained of their life-changing conversation, "We were dropping f-bombs and getting it all out there. And then I said, 'But here's the thing, women of color, on that spectrum, we make far less than white women…' She was quiet. She had no idea that that's what it was like for women of color. She said, 'Octavia, we're gonna get you paid on this film.'" Octavia then revealed that both women ended up receiving equal pay — and five times what they initially asked for. That's the power of women coming together!
