Dalton Gomez got dumped by his wife Ariana Grande and then, just days later, he had to watch as she rolled out her relationship with Ethan Slater. Ethan and Ariana’s affair broke up two marriages, with Ethan’s estranged wife Lilly Jay going public with exactly what she thinks of Ariana. Dalton has not done the same, and I even halfway believe that Ariana dumped him weeks before anything was announced in July. Dalton is apparently doing the sad-sack thing, moping around for the paparazzi and leaking these kinds of stories to Us Weekly:

Dalton Gomez is navigating a new chapter in his life after his split from estranged wife Ariana Grande.

“It’s been a little while since Ariana and Dalton split, but he’s been adjusting to his new normal and learning to accept it for what it is,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “It’s certainly not how he expected things to play out because he obviously assumed they would be together forever.”

The insider notes that for Gomez, 28, the experience of being married to a pop star was new. The realtor was used to “living a private life” prior to the twosome sparking a romance in 2020 and finds that having his personal life play out in the spotlight can be a challenge. He never imagined he would be going through a divorce in the public eye,” the source explains. “But he’s hanging in there and is grateful for his friends and family who have been really supportive.”

[From Us Magazine]

This actually sounds mature and reasonable. No wonder he didn’t fit in with Ariana’s melodramatic world. I mean, Dalton could be doing the same thing Lilly Jay is doing – he could bash Ethan and give quotes about how Ariana broke his heart and cheated on him. Instead, he’s just sort of moving on with his life. I hope Ariana gives him a nice divorce settlement and they just forget about each other completely. Meanwhile, we haven’t heard much of anything about Ethan and Ariana for weeks now. I wonder if they’re even still together, don’t you?

Note by CB: Get the Top 8 stories about Ariana’s Grande’s messy affair when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Ariana Grande’s estranged husband, Dalton Gomez, ditches wedding ring after split https://t.co/NJorXpwD2e pic.twitter.com/hDYzOKxSRQ

— Page Six (@PageSix) August 29, 2023

Photos courtesy of Instagram.

Eminem sent a cease-and-desist to Vivek Ramaswarmy after Ramaswarmy rapped “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair. Marshall is so anti-Republican. [Jezebel]
Irina Shayk is on vacation (with Bradley Cooper). [Egotastic]
Henry Cavill will star in a Highlander reboot? [JustJared]
Margot Robbie was almost in American Horror Story: Asylum. [OMG Blog]
Bad Bunny did a photo dump & maybe Kris Jenner is behind it. [LaineyGossip]
I actually love this Oscar de la Renta coat but not the trousers. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Pajiba did some royal coverage of the Prince Andrew situation. [Pajiba]
These vacation/travel fails are infuriating. [Buzzfeed]
Kendall Jenner wore Shang Xia last week. [RCFA]
What’s your “holy grail tote bag”? Mine is from Coach. [GFY]
Adele was so real for this. [Socialite Life]

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It honestly took me a good ten minutes to figure out what the hell was happening here. At first, I thought Hailey Bieber was being paid to shill Krispy Kreme donuts and I was like “I would do that for free.” Then I thought Hailey was launching her new Rhode products AT Krispy Kreme, and I was like “you can rent out a Krispy Kreme for product launches??? OMG!” But now I get it – Hailey has done a “collaboration” with Krispy Kreme and her Rhode label. Basically, Hailey is offering Rhode peptide lip treatments in Krispy Kreme flavors, and Krispy Kreme is bringing back Strawberry Glazed Donuts in association with their Rhode collab. Truly, we all win here.

So, these photos are of Hailey and Justin Bieber going into a Krispy Kreme in New York and just… talking with staff and posing for photos. Hailey was all dolled up in a great red (“strawberry”) minidress, while Justin wore Crocs, shorts, a hoodie and a baseball cap. He really made a point of not dressing up for her event, although he did promote her sh-t on his Instagram. Are you getting some kind of vibe from them? The vibe I get from her is that she’s increasingly embarrassed to be seen with her perpetually underdressed husband. After the trip to Krispy Kreme, they went to lunch at Bar Pitti. She booked it out of the restaurant too, like they had a fight.

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Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.

The Venice International Film Festival begins this week, although it’s happening in a somewhat different form. There will still be premieres and events, but the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes rage on, which means that most SAG-card-carrying union members are not going to show up to promote jacksh-t. Still, many non-American actors will show up and promote their work, although I do wonder how many. A few films have already canceled their premieres and promotions because no one will show up.

So, against that backdrop, I was surprised to see George and Amal Clooney arrive in Venice. It’s been almost nine years exactly since their Venetian wedding, and they usually spend their summers at George’s Lake Como estate, so it’s not weird to see them out and about in Italy in general. But they are in Venice for the film festival, just not to promote a film. According to People, Amal is being honored at Diane von Furstenberg’s 14th Annual DVF Awards on Thursday. DVF is hosting the awards AT the film festival for the first time. So, that’s why they’re there. Amal will receive the DVF leadership award “for her global work for victims of human rights abuse.”

Will they also attend premieres at the festival? Would that be considered scabbing for George? It depends on whether SAG-AFTRA issued any waivers specific to the festival or certain films, I think. Hm.

Amal’s ensemble is cute – I appreciate that she wears low heels and she’s not towering over her husband. She loves a short skirt, always has. Amal and I have similar taste in sunglasses too – the bigger, the better. George looks really nice as well. Well-rested. Ah, to spend the summer in Como every year.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

One of the Windsors’ biggest mistakes of the past thirty years was the decision to shrug off Prince Harry and Meghan’s offer to be “half-in” the institution. The Sussexes came up with an elegant solution to everyone’s problems: Harry and Meghan would still have royal protection, they would still represent the crown, they would still work for the crown, but they would be able to live in Canada or America and build their lives away from the toxicity of Britain. We were told that QEII hated the idea. In retrospect, I think that William, Charles and the courtiers hated the idea. The Windsors bet big on the idea that Harry would come crawling back if only they dealt with him with all-stick and no carrot. All of those decisions made in January 2020 have blown up in the Windsors’ faces for years now. They know it too. Which is why they keep trying to relitigate it in their favor and justify their boneheaded decision. Speaking of:

Prince Harry won’t be accepted as a “part-time royal” by King Charles or Prince William, a royal expert has warned. Both the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle decided to sensationally quit royal duties in 2020 and have since moved to the United States to carve out a new life. It had been reported that Harry and Meghan previously wanted a “half in, half out” role with the royals, but this was vetoed by the late Queen.

And according to royal author Tom Quinn, the new monarch Charles and heir to the throne and Harry’s older brother Prince William will also not tolerate a “part-time” role for the Sussexes.

He told the Express: “The whole emphasis between King Charles and Prince William is that you cannot go against the late Queen’s firm belief that you can’t be a part-time royal. You can’t hobnob with celebrities in America for six months and then come back here and pick and choose which events you want to be part of. I don’t think Charles and William will agree to that simply because Elizabeth hated the idea.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

Gotta love the rewrite on this narrative, because it wasn’t so long ago that the grey-beard courtiers were telling Charles that he could and should change “the Queen’s ruling” on the half-in situation. Of course, that’s partly the Windsors’ obsession with control – they want to believe that if THEY decide to change course, Harry will come to heel and accept their ruling. While QEII and the courtiers had their own punitive, unhinged reasons for rejecting the half-in solution, it turned out to be the best thing for Harry and Meghan. Harry broke free of his abusive family, he’s rich, happy, thriving and living the life he always wanted. If the half-in solution had been accepted, God knows what kind of control the Windsors would still be trying to exert over Harry and Meghan’s lives.

Anyway, there’s another reason why the media and the Windsors continue to relitigate the Sussexit – it’s because there’s a huge division in “what the family wants” versus “what the media wants.” Charles, Camilla, Kate and William are so petty and insecure, they are genuinely happy that they don’t have to compete with the Sussexes on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the media is starving for anything related to the Sussexes and they’d do anything to bring them back (anything other than “be nice to them and treat them fairly”).

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

I adore Martha Stewart as much as the next person, but even I have to admit that Martha comes across like a cartoon villain a lot of the time. Martha truly wants her friends to die so she can date their husbands. She also wants people to go back to the office and never work from home, even though she has literally worked from home during her entire career. Well, there more cartoon villainy from Martha: she’s taking a cruise around Greenland and Iceland, and the cruise people let her grab some ice from the melting icebergs. She put the ice in her cocktail.

Martha Stewart’s followers got a little heated about how she chilled her drink. While on a Swan Hellenic cruise traveling from Iceland to Greenland, Stewart revealed that “we actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight,” she wrote on Instagram.

In a collection of several photos, Stewart shared images of an expedition guests took to check out glaciers. Some shots show the icebergs in their natural state and others show chunks of ice on a bar cart, ready to be made into cocktails. Stewart also posed for a picture enjoying her beverage.

“End of the first zodiac cruise from @swanhelleniccruises into a very beautiful fjord on the east coast of greenland,” Stewart wrote in the caption. “We actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight.”

Soon after posting, fans were quick to comment on the unusual ingredient. One follower said “drinking their iceberg cocktails while the planet is in flames is a bit tone deaf.” Another said, “Martha the ice caps are melting don’t put them in your drink.”

A representative for Swan Hellenic did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. The company notes on their website that they adhere to “sustainability policies” required by local authorities where they travel.

[From People]

It’s not illegal (as far as I know) to grab some ice from a melting iceberg and put it in your drink. But it is a cartoonish example of the out-of-touch elite. The world is truly on fire, July was the hottest year (globally) since they started recording temperatures, 2023 is on track to be the hottest year of all time, and Martha is cruising along amid the wreckage of our planet and getting drunk on iceberg cocktails. There’s a Titanic joke in this situation.

PS… Is she drinking a White Russian?

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A post shared by Martha Stewart (@marthastewart48)

Photos courtesy of Martha’s Instagram.

Something I think about a lot is how Kensington Palace had a staff of (easily) 40 to 50 people in 2017-18, and they ALL threw tantrums for years about the Duchess of Sussex’s preparedness and work ethic. KP is clearly staffed by clowns, morons and lazy, well-connected aristo-adjacents. Is it the same in other palace offices? We know King Charles was grossly over-staffed as Prince of Wales, and Prince William certainly inherited some of his father’s staff. We also know that QEII was a terrible manager and she really never bothered to improve the royal-office situation whatsoever. All of which means that one year into King Charles’s reign, he’s still dealing with his mother’s old staff, his old staff, the KP clownery and too few “royals” for it to make any sense. King Charles has new plans to cut royal household staff by 20%.

The King is planning to axe an estimated one in five of his middle-management staff to boost the Royal Household’s efficiency, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Charles and Camilla are said to be dismayed by what they believe are too many staff doing similar jobs. Nearly a year into his reign, the King is also weary of senior courtiers telling him: ‘But that’s how the Queen did it.’

The cuts will hit Buckingham Palace, Sandringham, Windsor Castle and Balmoral – which employ hundreds between them – and form part of the King’s long-held ambition to streamline and modernise the Monarchy. Dozens of workers could be affected. For years, a leaner Monarchy with fewer working Royals – potentially seven rather than 11 – has been a priority. But the King realises this involves staff reductions. He is said to be acutely conscious of the financial burden a vast household places on the taxpayer.

‘There is a real feeling that the staffing at all the palaces is too heavy,’ said one insider. ‘There are far too many assistants to assistants. The King and Queen would prefer to pay people proper wages top to bottom but have less people. For instance, there are chefs for them and chefs for the staff. Why, they ask, can’t there be one lot of kitchen staff for everyone?’

Camilla has made it clear that ‘a levelling-up of Royal staff’ is needed. She will have a key role in overseeing any changes. ‘Her Majesty cannot abide too many people doing the same jobs. Senior housekeeper, executive housekeepers and juniors,’ said a source. She has raised the matter with the Master of the Household, Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt.

Although Balmoral was his mother’s favourite residence, it does not find the same favour with Camilla. The Mail on Sunday has been told that she has made a conscious decision to stay at nearby Birkhall, the home she has shared with Charles for years in Scotland, because she cannot abide Balmoral’s ‘flummery’. A source said: ‘She is dipping in and dipping out while the King is staying at Balmoral. She is staying at Birkhall where she has a limited number of loyal staff – her people.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I… honestly don’t have a problem with this? Charles is actually right? How many royal household middle-managers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? How many royal-only chefs work in these palaces and castles full-time, when Charles and Camilla only spend a few weeks a year in some of them? Speaking of, that’s interesting about Camilla not wanting to spend time in Balmoral. It’s the same with Charles too – they’re in their 70s, they’re set in their ways, and they already had all of their homes set to their preferences. That’s why Camilla and Charles prefer Clarence House, Birkhall, Highgrove and Ray Mill. Anyway, while I think a culling of the royal household is a good idea, C&C are going to piss off a lot of those staffers and maybe those people will start spilling some real tea.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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A post shared by Jennifer Love Hewitt (@jenniferlovehewitt)

Jennifer Love Hewitt has been relatively quiet for years now. She still works and she’s currently starring in 9-1-1. But I can’t remember the last time she was in the news – it’s been years since she was a tabloid queen, setting up pap strolls at Tiffany & Co and trying to be “America’s Sweetheart.” She’s been married to Brian Hallisay since 2013, and they have three children together. Which might explain JLH officially going for a “mom bob.”

The mom-bob took over from that wacky Kate Gosselin-esque choppy short haircut favored by moms. As you can see in JLH’s Instagram pics and video, she was had a longer hairstyle in a tawny/honey blonde, but now she’s got a brown-red mom-bob. The hair transformation was done by Nikki Lee at her salon. It really did transform JLH too – people don’t even recognize her in these photos. Which begs the question: what else has JLH done to transform herself? I actually don’t think it’s anything major – it looks like maybe she got some eye work at some point, plus lip fillers? She looks good though, and this hair style suits her so much more than the longer, lighter style. JLH’s hair should always be dark!

Baby this is Alyssa Milano, not MY Jennifer Love Hewitt https://t.co/lq0uKLyivJ

— Meech (@MediumSizeMeech) August 29, 2023

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A post shared by Nikki Lee | Hairstylist (@nikkilee901)

This was JLH back in 2019:

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and JLH’s Instagram.

Royal commentator Jennie Bond is in the running for the Telegraph’s most delusional royal expert. I’m fully expecting lots of commemoration-columns for QEII as we come up on the first death-anniversary, but I truly didn’t expect it to be framed as “Prince Harry’s one year of estrangement.” The man has been living in North America for nearly four years, but sure. Bond questions, “Harry is continuing to maintain a distance from his father and brother – but what are the effects of ripping up family roots?” Like… anyone who read Spare can tell you exactly why Harry left Britain and why he’s trying to break the cycle of generational trauma. Neglected and abused after his mother’s death, he found ways to heal himself and he’s on his journey to find peace and happiness with the love of his life and their two beautiful children. His story is one of resilience and courage to break those toxic familial bonds. But of course, Jennie Bond quoted an “expert” at length to basically argue that Harry should “come back” pronto. Some highlights:

A complete estrangement: Almost one year on from the funeral of his grandmother, the late Queen, his estrangement from his entire UK family seems complete. He will be in London next month for a charity awards ceremony on the eve of the anniversary of her death, but it is understood he has no plans to see his father, the King, or his brother Prince William. Instead he will head straight off to Düsseldorf for the opening of the Invictus Games for wounded servicemen and women, which he founded nine years ago.

Bitter Meghan? He has planted his own sapling 5,000 miles away in California. His children, Archie and Lilibet, are putting down American roots and will be the first branches of a new tree. But with their mother, Meghan, bitterly estranged from almost the whole of her own family (except for her mother and a niece) that tree looks decidedly sparse.

No thriving unless it’s in the UK, apparently: In an interview which kicked off the whole saga of Harry and Meghan’s unhappiness in the royal fold, the Duchess said, “It’s not enough to just survive. You’ve got to thrive.” But can you easily thrive in self-imposed exile from all you have known since birth? And how much harder must it be when you are part of one of the most exclusive and mysterious tribes on earth: a royal family, steeped in a thousand years of history?

An expert: An expert in the field of human development, Professor Karl Pillemer, from Cornell University in New York, believes the emotional impact must be enormous. “Whether you have originated the estrangement, or you’re on the receiving end of it, people often feel betrayed, rejected, hurt, angry and resentful,” Professor Pillemer says. “They feel the pain of broken attachment. We have strong biologically-based attachment responses – those don’t just go away..Family events are a flashpoint for estrangement. They are filled with expectations of a happy family together, and that is entirely violated with estrangement. And if you don’t attend, there is a profound sense of loss.”

King Charles evicted his grandchildren, but whatever: How sad that little Archie and Lilibet have no prospect at present of getting to know their tribe… on either side of the Atlantic. And what a dreadful loss for King Charles. Bizarrely, Harry and Meghan have chosen to give their children their “tribal identity” insisting they be known as Prince and Princess – and, of course, Lilibet is named after her great grandmother Queen Elizabeth. Professor Pillemer believes it is the children who may prompt a reconciliation. “Many estranged people begin to open up the relationship again, because they want their own children to have relationships with the rest of the family. And Harry and Megan’s children are going to be reaching an age where they’re going to begin asking, ‘Why don’t we see our relatives? I’m certain, they [Harry and Megan] must be considering the impact on their own children.”

They’re saying Harry is headed for a breakdown: Professor Pillemer believes that fragile mental health can be made worse by estrangement. “There will likely be an array of emotional effects for Prince Harry and his family that include the pain of rejection, a sense of betrayal, a profound sense of loss, and most likely, a greater likelihood towards depression and anxiety as a result of this kind of relationship trauma.”

[From The Telegraph]

It feels so childish to argue that, because Harry adored and loved his grandmother, he’s supposed to be cool with being neglected and abused by his father and brother. That’s the argument here – you say you love one member of the family, so isn’t it hypocritical to remain estranged from other members of the family? Like… what is wrong with these people? It’s so silly and pathetic to argue that every family has to stay rooted in one place, forever, and that every family member has to be in each other’s lives and no one is ever allowed to disagree or move or break a toxic family cycle. What f–king world do these people live in? (Also: they truly have no idea about Meghan’s family, they only know the toxic Markles – Meghan has Ragland relatives who have never sold her out.)

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Back in the day, Angelina Jolie loved being in London, and she did a lot of work there. She was made a Dame by QEII for her work with refugees and survivors of sexual violence. She ended up having meetings with (now) Queen Camilla, the Archbishop of Canterbury and she had tea with Prince William and Kate. This post isn’t about Angelina, but I was reminded of that “tea” back in 2015, because it was so random. It sounded like William and Kate cold-called Angelina and Brad Pitt and invited them to Kensington Palace for no other reason than to stargaze. It made me wonder how many other celebrities William and Kate have desperately tried to meet, only to be turned down. It looks like Dolly Parton is one of those celebrities.

Dolly Parton has revealed the hilarious reason why she turned down an invitation for tea with the Princess of Wales. The country singer, 77, explained she received the coveted invitation from Kate Middleton, 41, whilst she was in London for work.

Whilst sharing her love of the capital, the Jolene singer admitted she almost brushed shoulders with the residents of Buckingham Palace, but unfortunately ‘couldn’t go’.

Dolly said during an appearance on BBC Radio 2: ‘This time, Lordy, I even got invited to have tea with Kate but I couldn’t even go. I thought it was very sweet and nice of her to invite me and one of these days I’m going to get to do that – that would be great.’

Then, in true Dolly Parton style, she cracked a joke as to what made her decline Kate’s invite. She said: ‘But she wasn’t going to promote my rock album so I had to say no.’

She explained her regret at not having explored more of the city while on tour, but concluded she didn’t ever have enough time to play tourist.

[From The Daily Mail]

“The coveted invitation” – like, we have no idea how frequently or infrequently William and Kate entertain, but as a long-time royal watcher, it definitely feels like they don’t have many friends and they aren’t socializing or throwing parties, nor are they known for being particularly nice or generous hosts. They practically turn the lights off and hide out when the pre-BAFTA dinner is held at Kensington Palace. How many times did they mooch dinner off of Harry and Meghan? I do wonder if Kate and William have invited many celebrities to Kensington Palace and they get turned down a lot. Anyway, Dolly Parton is an American treasure and her work ethic is unparalleled. She would be shocked by the lazy duo.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.