Hello and welcome to Gossip Time, a weekly guide to the stars by Allie Jones. This week: a 60-year-old actor gets serious about his girlfriend, a 54-year-old pop star gets serious about her art, and Hilary Duff compares her husband to a Calico Critter.
Happy Valentine’s Day: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been getting divorced for EIGHT YEARS. They were declared legally single by the courts in 2019, but they are still fighting about what happens to Chateau Miraval and over custody of their seven children. Well, really just the twins, Knox and Vivienne — Shiloh turns 18 in May, and the rest are already grown up and out of the house. Pitt has not been seen with any of them since the (really quite horrendous) private plane incident that sparked the couple’s separation in 2016. No matter: Pitt has a new girlfriend, a new face, and a new outlook on life. Is he finally ready to move on?
The girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, seems to hope so. The “jewelry executive,” who used to be married to the Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley, showed up to a public event with Pitt this week and leaked to the tabloids that she’s living with him. Go girl.
Pitt, 60, and de Ramon, 31 or 35, who can say, sat hand-in-hand at an event honoring Bradley Cooper at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. (Gigi Hadid was not there, but she reunited with Cooper for V-Day.) Then comes this story in People:
According to a “de Ramon source,” the move is “pretty recent," and de Ramon “hasn’t given up her own place completely.” But: “They are going very strong and she is happier than ever.”
Aww. Here’s where things get more interesting: After People ran the story about Pitt and de Ramon shacking up, Us Weekly launched an exclusive claiming Pitt and Jolie’s divorce is actually wrapping up.
“They’re navigating the last of the red tape, which is a huge relief and morale boost,” a source close to Pitt told the tabloid. How does Pitt feel about that? “It saddens him that he’s not on better terms with some of his kids, and he regrets that things got so acrimonious with Angelina, but the days of looking back in anger are behind him,” the source revealed.
Ah you know, win some, lose some. Perhaps de Ramon is pushing him to give up the ghost so he can move forward with their relationship? How romantic.
Speaking of romance, Jennifer Lopez has spent $20 million of her own money to tell the story of her relationship with Ben Affleck in three mediums: an album, “musical film,” and a documentary. The album and musical film dropped last night; the documentary is coming out at the end of the month. In the meantime, Lopez is on the cover of Variety admitting that no one in her life, not even Affleck, wanted her to do all this, but she persevered.
“I think when you put out any project, you get to a point in your life where you’re not doing it for every single person in the world to have the most beautiful opinion of it,” she said. “But I do think this is a beautiful project. The message is strong and the message is true. I think it’s a true piece of art, and I’m very proud of it.” (I recommend reading the whole piece, written by certified pro Stephen Rodrick — you may recall him as the author of this astounding profile of Lindsay Lohan in 2013.)
I watched the first 10 minutes of the musical film last night, and you guys, it is breathtaking. J-Lo is dancing around in a CGI-steampunk-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-looking representation of her own broken heart; Fat Joe is acting as her therapist; Affleck himself is wearing a blonde wig and prosthetics to play a Fox News-style TV anchor that Lopez watches from her futuristic all-glass bathroom…again, this was just the first 10 minutes. I had to pause to collect myself. I will be watching the film in full this weekend, and I encourage you all to do the same so we can discuss it in detail next week.
In the midst of all this Bennifer promo, The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday that Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner is in negotiations to star in his next film. Huh! It’s a political crime thriller called Animals; Affleck is directing; Garner would star opposite Matt Damon. Affleck has never directed Garner before, but they did star in three movies together before they got married. I will be watching this with interest.
STUFF BY HILARY DUFF: As I mentioned up top, Hilary Duff compared her husband to a Calico Critter.
Finally, I’ll leave you with the best thing I read all week: Emily Gould’s essay about her almost-divorce for The Cut.
Everyone’s talking about it; half of them are missing the point; personally, I think it’s genius. A Valentine’s Day treat!
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I love the open question of if "'It saddens him that he’s not on better terms with some of his kids" means he is on good terms with some of his other kids or if he only cares about being on good terms with some of his kids.
One of my fave music videos of all time is Big Pun’s “Still Not a Player” strictly for Fat Joe’s appearance - the man is acting his ass off and I never forget it. I will be watching Jlo’s performance art concept for FJ and FJ ONLY