ICYMI: Celeb news for November 2017

By Mark Gray 12:26pm PST, Nov 29, 2017

It happened! On Nov. 27, Kensington Palace announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged. As many media outlets suspected, the couple got engaged earlier this month in London. Harry asked Meghan's parents for permission, the announcement said. "The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace," it added. A wedding will take place in Spring 2018. "The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness," a statement said. Prince William and Duchess Kate said, "We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together." During a photocall on Nov. 27, Harry was asked when he knew Meghan was the one. He smiled and said, "The very first time we met."

RELATED: Celebrity weddings of 2017

Nasty split

Jennifer Hudson and her longtime boyfriend, former professional wrestler David Otunga, split after nearly 10 years together, and it's not pretty. In mid-November, Jennifer, who shares 8-year-old son David Jr. with her now-ex, was granted a protective order, which her rep said was "in the best interest of their son." In her petition, she said David had exhibited "aggressive, threatening and harassing behavior toward me" and added that she's been "living in fear." He alleged that her fears are all made up and she only sought the order to try to gain a custody advantage. David's lawyer refuted all of the Oscar winner's claims. "Mr. Otunga has never abused or harassed Ms. Hudson or their son, and it is unfortunate, especially in today's climate, that she would feel the need to make these false allegations against him," the statement said. "Mr. Otunga looks forward to his day in court and in being awarded the residential care of the parties' only child."

New album

Yes, her fans were "Ready for it." On Nov. 10, Taylor Swift finally released her much anticipated "Reputation" album, and you what that means: We get to dissect the lyrics. Fans (and media) were very quick do just that, hoping to get some insight into her under-the-radar relationship with Joe Alwyn. The album, many media outlets said, was basically a love note to Joe. Most suspect that her song "Gorgeous" is about Joe. Most think "Call It What You Want" is inspired by him too. "Delicate" appears to have been inspired by the start of a relationship. "Is it cool that I said all that / Is it too soon to do this yet / 'Cause I know that it's delicate," she sings. The song "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" seems to hint at a rough spot in the romance. The relationship, it seems, is fiery (in a good way). In "Dress" she sings, "Gettin' caught up in a moment / Lipstick all in your face / You know I'm not a bad girl / but I do bad things with you." Swifties clearly got an early Christmas present with the release of this album.

Fired

The sexual misconduct scandal that has swept through the country took down one of TV's most familiar faces. NBC's Matt Lauer, who ruled the airwaves for over 20 years, was fired after an allegation of sexual misconduct. Andrew Lack, the NBC News president, said in a memo to staff that read, "On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer." The allegation, the letter said, "represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment… While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident." As NBC took action, multiple media outlets were apparently investigating claims made against the fallen TV icon. Several respected media outlets said the woman alleged that the inappropriate behavior occurred while Matt was in Russia covering the Winter Olympics in 2014, but they continued to be involved with one another in some capacity afterward, as well. Savannah Guthrie made the announcement on Nov. 29 at the top of the "Today" show. "We are devastated," she said.

Married

Kate Upton watched her man, major league pitcher Justin Verlander, win the World Series on Nov. 1. Then on Nov. 4, Kate and Justin got married. How's that for one week?! A few days after their Italian nuptials, the model and her baseball champ husband both posted an image to their Instagram pages which showed them after exchanging "I do's." "I feel so lucky that I got to marry my best friend!!" Kate wrote. "Thank you to our family and friends for making this weekend so fun and magical!" Justin, who missed the Houston Astros championship parade for the wedding, wrote, "Happy wife happy life! What an amazing beginning to our journey together!" Best. Week. Ever.

Baby boy!

Congrats are in order for Kevin Hart. The comedian and his wife, Eniko Parrish, welcomed their first child together on Nov. 21. The actor, who has two older kids from his first marriage, announced the news on Twitter. "God is truly amazing….Kenzo Kash Hart was born at 1:45am ….He is Healthy & already smiling," Kevin tweeted. "Thank you all for your prayers!!!! We love & appreciate ya #Harts." A few days later, Kevin and Eniko took to Instagram to share the first photos of their little boy.

Baby bliss

Rumors had been circling for weeks that Chrissy Teigen was pregnant after many thought they saw her sporting a small baby bump. The speculation was true. On Nov. 21, she announced that she and her husband, John Legend, are expecting a second baby, and the announcement was nothing short of adorable. The couple used their 19-month-old daughter, Luna, and Chrissy's social media to tell the world. In a video posted to Instagram, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue model refers to her stomach, saying, "Luna, what's in here?" The little one responds, "Baby." Chrissy humorously captioned the video "It's John's!"

With the angels

Della Reese, the singer and longtime star of "Touched By An Angel," passed away on Nov. 19. She was 86 years old. Her death was announced by Roma Downey, her dear friend and co-star on the long-running TV series. "On behalf of her husband, Franklin Lett, and all her friends and family, I share with you the news that our beloved Della Reese has passed away peacefully at her California home last evening surrounded by love," Roma said. "She was an incredible Wife, Mother, Grandmother, friend, and Pastor, as well as an award-winning actress and singer. Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people. She was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on Touched By An Angel. I know heaven has a brand new angel this day. Della Reese will be forever in our hearts. Rest In Peace, sweet angel. We love you."

Engaged

Gwyneth Paltrow is coupling again. The actress is engaged to her producer boyfriend, Brad Falchuk, after more than three years together, according to multiple reports. In fact, "Entertainment Tonight" reported on Nov. 21 that the couple has actually been quietly engaged for a year. "They both knew it would happen, but it wasn't a big thing to them because they were both in long marriages before," a source told Us Weekly of the engagement. "There wasn't a rush." The couple has yet to confirm the news themselves.

Trouble with the law

Rose McGowan was arrested on Nov. 14 after turning herself into Virginia authorities to face drug charges. After she was placed in handcuffs and went through processing, Rose was released on a $5,000 bond. Late last month, police issued a warrant for Rose for felony possession of a controlled substance, stemming from an incident that occurred in January. Authorities claim that she unintentionally left her wallet behind at Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan. 20 after a flight. After nearly two weeks of it going unclaimed, authorities got a search warrant for the property. The items tested positive for cocaine.

Sexual misconduct admission

Sexual misconduct continued to dominate the news cycle, and comedian Louis C.K. felt the wrath of his past transgressions in November. Five different women spoke with The New York Times on Nov. 9 (four of them on the record) and went into great detail about how the comedy star masturbated in front of them. One day later, Louis admitted that everything the women said was true. "The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly," he said in a lengthy statement. He added, "The hardest regret to live with is what you've done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them." Quickly, companies began to distance themselves from Louis — HBO took him out of an upcoming special; Netflix parted ways with him; an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was canceled; the premiere of his film "I Love You, Daddy," was canceled and distribution of the movie was scrapped.

Full of surprises

Jordin Sparks is just full of secrets. On Nov. 14, the singer revealed that not only is she married, but she's also pregnant. The 27 year old told People that she and 25-year-old model Dana Isaiah secretly got married in July while vacationing in Hawaii. A month later, they found out they were expecting. "We're really proud to be married to each other and to be celebrating this," she told People. "This is the best part so far because I have [Isaiah] and I have this little one and I have a new family. I'm still doing music, I'm still doing what I love. I'm the most content I've ever been in my life." Days later, Jordin revealed she's expecting a boy.

Pregnant!

Miranda Kerr and her husband, Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel, are expecting a baby. It will be the first child for the couple, but her second (she shares 6-year-old son Flynn with ex-husband Orlando Bloom). The model's rep confirmed the news on Nov. 15. "Miranda, Evan and Flynn are looking forward to welcoming the newest member of their family," the spokeswoman said. The couple married in May 2017. Congrats!

Mr. Sexy

Hey, hey, sexy! Blake Shelton is the embodiment of sexy, according to People magazine. The mag named the country superstar its "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2017 — the unofficial title has gone to some of Hollywood's biggest names over the years. "Y'all must be running out of people," he told the mag upon hearing the news. "Like, wow, we're down to somebody who is somewhat symmetrical." It was rumored for days that Blake was going to be feted with the honor. Blake said he was really looking forward to rubbing the honor in his buddy Adam Levine's face. "I can't wait to shove this up Adam's a–," he said. "As proud as I am and honored that you guys asked me, that's really the only thing I care about." (Adam was named "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2013.) Some were unhappy and took to Twitter to voice their displeasure. Blake, though, seemed to relish the title and started tweeting the hashtag #donthatemebecauseimbeautiful. After the formal announcement, a humorous Twitter chat commenced between Blake and fellow "SMA" winners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds. They all agreed that the real sexist man alive was… Sir Patrick Stewart. Patrick seemed to agree.

Arrested

Former "Glee' star Naya Rivera was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery after a physical confrontation with her husband. Ryan Dorsey said the actress struck him on the lip and head while the two were walking in West Virginia with their year-old son. Ryan, who suffered minor injuries, recorded the incident on his cell phone and showed police. The actress was released on a $1,000 bond. The incident is just the latest in a drama-filled romance. Last year, Naya and Ryan announced their divorce. In October, they called off their divorce.

Sex assault claim and denial

A 31-year-old police report that claimed Sylvester Stallone sexually assaulted a teen in 1986 was published on Nov. 16. He vehemently denied the allegations. The Daily Mail published the report that was made by a 16-year-old girl who claimed Sly and his bodyguard made her perform sex acts on them in a hotel room in Las Vegas. She said Sly and the bodyguard threatened her not to tell anyone. A spokesperson for Sly said, "This is a ridiculous, categorically false story. No one was ever aware of this story until it was published today, including Mr. Stallone. At no time was Mr. Stallone ever contacted by authorities or anyone else regarding this matter." His wife at the time, Brigitte Nielsen, even came out and publicly defended her ex, claiming it's a lie. She said she was with him at the time the alleged assault occurred.

Bizarre month

It's been a month of ups and downs for Tyrese Gibson. On Nov. 5, the "Fast and Furious" franchise star claimed on Instagram that Will Smith gave him $5 million to keep his family "afloat" and to help pay his ongoing legal fees amid Tyrese's custody battle with his ex-wife. Will did no such thing. On Nov. 10, Tyrese then took to his Instagram to apologize for what he described as a "complete meltdown online" over the past two months, blaming it on prescription drugs. Through most of the month, he battled his ex-wife as she fought to obtain a permanent restraining order against him. The order would have kept him away from her and their 10-year-old daughter, Shayla. On Nov. 17, a judge ruled against his ex, allowing Tyrese to have access to his daughter. Beginning in January, they will get 50/50 custody. That was his good news of the month. On Nov. 20, cops rushed to his home after he posted a video showing a man tied up in his underwear, looking distressed. Turns out it was joke and the man was in on it.

RIP

Former teen heartthrob and "The Partridge Family" star David Cassidy passed away at the age of 67 on Nov. 21. His family released a heartfelt statement following his death from liver failure, saying: "On behalf of the entire Cassidy family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, our uncle, and our dear brother, David Cassidy. David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years."