A Matt Damon mystery
It's Gossip Time!
Hello and welcome to Gossip Time, a weekly guide to the stars by Allie Jones. This week: a movie star misplaces his wedding ring, another movie star reveals his new girlfriend, and Mary-Kate Olsen gets divorced on Zoom.
Have you thought about Matt Damon lately? Not to be rude, but: probably not. Unlike his best friend and paparazzi magnet Ben Affleck, Damon has made a concerted effort to stay out of the tabloids, and for the last twenty years, he’s been pretty successful. The last time he dated another celebrity, it was 1999 (Winona Ryder). A few years after that breakup, during the height of the “Bennifer” pandemonium, Damon said in an interview that after witnessing Affleck’s relationship with J-Lo, he planned to avoid high-profile relationships himself. “These days I definitely only date, as we say, ‘civilians,’” he said.
At the time, he was dating one such person: Luciana Barroso, a bartender he met while filming Stuck On You in Miami. (No word on whether or not she appreciates the “civilian” classification.) The two got married at a courthouse in 2005, had a baby the next year, and then had two more. In 2013, they renewed their vows in a “star-studded” ceremony on the island of St. Lucia. (Guests included Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, Jimmy Kimmel, Affleck and Jennifer Garner when they were still together, and Chelsea Clinton.)
Why am I telling you all this? Well, one of the best gossip bloggers out there, Lainey Lui of Lainey Gossip, has been tracking a mystery involving Damon for the past few weeks, and I want to talk about it. The mystery is: Damon stopped wearing his wedding ring.
The ring in question is big and platinum, pretty hard to miss. He was photographed wearing it this summer at the airport and at the beach. But then sometime in the fall, it seems like he misplaced it. As Lui notes, he wasn’t wearing it in a charity video he did with Affleck in October. And he also wasn’t wearing it on three separate visits to Affleck’s Pacific Palisades mansion in December and January, all of which were captured by paparazzi.
Where did it go?
As of now, there’s no evidence to suggest Damon’s marriage is in turmoil. He hasn’t been photographed with Barroso in awhile, but that’s not out of the ordinary for them. The last time we heard about the couple in the tabloids was late summer, when they were happily double-dating with Affleck and Ana de Armas.
Maybe Damon lost his ring at the beach? Or he’s getting it resized? Or adding some diamonds to it? I’m sure this could be explained in many different ways, and I welcome all your theories. It is odd though, for someone so averse to tabloid gossip to let themselves get photographed multiple times without this traditional marker of fidelity.
Again, these photos could just be a fluke. Damon could find his wedding ring tomorrow. But if there is something going on, just imagine: Damon, single for the first time in 15 years, while Affleck is finally in a committed relationship. I guess we’ll see what happens.
One couple that is definitely done? Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy. The 34-year-old icon and 51-year-old brother of the former French president split at the beginning of the pandemic, and now their divorce is all-but-finalized. The intrepid reporters at Us Weekly got this screenshot from a Zoom hearing on the matter this week:
Incredible. According to Us Weekly, Olsen “struggled to get her video working” at the beginning of the call. Luckily, she won’t have to do another one anytime soon, because the tabloid reports that Olsen and Sarkozy have reached a final separation agreement and just need the judge to sign off. (It was previously reported that Olsen had an “ironclad prenup” to protect her fortune and business interests.)
If you want to live in the apartment the ex-couple shared in Gramercy Park, which has a closet designed by Olsen herself, it’s currently on the market for $6 million (down from 7!).
In happier relationship news, Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey are officially dating. They confirmed the relationship on Sunday in a coordinated Instagram reveal, which means it’s serious.
Jordan, 33, and Harvey, who just turned 24, were first spotted together over the Thanksgiving holiday in Atlanta. They were also photographed getting off a plane in Salt Lake City around New Year’s. According to People, the couple waited to share their love because they “wanted to get to know each other in private.”
People’s source added that the pair "spent all the major holidays together in November and December. Lori seems very happy."
I would bet Jordan is, too; this is the first time he’s ever gone public with a girlfriend. Harvey, meanwhile, has been more open about her dating life. This time last year, she was spending her birthday with Future in Jamaica. That relationship fizzled out sometime last summer, and now Harvey has a new BF for a new year. According to her Instagram, Jordan sent her dozens upon dozens of white roses for the big day. He also revealed his nickname for her in the comments of one of her posts:
One remaining question: What does Steve Harvey make of all this? My guess is Jordan’s already been welcomed into the family, since he felt comfortable enough to make this joke on Jimmy Kimmel in November.
STUFF BY HILARY DUFF: Hilary Duff has a new hobby. Did you guess crochet?
It’s crochet.
Finally, I’ll leave you with the great news that Martha Stewart, 79, got the vaccine.
Here’s hoping the government figures out how to speed it up for the rest of us!
Thanks so much for opening this email. If you have a friend who likes celebrity gossip, feel free to forward it to them. And of course, you can reach me anytime in the comments or by replying directly.