By Mark Gray
2:00pm PDT, Jul 13, 2023
PDA
Kelsea Ballerini isn't going to hide her happiness. The country superstar has been dating "Outer Banks" actor Chase Stokes since January, and the two openly speak of their romance, and they're not scared of being photographed together. "The thing that we've decided, and to each their own, is when you're with someone that you feel secure with and that you're proud to be with, why not share it?" the "Heart First" singer said. "He's also a Virgo, we're very similar; we're both Labrador Retrievers in human form. It doesn't take much conversation to be on the same page, which is nice. It's been half a year and it's been great."
Dog drama
A judge has sided with Lady Gaga in a reward-related complaint, saying the person hoping to get a payday was trying to be the hero and the villain at the same time. In February 2021, Gaga's dog walker was shot and her two French bulldogs were kidnapped. The singer offered a $500,000 with no questions asked for the safe return of the pooches. Two days later, Jennifer McBride returned the dogs and said she found them tied to a pole in Los Angeles. Police initially thought the woman was a good samaritan, but they told Gaga to hold off on awarding the money. Then, police determined the woman had a romantic relationship with one of the suspects in the case (Jennifer was arrested and indicted for receiving stolen property.) Once Jennifer never got the money, she filed a lawsuit. A judge, though, says the contract is not enforceable due to Jennifer's "involvement in the theft." According to People magazine, the judge's order said the woman is "not entitled to thereafter benefit from their wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract."
Cult classic
"One Tree Hill" alum Bethany Joy Lenz revealed she was in a cult for a decade. "I was in a cult for 10 years," she said on iHeartRadio's "Drama Queens" podcast. "That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery — 10 years of recovery after that. So there's a lot to tell." Although she didn't specify what cult she was in or what her beliefs were during that span, she hopes to write about her experience in a book. However, she isn't sure if she can. "I think the ADHD has made it really difficult over the years to — I have lots of essays and lots of chapters and things. But to really commit to putting it all together, I would love to write about my experience," she said. Bethany said she's worried about "the pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real and all the people that are involved." She added, "Also, I don't know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that. But I do write. I write all the time."
Sober living
Tom Holland is now 18 months sober after an admitted "alcohol problem." In January 2021, the "Spider-Man" star decided to take a month off of boozing after he'd been "drinking a lot." "All I could think about was having a drink. I was waking up thinking about it. I was checking the clock, 'When's it 12?'" Tom recalled on the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast. "And it just really scared me. Wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing." After one month of living sober, he tried for another. "Two months go by and I was still really struggling. I felt I couldn't be social. I felt I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda. I couldn't go out to dinner. I was really, really struggling. And I started to really worry that maybe I had an alcohol problem," he said. Over time, things were better and Tom planned to have a drink a few months later. He didn't. Without alcohol, he said, "I could sleep better. I could handle problems better. Things that would go wrong on set that would set me off, I could take in my stride. I had such better mental clarity. I felt better. I felt fitter. And I just said to myself, 'Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed with having this drink?'" His sobriety journey is "the best thing I've ever done," he added.
Book it!
It's happening. Britney Spears' long-anticipated memoir is coming this fall. "The Woman In Me," is set to be released Oct 24. The black-and-white cover of the book, which is already taking pre-orders, features the pop star topless and covering her breasts. Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books, who published the book after a bidding war, described the memoir as "a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope." Jennifer Bergstrom, Gallery Books Senior Vice President and Publisher, told People magazine, "Britney's compelling testimony in open court shook the world, changed laws, and showed her inspiring strength and bravery. I have no doubt her memoir will have a similar impact — and will be the publishing event of the year. We couldn't be more proud to help her share her story at last."
Faith and family
Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann called off their divorce nasty divorce last week, but their reconciliation wasn't the product of marriage counseling, nor will it be. According to TMZ, the couple is relying on faith and good ole face-to-face conversations to get back on track. "Kim's always believed in a higher power, and Kroy's recently found God himself," TMZ reports. "Now, going to church as a family is becoming a regular thing for them and their kids." In fact, the family was photographed heading to church on July 2.
Filtered
Kylie Jenner used a social media filter to make herself look much, much older, and she knew within seconds she didn't like the result. Neither did her fans… although their reasoning differed from hers. "I don't like it," he said of her much older appearance, which showed her with wrinkles and bags under her eyes. "I don't like it at all. No, no, no." Fans were quick to let Kylie know she's different. "You can afford to fix it so you'll be ok," one person commented. Another said, "You have fixed it before, you can do it again!!!" A third added, "Babe you and I both know you will not be aging naturally."
