Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson quieted split speculation during a romantic getaway to Mumbai, India, on Friday, January 15.
The couple were all smiles while walking hand in hand in India, marking their first public outing together in 2025. Martin, 47, wore a grey long-sleeved shirt, black sweatpants and a baseball hat that read “Kiiid” and sneakers, according to photos published by People.
The Coldplay singer beamed as he held on tight to Johnson, 35, who also opted for a casual ensemble. Johnson donned a black maxi dress with a striped shirt tied around her waist and a similar baseball cap and sneakers.
The Madame Web actress waved for the camera in one snap as she drifted behind her longtime boyfriend. Martin led the way in a separate picture, holding Dakota’s right hand the entire time.
Johnson is in town to support Martin and his band, which are playing multiple sold-out shows in the country.
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour is in Mumbai through Tuesday, January 21, before going to Ahmedabad, India, for two more shows. The band goes to China and South Korea in April before kicking off the U.S. stint at the end of May.
Johnson, meanwhile, has become a fixture on Martin’s tours after Us Weekly confirmed in December 2017 that they were dating. (Martin finalized his divorce from Gwyneth Paltrow in July 2016.)
Us confirmed in March 2024 that the actress and singer got engaged “a while” ago but weren’t planning to make a “huge public announcement.”
MEGA
“They’re not in a huge rush to get married and don’t have a final wedding date set just yet,” an insider exclusively revealed at the time.
Three months later, Johnson was spotted at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival cheering on her fiancé. She was seen taking in the show alongside Martin’s children, Apple, 20, and Moses, 18, whom he shares with Paltrow, 52.
Despite being close with Martin’s kids, Johnson sparked split speculation later that summer. In August 2024, she was photographed without her engagement ring while out in Los Angeles.
However, Johnson’s rep denied that they were having issues, telling Us at the time, “The reports are not true. They are happily together.”
Later that month, a source exclusively told Us that Johnson and Martin had broken up earlier in 2024 “just before she went on her press tour for Madame Web.”
The insider noted that the “space apart did them good” and once Johnson was back from work “they got back together.”
Sandra Mason and Charles King.ABC ; Disney/Ricky Middlesworth
Sandra Mason and Charles King’s budding romance marks the first Golden Bachelor and Golden Bachelorettecrossover — and Us is here for it.
“I’m just gonna leave THIS right HERE for y’all … +,” Sandra, 76, wrote via Instagram on Friday, January 17, sharing a reel from her first date with Charles, 62.
The reality stars met while attending Joan Vassos’ “Men Tell All” episode, which aired in November 2024. Sandra knew Joan because they were both contestants on season 1 of The Golden Bachelor.
While Sandra and Charles didn’t find love on TV, they sparked a connection while at “Men Tell All,” and Charles later slid into Sandra’s DMs. It wasn’t until the new year that the pair went on a proper date while Sandra was in Los Angeles for the holidays. (Sandra is from Georgia.)
“Sandra and I spent some time together right around New Year’s Eve. We had a really, really great time together,” Charles told BachelorNation.com on Friday. “The vibe was amazing. Sandra is an incredible woman.”
Charles, who hails from California, praised Sandra for her “elegant charm and straightforwardness.” He gushed about her being “classy” and “fun” and “funny.”
Courtesy of Sandra Mason/Instagram
The twosome enjoyed a night out in Pasadena for their first date, dining at Houston’s, which was documented in Sandra’s Instagram post.
“I got home by around 3 a.m.! Aren’t seniors not supposed to be out past 10 p.m.?” Charles teased. “I told Sandra that the last time I got home that late was when I was in college. We had dinner and had a great conversation.”
Sandra completely agreed with Charles’ assessment of the evening. “We had a phenomenal conversation getting to know each other after dinner as well,” she told the outlet. “We talked about our future, our kids, what we want in a relationship, the show, and so much more.”
She called Charles the “ultimate gentleman” and a “treasure.” Sandra added, “Charles is chess, not checkers. It’s so true. He’s so sincere. A lot of men can seem that way and throw on the charm, but he’s not that way, it’s truly who he is.”
Sandra, who is retired, said spending time with Charles was “one of the best dates I’ve had in a long time,” teasing that they also had sexual chemistry.
“Sometimes a hug just is not enough, so we did step into the lip-to-lip zone for a minute,” she revealed. “But a lady doesn’t tell!”
While the pair have spoken since their date, they aren’t sure what comes next as Charles is about to move to South Africa for a few years for work.
“You never know what the future holds,” they both said, hinting that their love story might not be done.
Venita Aspen and Jarrett ThomasMichelle Watt/Bravo (2)
Venita Aspen is spilling the sweet tea about her romance with Jarrett “JT” Thomas — and according to her, it didn’t end well.
“I was also excited to come in [this season] with my best friend JT. That was fun,” Venita said of Southern Charm season 10 during the Thursday, January 16, episode of Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap” podcast.
She recalled, “We became thick as thieves over the summer. I was ready. Then boom — everything crashed down in front of me.”
The Southern Charm star explained that she and JT were dating by the time the show’s trailer dropped in October 2024, but their romance soon went off the rails.
When asked whether JT “ghosted her,” Venita replied, “No, he popped up with a girlfriend on Instagram.”
JT went Instagram official with Ali Pereless in November 2024, captioning a series of cuddly photos of the couple, “Long overdue .”
While Venita didn’t go into any more details about JT’s new romance, she said it had been eight weeks since they last talked.
Venita AspenGabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
“I think we need to get him to show up and get him to talk. Because I have no idea [what happened],” she said on the podcast. “It was very jarring. I think that I’m still kinda digesting it.”
The fashion influencer recalled: “One day I was supposed to be going to lunch with his mom and him and hang out, and the trailer drops and he starts acting crazy. Falls off the face of the earth.”
Venita said looking back, “I think he was nervous to see how he was going to be portrayed this year. I think the anxiety got the best of him.”
Days after he debuted his new romance on social media, JT raised eyebrows again when he announced he “resigned” from Southern Charm. He made the announcement in November 2024, shortly before the new season was set to premiere.
“I no longer wish to participate in any ways moving forward with the TV show,” he wrote via Instagram at the time, explaining that he would not be taping the “2-3 remaining green room interviews.”
Venita, who to start off season 10 was close with JT, said on Thursday that she is “doing my best” to not say “too much about the situation” until she has a chance to speak with JT.
“I want to hear what he has to say. I don’t want to dig too hard on him,” she said. “I know the moment will come when I can lash out at him, but I can’t do it yet.”
“That put me in a position of messing up friendships that I had been working on building for years,” she explained, noting that fans will see the fallout transpire this season. “I ended up risking all of those friendships.”
She added that “his day will come,” and while JT “thinks he played me,” that is not the case. “That’s the funny part because I haven’t had my time yet,” Venita concluded. “You wait until you’re back in front of me and I get to say my peace. You actually got played here, not me.”
Venita AspenSantiago Felipe/Getty Images
While Venita is upset with JT for her own reasons, her fellow costars have her back — and their own bones to pick with him should he return for the season 10 reunion.
During the first part of the season, JT butted heads with Madison LeCroy after he claimed her husband, Brett Randle, thought they hooked up during a past trip to Jamaica.
JT also claimed that he heard Austen Kroll was dating other women when he started seeing his girlfriend, Audrey Pratt. JT was then accused of calling Patricia Altschul a bitch, which he has denied.
Cameron Diaz hooked fans in with her debut role in 1994’s The Mask — and for 20 years she was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The actress surprised moviegoers in 2018 when she announced her retirement from the industry, having last starred in 2014’s Annie. During her break, Diaz wed Benji Madden in 2015 and the couple have gone on to welcome daughter Raddix and son Cardinal via surrogate.
“When you do something at a really high level for a long period of time, when you’re the person that’s sort of delivering on this one thing, everything around, all parts of you that isn’t that, has to sort of be handed off to other people,” Diaz said during an August 2021 appearance on Hart to Heart.
In May 2022, Diaz announced that she was ready to make her movie comeback in Netflix’s Back In Action alongside friend Jamie Foxx. The January 2025 release is not the only iconic movie in Diaz’s catalog.
Scroll down to see which of Diaz’s films are her absolute best:
Jim Carrey might’ve been the lead character in this bizarre comedy about a masked superhero, but Diaz’s Tina Carlyle will forever be one of our movie style stars. Diaz was only 21 when she played Stanley Ipkiss’ love interest and her sex appeal was on a whole different level. Whether it was her strapless red dress or the Beetlejuice-style frock she wore on a date, we loved them all.
Being Julia Roberts’ movie rival would’ve been tough for any actress, but Diaz handled it with ease. Sure, Diaz’s character, Kimberly “Kimmy” Wallace, was spoiled and not exactly the brightest, but she was so lovable that even Roberts’ Julianne Potter eventually rooted for her to marry Michael O’Neal (Dermot Mulroney) — who Julianne was madly in love with the whole time. If you haven’t seen this movie, prepare to join in when everyone sings “Say a Little Prayer” at a packed restaurant, because it’s both joyful and hilarious.
If Diaz wasn’t an A-lister before, her role as Ted’s (Ben Stiller) dream girl from high school, Mary, cemented her super star status. Mary is the girl next door, who is so far out of Ted’s league, it actually hurts to watch him try and fail to woo her as an adult. However, the most iconic part in the 1998 flick is when Mary uses “hair gel” she found at Ted’s place to stick her hair straight up and still look flawless — IYKYK.
Just when we couldn’t love Diaz anymore, she teamed up with Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in 2000s Charlie’s Angels to play spies Natalie, Dylan and Alex, respectively. The girl power vibes throughout this film — and its 2003 sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle — continue to make Us smile decades later. In addition to being a total badass on screen, Diaz wins the movie when she answers the door wearing Spider-man underwear after an epic solo dance scene.
Yes, Diaz’s voice work as Princess Fiona will go down in history as one of her greatest ideas ever. Princess Fiona is sassy, self-sufficient and full of funny one-liners that are almost as hilarious as her eventual ogre husband Shrek’s (Mike Myers) quips throughout the animated film. Luckily for Us, Diaz has reprised her role in three more Shrek movies, with a fifth installment in the works.
Diaz, Christina Applegate and Selma Blair all in one movie? Sign Us up! After avoiding men for years, Christina (Diaz) meets her perfect match in Peter (Thomas Jane) while at a bar. When she misses her opportunity to date him, Christina grabs her girlfriends and hits the road for an epic journey to find love. Along the way, there is dancing (really, really good dancing), lots of laughs and wild encounters — all of which make this movie a classic.
This 2005 film pulls at your heartstrings in a way you’d never expect. When party girl Maggie (Diaz) hooks up with her sister Rose’s (Toni Collette) boyfriend, she seeks out their grandmother, who was never part of their lives. In a twist of fate, staying at her grandmother’s (Shirley MacLaine) retirement home turns out to be the best medicine for Maggie — and brings the sisters back together. Diaz is a perfect fit as the rowdy sister who doesn’t have her life figured out, but her emotional performance is what has Us rewatching this year after year.
This might be Diaz’s best movie of all time, don’t at Us! Not only do viewers get to travel from Los Angeles to London to follow the lives of British journalist Iris (Kate Winslet) and movie trailer producer Amanda (Diaz), but we get two romances worth swooning over. Iris falls for L.A. local Miles (Jack Black), while Amanda finds herself smitten with Iris’ brother, Graham (Jude Law), while staying in her cute English cottage. Amanda is a mess, but a boss babe who we can’t help but love. We have to admit, when she finally cries, we cry … every, single, time.
We totally agree that Diaz’s Elizabeth Halsey was incompetent as a middle school teacher in this 2011 film, but she played it perfectly. The actress was wild, hilarious and very self-involved, all of which made Us laugh out loud. The best scene? When Elizabeth channels her inner Daisy Duke while rolling on cars during a student car wash all while trying to make money for breast implants. It’s too good.
Being the “other woman” is something no lady wants, but if it means you get to be BFFs with Diaz’s character, Carly Whitten, then it’s not so bad. After realizing she is dating a married man, Carly befriends his wife, Kate King (Leslie Mann), and they begin to work together to take him down. Things get even crazier when they learn they aren’t the only women in Mark King’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) life. Think Thelma & Louise but in NYC with a side of adultery.
Diaz surprised fans with her role as Hannigan in the 2014 movie, which follows foster kid Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) after a mayoral candidate (Foxx) takes her in to better help his campaign. Diaz, for her part, played the mean foster mom perfectly and yet, in the end, we didn’t hate her. Oh, and did we mention she sings?
Diaz proves she’s still got it in Netflix’s Back in Action which premiered in January 2025 — more than a decade after she starred in Annie. In the film, Diaz and Foxx play married suburban couple Emily and Matt who are former CIA spies. When their cover is blown, they are pulled back into a world of espionage and must protect their kids, who — spoiler alert — don’t think they are cool enough to be this badass. Diaz’s role reminds Us of her Charlie’s Angels days paired with Mission Impossible stunts and one-liners we’re sure to quote time and time again.
Courtesy of Chris O’Donnell/Instagram; Courtesy of Kyle Marisa Roth/Instagram
The deaths of several online stars have shaken the TikTok community — and broken the hearts of fans — over the years.
Taylor Rousseau Grigg died in October 2024 at the age of 25 after battling undisclosed medical issues. Her husband, Cameron Grigg, announced her death via social media, revealing she’d been “in and out of the hospital since we got married” in 2023.
Two months before her death, Taylor celebrated her first wedding anniversary with Cameron. “Happy one year to us. I love you, Cameron!! ,” she wrote via Instagram in August 2024, posting footage from their special day.
Earlier in 2024, TikTok star Kyle Marisa Rothdied at the age of 36. Her cause of death was not immediately known, but fans honored her legacy upon the news.
“I know I never met Kyle in real life, but I really felt like I knew her,” actress Julia Fox wrote in the comments section of Kyle’s sister Lindsay Roth’s announcement that April. “I’m so devastated and have been crying ever since the news leaked on TikTok. I really hope she did it suffer and I hope she knew how much she touched our lives. She was a ray of sunshine and I will miss her deeply.”
Scroll down for a look back at some of the most shocking TikTok star deaths:
Timothy Hall
Timbo the Redneck/TikTok
Hall, who was known on social media as “Timbo the Redneck,” was killed in August 2021 after being in an accident involving his pick-up truck. He was 18. Hall was doing donuts in his vehicle when the truck flipped and he flew out of the driver’s seat, according to a video posted by a family friend named Tony. The truck landed on Hall and killed him.
Hall’s mother confirmed his death on his TikTok account saying, “He won’t be making any more videos, no more videos at all. My son was in a bad accident yesterday and didn’t make it, and I want to thank everybody for all the fans that he had.”
She added, “He loved TikTok and just believed in all the fans and everybody that supported him and it meant a lot to him. Sometimes he wouldn’t listen to me, he’d say, ‘I gotta do this TikTok!'”
Cooper Noriega
Courtesy of Cooper Noriega/Instagram
Us Weekly confirmed in June 2022 that Noriega died at the age of 19. Noriega was found dead in a parking lot, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner. Six months later, the coroner determined that his death was due to the combined effects of fentanyl, lorazepam, which is used to treat anxiety, and alprazolam, also known as Xanax. The medical examiner added that Noriega’s recent use of clonazepam, another anxiety medicine, was a separate factor in his death.
Prior to his death, Noriega, who was also a model, opened up about struggling with mental illness and substance use. “I’ve been struggling with addiction since I was 9 years old, you may think that’s crazy but that’s the life I’ve been dealt,” he said in a TikTok video days before his passing, revealing he created a Discord server for his followers to share their stories.
“One of the many things I’ve learned while struggling with addiction was that surrounding yourself with negative people will only bring you down,” Noriega added. “For that reason, Discord is meant to bring us all together and create a safe space where people can vent and help others through their tough times.
In November 2023, two men, one of whom is Erick Oved Estrada, were arrested for their alleged connection to Noriega’s death. Prosecutors alleged that one of Estrada’s associates distributed “fentanyl-laced oxycodone” to Noriega, which caused a fatal overdose. All parties involved pleaded not guilty and a trial was set for January 2024, but has since been rescheduled for November 2024, according to the Simi Valley Acorn.
Kyle Marisa Roth
Kyle Marisa RothCourtesy of Kyle Marisa Roth/Instagram
Kyle’s mom, Jacquie Cohen Roth, announced her daughter’s death in April 2024 via LinkedIn, writing, “My daughter Kyle has passed away. She touched some of your lives personally and some of your lives via her immense life on another platform. … Nothing makes sense now and we’ll understand more in the next few days. Be kind to one another please.” Kyle was 36 at the time of her death.
In August 2024, Maryland’s Chief Medical Examiner’s report revealed that Kyle’s death was caused by a cardiac arrhythmia due to myocardial fibrosis. Kyle’s toxicology report showed traces of diphenhydramine, an antihistamine such as Benadryl, as well as mitragynine, which is often used for pain management, according to the report obtained by TMZ.
Kyle previously told her followers about her journey to overcome colon cancer as well as multiple surgeries that led to “lots of bad ass f—ing scars.” She shared in July 2021 via X that she’d had “three major abdominal surgeries, one reconstructive shoulder surgery” was “missing” three internal organs and experienced “over a dozen broken bones.”
Jainer Moises Pinedo Vargas
Courtesy of Jainer Moises Pinedo Vargas/Instagram
Vargas, who was known as the “Dancing Engineer” on TikTok, died in August 2024 due to complications of dengue fever. He was 34. Vargas contracted the mosquito-borne disease while in Condorcanqui Province, Peru, one month prior.
After going to the hospital in Bagua, Peru, Vargas was transferred to a larger facility in Chiclayo when doctors discovered fluid around his lungs. His condition continued to worsen and Vargas was put on a ventilator. Doctors later found that Vargas had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which Department of Health Deputy Minister Ricardo Peña told Peru21 likely contributed to his death.
Caleb Graves
Caleb GravesSteven Simione/Getty Images
Graves died in September 2024 at the age of 33 after running in the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon. The TikTok star reportedly received medical assistance shortly after he crossed the finished line in Anaheim, California. The Anaheim Police Department public information officer Sergeant Matt Sutter told Us in a statement that one of the workers noticed Graves “clutching his chest” and “noticed he was going into cardiac arrest.”
Sutter continued: “He was quickly transported to the nearby Anaheim Global Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead approximately an hour later.” An exact cause of death has not been revealed.
Graves, who gained over 18,000 followers on TikTok for sharing content about the Disney parks and films, revealed one day prior to the race that he was “worried” about the California heat for the marathon. He recalled walking his dog outside for 20 minutes in the heat and then “10 minutes after I got back in, I just passed out, fell asleep, no control over my body. It was heat exhaustion, ’cause it’s only happened once to me before.”
Taylor Rousseau Grigg
Courtesy of Taylor Rousseau Grigg/Instagram
Taylor’s husband, Cameron, confirmed her death in October 2024, revealing it was “so sudden and unexpected.” The TikTok star, who also owned online boutiques Geaux Savage and Sauvage and Beauty, was 25.
“No one ever expects to have to deal with this kind of pain and heartache, especially at our age,” Cameron wrote via Instagram. “This past year Taylor has dealt with more pain and suffering than most people do in a lifetime. And in spite of that she still has been such a light and always brought joy to everyone around her.”
He continued, “She is the most brave and strong woman I know, and her confidence in the Lord outweighed every other circumstance she’s faced, even in her darkest hours. I know she’s saved my life and so many others out there. Her earthly body is still here with us being run by machines to keep her organs viable for donation.”
Taylor’s cause of death was not revealed, but she previously told her followers that she was dealing with several undisclosed medical issues.
“It made me feel super fatigued, tired, weak. I had some other complications and symptoms going on,” she previously said in an August 2024 TikTok video, detailing her treatment. “I finally started to feel a little bit strong enough to come back to New York [City], where my support system of friends are and where I also feel more inspired to go on walks and strengthen my body a little bit.”
Bella Bradford
In a video uploaded weeks after the influencer died on October 15, 2024, she announced her own death. She was 24.
“I have terminal cancer and unfortunately, by now, my life has come to an end, and I’ve passed away,” she shared in the video uploaded on October 31. “But I wanted to do one final Get Ready With Me because I love doing these, and I love fashion. Thank you for following me on this fun journey, and yeah, I hope you will back on all my videos and find a little bit of joy in your day if you ever needed to feel.”
Bradford died following a battle with a rare type of cancer in her jaw muscle. She was diagnosed in 2021.
“Thank you guys so much for this wild and wonderful ride,” Bradford also told followers. “I hope you all have beautiful and amazing lives, and I wish all the best for every single one of you. Lots of love.”
Chris O’Donnell
Courtesy of Chris O’Donnell/Instagram
O’Donnell, best known as Creeohdee, died at the age of 31 in January 2025, according to his online obituary. A cause of death was not confirmed in the obituary, though E! News reported that his death was ruled a suicide by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s office.
“Chris, I’ll love you forever. You’ve been a light in my life since we met in 2016. I wish we would’ve moved to CA together in 2021 like we talked about,” O’Donnell’s friend Morgan Ballou wrote in a message on the obituary page. “I wish we kept in touch more than just online every few weeks. I have so many wishes. In the end, I wish you peace. My heart is broken. All the love and thoughts in the world to your family and Blue.”
Southern Hospitality star Emmy Sharrett is set on marrying boyfriend Will Kulp — despite rumors that he was unfaithful while in law school.
“Will has 110 percent been faithful to me,” Emmy, 26, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, January 15, later adding, “I do not believe Will cheated on me at all for one second.”
The reality star shut down the “narrative” that she is “so dead set on being a lawyer’s wife that I don’t care if Will cheats on me,” claiming that if he stepped out on her that would be the end of their relationship.
“I would dump Will in two seconds if he cheated on me, gone goodbye. I will not be disrespected,” Emmy declared. “Do it once, I will warn you. Do it again, I’ll break up with you and I won’t look back. And that’s how I’ve always been.”
Emmy Sharrett and Will KulpCharles Sykes/Bravo
She noted that thanks to her parents’ “beautiful marriage” she has “very high standards” and is willing to walk away from Will if he doesn’t meet them.
Emmy also pointed out that since Will is in year two of law school he is “tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt” and she is the “breadwinner” now.
During the season 3 Southern Hospitality trailer, which dropped in November 2024, Will was accused of sleeping with “multiple people” during year one of law school while Emmy was back in Charleston.
As the season has unfolded, almost all of Emmy and Will’s friends have claimed that Will drunkenly badmouthed his girlfriend. He allegedly told people at Republic that Emmy is no longer “fun” because she stopped drinking and made more unkind comments.
“I knew about what Will had done already, and I don’t think people knew I knew because I never talked to my friends about it,” Emmy told Us of the comments Will made behind her back. “A lot of it is also being exaggerated, as you can imagine.”
Emmy claimed that when Will went off about her allegedly not having any drive and slammed her body transformation he was “stressed out” ahead of exams. Will had also broken his ankle and had just had surgery, according to the VIP server.
Bryan Steffy/Bravo
“You take it out on the people closest to you and you say stuff you don’t mean because you’re avoiding the reality of what’s really causing your pain in your life, which for him at the time was law school,” Emmy alleged. “Will and I had our own conversation about it where he was incredibly apologetic and embarrassed, and he knew it was inappropriate.”
She was adamant that what viewers will see Will say on the show was “not as crazy and as bad” as it was in real time.
“If Will was living this happy, luxurious life where he was a bachelor, making all this money and wasn’t struggling with his mental health, struggling in law school, not doing well [and] in chronic pain — if he was in a good place and this happened [it’d be a] different story,” Emmy explained. “But the context of [it] — I [had just] nursed Will for weeks and I know exactly what he was going through and his mental state. So I have a lot of understanding and empathy for it.”
She added: “Do I condone it? No. Was it unacceptable? Yes. But nobody’s perfect and we all make mistakes.”
Emmy noted that she overlooked Will’s harsh words, and they are in a good place. In fact, she’s ready to head to the altar whenever he pops the question.
“Will has a three-year plan because he’s in school, so it only makes sense to then build a plan off of that as far as our relationship goes,” she told Us, saying that “realistically this would be the year that he would propose.”
Emmy said that since Will has a short break after law school graduation in 2026 and taking the bar that summer, getting married before the end of 2026 sounds perfect.
“Probably summer [or] fall of 2026 is probably when we would have a wedding. It just makes sense,” she gushed. “We’ve been dating for three years, so it’ll be four years in October. So it’s a long time. So it’s not like this is crazy out of the blue.”
Emmy teased that “by the end of this year” she is expecting a ring. “It would just make the most sense, but I always say that’s between Will and my dad,” she concluded, noting, “Plans always change.”
Julia Stiles has learned a thing or two since becoming a mother — and her career in Hollywood has benefited because of parenthood.
“Being a mother is such good training for being a director,” Stiles, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Wish You Were Here premiere in New York City on Wednesday, January 15. “You have to be good at time management, you have to be a multitasker.”
She compared managing her three children to directing a set efficiently, especially when unforeseen issues arise. (Stiles shares sons Strummer, 6, and Arlo, 2, and a third baby born in 2023 with husband Preston Cook.)
“You have to be present but also think 10 steps ahead. You have to be able to operate really well with sleep deprivation,” Stiles joked while celebrating her latest film’s release at the Crosby Street Hotel.
The actress explained that with both directing and parenting you must “manage people’s emotions and needs but also guide them.” She concluded, “A hundred percent [it’s] the best training.”
Stiles most recently directed and cowrote Wish You Were Here, which follows a woman named Charlotte (Isabelle Fuhrman) on her search for love. When she finds someone special, she learns the man (Mena Massoud) is terminally ill, so she commits to helping him celebrate the last days of his life.
“I wanted to make a romantic movie that was really all about the human characters,” she said about the project, which premieres on Friday, January 17.
While Stiles told Us that her kids are “still a little young” to see most of her movies, her eldest child came to set with her for Wish You Were Here.
“[He] really loved that, so he is excited about this one,” she gushed.
Amanda Bowers, Gabby Kono-Abdy, Julia Stiles, Mena Massoud, Isabelle Fuhrman, Molly Conners and Antonique SmithJamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Stiles, for her part, is even more proud of this project since it is her directorial debut. (This is her first feature film as a director after working on a short in 2007 and a few episodes of Paloma.)
“I would do [many] things differently. There’s so many movies that I was in that I would want to do over on only because I was so young and it was a lot of trial and error,” Stiles told Us, reflecting on her evolution both in front and behind the camera.
She explained, “You learn so much as you get older. And now being behind the camera, I really see what it’s like to be in an editing room and how a whole film comes together. And then if you really trust your director, they will protect you in the editing room.”
Stiles noted that “overall” she would’ve “like to not have been afraid” as an actress when she started out and instead learned more about the behind-the-scenes portion earlier. “That’s where it all goes down.”
Wish You Were Here hits theaters on Friday, January 17.
OnlyFans influencer Bonnie Blue made headlines for breaking the world record for sleeping with 1,057 people within a 12-hour period — but there’s a lot about her fans don’t know.
“Before this job I’d only slept with five people,” Blue revealed during an appearance on the “Saving Grace” podcast recorded in October 2024. “I didn’t really know what I like. How I wanted it. Now I know exactly what I want to do.”
The sex worker noted that she “only ever had one” relationship prior to her OnlyFans fame.
“I used to be married. We were together nearly 10 years, and we just grew apart,” she shared. “We met when I was 13. Broke up last year.” Blue called her trajectory from a married woman to sleeping with thousands of men a “full 180” change.
“Fresh 18-year-olds. They came to me. I loved it. They loved it. And it made me rich,” she recalled of the term.
Now, Blue goes on university tours where students (and their dads) line up to have sex with her — but she claims it’s safer to have sex with her and than anyone else.
“I get tested every two weeks. I get tested more than anyone else,” she told podcast host Grace Barry. “Sleeping with me is not only clean … it’s a smart option.”
Scroll down to see everything we learned about Blue from her “Saving Grace” podcast appearance:
What Was Her 1st Sex Scene?
Courtesy of Bonnie Blue/Instagram
“My first scene was an orgy, and it was silent. No one was really moaning,” Blue revealed. “There were two guys, three girls.”
She noted that since she’d never been with a woman before that she “had to google it the day before.”
Is There a Screening Process?
Courtesy of Bonnie Blue/Instagram
Blue explained that when she has sex with “freshers,” who are either virgins or just turned 18 there are rules. “They come in, have to show me ID. Have to have photos with their ID. Then they sign consent forms,” she said.
“People think it’s wrong or I force them into it,” Blue said, noting that’s not the case. “They’re queuing for over eight hours in the line. They very much want to be here. … Some of them brought deck chairs [to wait].”
Despite backlash, Blue said she thinks sleeping with virgins is a teaching moment. “I can sort of educate them in the bedroom,” she teased. “So when they go and see that next girl they have so much confidence.”
It Can Be a Family Affair
“I like builders and dads,” Blue said of her current preference. “I feel like a lot of my subscribers are older. I don’t want to discriminate. I don’t want to just do students. I want to do their dads as well.”
Blue said that she got the idea of sleeping with dads when a male student showed up with his father to one of her sex events. “When I first saw him with his dad, I thought he’s gonna tell me off,” she said. “No, it was the opposite. He was jealous and wanted to join in.”
Blue revealed that she “made them go separate” by sleeping with the son first while his dad was “next door in the same apartment.” She noted the “son’s penis was bigger [but] the dad was better.” (And yes, the dad was still married.)
Blue’s parents learned about her OnlyFans account when her orgy video was leaked to them one week into her switching careers. (She previously worked in recruitment.)
“They thought I had been forced into it. They thought maybe I had money problems. They thought basically I was being held hostage,” she said, claiming they were “proud” of her choice.
Blue clarified, “OK that’s a bit of a lie” because they were taken aback at first.
“They were like, ‘We wouldn’t choose this for you,’” she recalled. “They’re like any other parents, they just want me to be happy. They’ve seen me sleeping with 18-year-olds, dads and husbands [that] make me happy.”
Blue added that now her mom and dad are fully supportive. “My mom was folding up flyers to hand out to [university] students,” she recalled of her recent trip home. “My dad was getting stickers ready to take to the pub.”
How Much Does She Make?
Courtesy of Bonnie Blue/Instagram
“This year it’s always been over three million,” she said of her income for 2024. “So being a slut pays really well.”
Blue noted that when she gets “negative comments” she doesn’t mind because all it does is promote her business. “I welcome the hate,” she added.
How Is Her Ex-Husband Involved?
“We’re on really good terms. He works for me now,” Blue said of her former spouse. “[He] helps with some behind the scenes stuff. It is convenient. It’s handy for me.”
She pointed out, “We’re married so he’s going to get some of the money regardless. He might as well work for it. … This job benefits anyone in my family including him.
“Sunday dinner,” Blue told the host. “Not like my mum’s one. A proper good one.”
Is She Dating?
Courtesy of Bonnie Blue/Instagram
Blue confessed that dating is “nonexistent” for her partially because of her profession. “I’m bored of explaining to people why I love it,” she said. “I just gave up going on dates.”
She explained that she would date someone in the industry but feels like “we’d never have sex” because they’d “both be burnt out.”
Blue noted that the last time she slept with someone “personally” they were surprised it was “normal sex” and she didn’t “whip out porn star one-liners.”
“Top Model was harder, definitely,” Molly, 37, revealed on the Thursday, January 16, episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “It was 24/7 filming. They had motion sensor cameras in the corner of our bedrooms.”
The model, who came in second during season 16 of ANTM in 2011, recalled the showers being “see-through except for one little frosted part” and the bathrooms only having a curtain instead of a door.
“You couldn’t escape anyone. They could just come in,” Molly explained, noting that the cameras didn’t burst into the bathrooms if you were actually using the facilities. However, “If you wanted to hide from the cameras, they’d come find you,” she claimed.
Molly alleged that the production team would “purposely mess with us” and heighten everyone’s emotions with “really late” interviews.
“I would get low blood sugar attacks and need food and they would dangle a sandwich in front of me. ‘Just a few more questions Molly and then we’ll feed you,’” she told host Nick Viall of her time filming back in 2010. “It was so toxic.”
While Molly called ANTM “a bit of psychological torture,” she said, “I would still do it again. It wasn’t so horrible that I wouldn’t do that experience all over again.”
During her first season of Southern Charm — her debut episode premiered in December 2024 — Molly has been open about her challenges as a model. She has discussed her weight gain and ups and downs with self-confidence as a result.
Courtesy of Molly O'Connell/Instagram
After talking about her weight on camera, Molly was fat-shamed by pal Whitney Sudler-Smith for eating a cupcake during the December 12, 2024, episode. “He’s very insensitive,” Molly told Viall and his wife, Natalie Joy, of Whitney on Thursday.
When asked if Whitney or Tyra Banks was “more rude about food,” Molly said it wasn’t even close.
“God, honestly probably Tyra,” she replied. “Whitney just made that one comment. He doesn’t say stuff like that to me often. It was just like, ‘Oh, come on read the room.’”
Molly noted that Banks, 51 — who created the model competition in 2003 — was “so toxic” but claimed, “She didn’t say stuff about us eating.”
“She wasn’t like, ‘Don’t eat.’ But she did come and film a segment with us about healthy food to eat,” Molly recalled, adding that there was a skewed perspective on the model’s sizes on ANTM. “The people who they would be like, ‘You’re plus size. You’re the biggest girl here.’ They’re smaller than I am now.”
She remembered it being “a toxic time” when they shot her season. But even with the bad, Molly said it was “very fun” and she had “a lot of amazing experiences” that helped her career.
Molly still talks to “almost all” of the models she competed against to “some extent,” especially the season 16 winner, Brittani Kline. “We stayed very good friends,” she shared.
“I talk to [judge and photographer] Nigel Barker,” Molly added. “He was super nice. The judges weren’t as in on the [toxicity].”
When it comes to Southern Charm, Molly said that the drama is coming — but her experience on the show has been pleasant.
Michelle Watt/Bravo
“It was fun. I’m really high stress all the time. I’m very high-strung. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, am I boring? Does everyone hate me?’” she recalled of filming in 2024. “Every situation I go into I overthink it. I actually think it went really well.”
Cameron Diaz got real about what she’s been doing during her 10-year movie hiatus — and parenting is at the top of the list.
“I was not keeping up with any kind of training,” Diaz, 52, said of her break from Hollywood in behind-the-scenes video from Netflix’s Back in Action posted on Wednesday, January 15. “I did nothing public. I said no to everything.”
“That was what I was putting most of my focus on,” Diaz explained. “If I was doing anything other than just sort of being a mom and living my day to day.”
The mother of two confessed, “That was pretty much it. I’m just trying to stay alive just like every other mother. I’m just trying to keep it going.”
Diaz had an extremely lucrative career, pumping out 38 movies in 20 years before pressing pause after 2014’s The Other Woman, Sex Tape and Annie.
The following year, the Charlie’s Angel star shifted her focus to building up her home life. Diaz married Benji Madden in 2015 and in 2018 she revealed she was “semi-retired” as an actress before clarifying that she was “actually retired.”
In 2019, Diaz and Madden, 45, welcomed their first child, daughter Raddix, via surrogate. The pair expanded their family in 2022 when their son, Cardinal, was born via surrogate.
That same year, Diaz came out of retirement to start filming Back in Action with Jamie Foxx, whom she worked with on Annie nearly a decade prior.
In their new movie, Diaz and Foxx, 57, play former CIA agents and married couple Emily and Matt, who find themselves pulled back into the world of espionage when their secret identities are blown.
Back in Action kick started Diaz’s return to Hollywood. She has since filmed Apple TV+’s Outcome with Keanu Reeves and Matt Bomer and is set to reprise her role as Princess Fiona in Shrek 5.
“Cameron feels like she’s settled now and is in a good place mentally,” a source exclusively shared for Us Weekly‘s cover story earlier this month. “She has a new outlook on work and the industry as a whole.”
A second insider noted that Diaz’s “goal” moving forward is “to pursue projects — whether acting, business or family life — that feel meaningful and authentic.”
Van Der Beek, 47, recently gave his stamp of approval on a series of AI-generated photos posted on social media of him and his former costars Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams.
“Merry Christmas to all with these beautiful photos of the quartet together,” the90screek fan account captioned fake reunion snaps of the cast via Instagram on December 24, 2024.
Van Der Beek discovered the images on Tuesday, January 14, replying in the comments section, “Cute!!!”
Among the AI-made photos is a group shot of Van Der Beek, Williams, 44, Holmes, 46, and Jackson, 46, huddled in front of a Christmas tree. A second photo showed the two male actors with Williams bundled up in the snow.
The holiday-themed pictures also featured Van Der Beek in a Christmas sweater smiling with Williams and standing in the snow with Holmes.
Van Der Beek starred as Dawson Leery on The WB series from 1998 to 2003. Holmes portrayed his BFF and childhood love Joey Potter, while Jackson played their other best friend and Joey’s true love, Pacey Witter. Williams, meanwhile, was the edgy Jen Lindley.
One of their most iconic reunions came in 2018 when the stars posed for Entertainment Weekly in honor of the 20th anniversary of the premiere.
“I think we’ve all sort of seen each other over the years, but not everybody all together. And never for long enough,” Holmes told the outlet at the time.
Warner Bros.
Despite their physical distance, the cast appears to have each other’s backs. When Van Der Beek announced his cancer diagnosis in November 2024, another Dawson’s Creek costar Busy Philipps showed him some love via social media.
“My wonderful friend, I’m sending you and your beautiful family all the love and prayers for your healing and complete recovery ,” Philipps, who played Joey’s college roommate Audrey Liddell on the show, wrote via Instagram.
At the time, Van Der Beek revealed that he is battling stage 3 colorectal cancer. “I’m very cautiously optimistic,” he told People in November 2024. “I’m in a place of healing; my energy levels are great.”
While celebrating Thanksgiving, the actor gave an update about his “tough year” via Instagram.
“I’m thankful for all of it. For the giant life re-direct cancer has placed in my path,” Van Der Beek added. “For the gift of knowing what it feels like to have friends come through on such a profound level, and in ways I never would have been able to ask for had I not been going through it.”
He concluded: “I’m grateful to each and every one of you who has reached out and sent good vibes and prayers. It all lands and makes a difference.”
Once she was checked in, she documented her required urine sample, joking, “Hopefully I’m not pregnant.”
Arnold then told her fans a “fun fact” about her childhood and associated with breast augmentation. “When I was in high school there was a rumor that went around that I got a boob job and that my dad is the one who gave me my boob job,” she shared. “My dad is not a plastic surgeon.”
The professional dancer confessed she “wasn’t even mad at it,” but all these years later she still isn’t sure who started the rumor.
Prior to her surgery, Arnold made a TikTok with her surgeon where they both danced. She also showed off her pre-procedure braids and noted that her husband, Sam Cusick, would film some behind-the-scenes moments.
Lindsay Arnold.Courtesy of Lindsay Arnold/TikTok
The camera picked up after her procedure, when Arnold was drowsy because of the pain medicine. “[Are] my braids still in?” she asked her husband when she woke up.
Cusick assured Arnold that her hair still looked good, and she started to doze off. “I’m not very funny, am I?” she asked before she fell asleep.
When Arnold got home that afternoon, she once again documented her recovery, revealing she was watching Parks and Recreation.
“My pain is OK I’m just super sleepy, dizzy and nauseous,” she explained in the TikTok. “I can feel a little bit of tightness [around my boobs]. I am just so nauseous still. Pain wise, truly, I’m not too miserable at all.”
On Wednesday, Arnold returned to Instagram to share another update after a night at home. “Feeling pretty dang good this morning!” she wrote via her Instagram Story. “Coming off of anesthesia was rough yesterday just super nauseous and dizzy but slept great and feeling good. Pain is minimal so far and I’m very grateful for that.”
Lindsay Arnold.Courtesy of Lindsay Arnold/Instagram
Arnold later shared a video of her daughters, Sage, 4, and June, 20 months, lying in bed with her while explaining her surgery. “My girls have been so gentle with me they are the sweetest,” she captioned the clip.
Arnold announced her plans to get a breast augmentation and lift in December 2024, calling it her “Christmas present.”
She noted that after a birthday getaway to Mexico with her husband she was going to undergo surgery. “It’s something I’m very excited about,” Arnold said in a TikTok video at the time. “I know there’s mixed opinions on this type of thing, and so I get it. … If it’s not for you, it’s not for you.”
Arnold touched upon her choice in a separate TikTok video, revealing that she initially planned to have the procedure once she was “done having kids.”
Her timeline, however, has since shifted with Arnold telling her followers, “We are not done having babies” but the couple weren’t planning to expand their brood right away.
“I just decided I didn’t want to wait,” she added. “Obviously, [I] know there are chances I’d maybe need to get a lift later on in life or whatever, but I just don’t want to wait anymore. … We’re just putting [family planning] on pause a bit longer.”
Jennifer Tilly is not hurting for money thanks to The Simpsons — but that doesn’t mean she identifies as wealthy.
“I don’t think of myself as rich,” Tilly, 66, told E! News on Tuesday, January 14. “But I guess I’m delusional because I do have several properties and a purse apparently that cost $33,000.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, who joined the show for season 14, noted that she thought “everybody knew that I had a piece of The Simpsons,” which is where a lot of her money comes from.
“It’s not a large piece, but even a little piece is something to write home about,” she added.
During the December 3, 2024, episode of RHOBH, Tilly noted that she was married to The Simpsons creator, Sam Simon, for seven years. The pair, who were together 10 years total, got divorced in 1991 and she “got a piece” of the show in her settlement.
Sam Simon and Jennifer TillyDavid Livingston/Getty Images
“Nobody knew that The Simpsons was going to go on for trillions of years,” Tilly said on the show. “So every day, honestly, every day I’m like, ‘Thank you, Sam!’” (Simon died in 2015 at the age of 59.)
During the same episode, costar Erika Jayne pointed out that Tilly owned an extremely rare $33,000 Louis Vuitton handbag, which she said wasn’t exactly accurate.
“Actually, it didn’t. It cost $33,000, which I’m just setting that straight right now,” Tilly told E! “They must have had some intern look it up. It’s very rare, maybe on the secondary market they jacked up the price, but I called my purse contact, and I said, ‘How much did I pay for that purse?’ She said, ‘$22,000.'”
While the handbag price was slightly off, Tilly revealed that she does own four homes: three in California and one in Las Vegas.
Even with all her properties, Tilly was adamant that she lives humbly with her boyfriend in a “very small, cluttered house.”
“Yes, there’s a giant house next door, but we don’t go there,” she said. “I guess we’re kind of delusional. I don’t have a giant mansion or a chauffeur that calls me Miss Tilly and makes out with me like Sutton [Stracke]‘s chauffeur. I just live my life the way that I used to live.”
Tilly added that she thinks it’s “kind of gauche to flaunt your wealth” especially since money can’t buy you happiness.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
“This is why people love Housewives,” she concluded. “They’re so rich and they can afford all the plastic surgeon that the heart could desire and designer clothes and jewels, but they’re still not happy. That is the key to Housewives. Like, ‘Wow, if I had all that wealth, I would be happy.’ But these people, they’re miserable. That’s why people like to watch Housewives.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
Sally Struthers knows how beloved Betty White was in Hollywood, but her experience with the late actress was anything but golden.
“Now that she’s gone, I’m going to talk about Betty White for a moment,” Struthers, 77, said during the Monday, January 13, episode of the “Let’s Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti” podcast. “I know everybody loves her. They loved her so much.”
Struthers acknowledged that White’s fans successfully “signed petitions to get her to guest host Saturday Night Live” but confessed, “I didn’t have such a great experience with her.” (White died in December 2021 at the age of 99.)
The Gilmore Girls alum called White a “very passive-aggressive woman” and recalled an awkward encounter at White’s home decades earlier.
Struthers explained that she once went to fellow sitcom star White’s home in Los Angeles to work on a pilot for a new game show. While there, White asked her housekeeper to bring the group a snack.
“Then the plate was set in the middle, and it was cookies, I think,” she recalled. “So I reached for a cookie and she said in front of everyone, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you dear, you don’t need a cookie.’”
Struthers claimed that White “totally fat-shamed me in front of the rest of the people in the room. And I thought, ‘Gosh, that’s not nice.’”
While Struthers didn’t have the fondest memories of White, she was close with the actress’ Golden Girls costar Bea Arthur. (White played ditzy Rose on the comedy from 1985 to 1992 opposite Arthur’s sardonic Dorothy. Arthur died in December 2019 at the age of 86.)
“She was a force of nature,” Struthers said of Arthur — whom she met when Arthur guest starred as Maude on All in the Family in 1971. “Bea Arthur was filthier than a drunken sailor on purpose.”
Struthers, who played Gloria on All in the Family, remembered running into Arthur at the grocery store in Brentwood, California, after she moved to the area for the spinoff, Maude, years before Golden Girls’ debut.
Sally Struthers with the cast of ‘All in the Family’: Rob Reiner, Carroll O’Connor, Mike Evans and Jean Stapleton.Getty Images
“She would trash everyone we ever knew,” Struthers said with a laugh. “I loved how filthy she was. She was a big deal. I loved her.”
The actress also remembered Rue McClanahan, who played saucy Blanche on Golden Girls, being a “sweetheart.” McClanahan died in June 2010 at the age of 76.
While Struthers’ encounter with White wasn’t the norm — White was one of the most loved actresses of her time and an American treasure — she wasn’t the only one who didn’t instantly connect with White.
Arthur and White butted heads on the Golden Girls despite playing best friends alongside McClanahan and Estelle Getty, who played Dorothy’s wise-cracking mom Sophia.
“During our time on set, I never felt tension between the two,” Golden Girls writer Stan Zimmerman wrote in The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore, which came out last year. “I only heard stories and recently learned, from producer Marsha Posner Williams on a podcast, that Bea thought Betty was two-faced.”
Zimmerman noted that “Bea liked real people,” writing, “I had the sense that Betty was more like Sue Ann Nivens, the character she played on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, than she was like Rose. More conniving than the innocent airhead from St. Olaf.”
Justin Verlander found himself in the hot seat after using his wife Kate Upton’s Zoom account for a recent press conference.
During a virtual press event on Monday, January 13, an NBC Sports reporter named Taylor Wirth had a hot mic moment that involved Verlander, 41 — but the MLB player didn’t mind.
As San Francisco Giants president of operations Buster Posey was speaking to the reporters, Wirth accidentally interrupted saying, “Look at Justin’s name!”
Wirth didn’t appear to know he was unmuted when he pointed out that Verlander’s Zoom moniker was his wife’s name.
After the Giants’ vice president of media relationship Matt Chisholm reminded the reporters to stay muted unless they are asking a question, Verlander poked fun at his own mishap.
“I’ll change it, alright? I’ll change it,” Verlander quipped, referring to his Zoom name.
The pitcher made good on his promise, changing his moniker to “JUSTIN VERLANDER (not Kate)” for the remainder of the press conference.
Justin VerlanderCourtesy of MLB/X
Wirth, meanwhile, poked fun at his hot mic blunder by reposting a clip from the Zoom via X. He then shared a meme of a college guy pointing at himself while holding a beer, confirming he was the one who called out Verlander.
Verlander met Upton, 32, in 2012 while shooting a commercial for the Major League Baseball 2K12 video game. They went public with their romance in January 2013. After briefly splitting later that year, they reunited in January 2014.
Justin VerlanderSteph Chambers/Getty Images
After the former Houston Astros pitcher won the 2017 World Series with his team, he and Upton jetted off to Italy to get married.
The pair celebrated their one-year anniversary in November 2018 days before welcoming their daughter, Genevieve. The following year, Verlander reflected on the past decade and all of his life changes.
“It’s been such an incredible decade! Meeting my best friend, getting married and starting a family has been the most amazing gift ever!!! Nothing tops that,” he wrote via Instagram in December 2019. “On the field … winning a championship, throwing a couple no hitters and winning a few awards along the way has been an incredible journey. The friendships that have grown or began this past decade will continue on for decades to come. Truly blessed . Now bring on the next decade!!”
Since entering the 2020s, Verlander’s baseball trajectory has changed more than once. In December 2022 he said goodbye to the Astros after six years with the ball club. That same month he confirmed he was joining the New York Mets for the 2023 season, but by August of that year he was back with the Astros.
Earlier this month, Verlander entered another new phase of his MLB career as a pitcher for the Giants. He signed a one-year contract with the team on January 11 for $15 million.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson recalled having to choose between working on his craft or taking unemployment so he could eat during the beginning of his career.
“I started out in theater. I got my equity card pretty easily [when] I did Shakespeare in the Park,” Ferguson, 49, told Kathy Bates during the Tuesday, January 14, episode of his “Dinner’s on Me” podcast, which was taped before the Los Angeles wildfires broke out last week.
He noted that when the show moved to Broadway it “only lasted a few months” and his career stalled. To make ends meet he worked a few odd jobs.
“I worked at a gift shop. I worked at coffee shops,” Ferguson remembered.
While he still dabbled in theater during that time frame the money was minimal. “I would do off Broadway things. But there [were] times when the paychecks that you would make doing these off-Broadway shows were not as good as the unemployment,” he explained, adding, “I would really have to think, like, ‘Do I want to eat, or do I want to grow my artistic self and take these great parts?’ And there [were] times when I was really nervous about it.”
He pointed out that “taking work would actually mean a pay cut because my unemployment was more.”
Ferguson made his Broadway debut in 1998’s On the Town. He later starred in the original cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which started in 2006. His Shakespeare in the Park gigs include 2007’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2010’s A Winter’s Tale and The Merchant of Venice and 2015’s The Tempest.
His small screen career took off in 2006 when he began playing Richie Velch on The Class before landing his biggest TV role to date playing Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family in 2009. The sitcom lasted 11 seasons, ending in 2020. (He was nominated for five Emmys during the show’s run.)
In 2022, Ferguson made a splash on Broadway once again with Take Me Out. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Mason Marzac. He returned to the big screen in 2023 for Cocaine Bear and followed it up with All That We Love in 2024. Ferguson also had a guest starring role on Elsbeth last year.
Outside of acting, Ferguson hosts his podcast and raises his two children with husband Justin Mikita. (The couple welcomed sons Beckett and Sullivan via surrogates in 2020 and 2022, respectively.)
“We’re a little overbearing at times, and we want to hug them and snuggle them,” Ferguson exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2024 of his parenting style.
“Collectively, they’re both like, ‘OK, enough, back up and together we’re deciding that you guys are a little overwhelming,’” he teased. “I love that they’re kind of already, like, drawing a line in the sand together about us.”
Ferguson noted that he’s OK with his kids uniting against their parents, telling Us, “That’s really sweet. I love that they’re gonna have each other for their whole lives.”
Brooke Shields, Luke MacfarlanePhillip Faraone/Getty Images; Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Hallmark Media made headlines in 2022 when they upped their exclusive contracts following a mass exodus of their talent to competitor Great American Media.
“It’s usually for either two movies, and some of them are for a Christmas movie,” Hallmark executive vice president Lisa Hamilton Daly told Deadline in May 2022 of their approach to keeping stars such as Lacey Chabert and Nikki DeLoach. “It’s really to make sure that we have access to that talent during the year.”
While the contract was lucrative, the actress ended the working relationship after just three Flower Shop Mysteries films.
“I’d completed only three when I realized I had to renegotiate. I’d been hired, I was told, to help change the face of the network,” she wrote. “They wanted me to be funny and bring more comedy to their offerings, but as filming progressed on each of the Flower Shop Mysteries — the franchise I was hired to headline — all the humor had evaporated.”
Scroll down to see which Hallmark stars past and present have talked about their respective contracts:
Brooke Shields
Cindy Ord/WireImage
After playing flower shop owner and ex-lawyer Abby Knight in three Flower Shop Mysteries movies in 2016, Shields cut ties with Hallmark.
“Not everything is for everyone, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Hallmark Channel — God knows it has a huge fan base — but it was not the future I wanted for my career,” Shields wrote in her Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old memoir, which was released in January 2025. “I’m never against hard work, but I am now a believer in only saying yes to work that serves me.”
The actress realized, “I simply could not do ten more films that were not what I was promised and felt completely wrong for me. So I quit. I definitely surprised some people, and in plenty of ways I surprised myself. I certainly would never have done that in my 20s.”
“I’ve had overall deals with them and in [the terms it says,] I’m gonna commit to five Christmas movies or five movies, but I can’t work for any other network — and they name all the other networks — and they can’t be holiday-related movies,” he explained during an appearance on Tosh Show in December 2023. “So I was able to do [Netflix’s Single All the Way] because I was outside my deal with them.”
The actor noted that Netflix paid less than his Hallmark projects which pay “well.” Macfarlane is also a fan of his residuals from the network.
“They have to air a certain amount of time before you start getting [residuals],” he said of Hallmark. “If you end up doing one of the ones that kind of hits and is popular, it gets aired more and more, so you eventually get residuals.”
Candace Cameron Bure
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Cameron Bure stepped away from her role as Hallmark’s “Queen of Christmas” in April 2022. She gave insight into her decision to move to Great American that September, claiming it was partially because of negotiations.
“The truth is I’ve been under contract with Hallmark for a very, very long time. And those have been absolutely wonderful,” she told Variety at the time. “It just so happened that my contract was expiring when Great American Family started up.”
Cameron Bure — who starred in 18 Aurora Teagarden Mysteries on Hallmark Mysteries — alleged that she waited until the contract was up before talking with Great American Media. “We did not start having those discussions until we were well into negotiations with Hallmark Channel for renewing,” she continued. “And as every businessperson knows, you’ve got to do what’s right for contracts. It didn’t work out with Hallmark and so we started talking to Bill.”
Danica McKellar
Jason Davis/Getty Images
McKellar became a fixture on Hallmark in 2015, but parted ways with the network in October 2021 as one of the first stars to ink a deal with Great American Media. In November 2024, she revealed that she wasn’t under contract with Hallmark at any point.
“At Hallmark, I never had an overall deal. And, with Great American, I had these multi-picture deals,” McKellar claimed during an episode of the “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast. “They let me be way more involved in the writing and the producing. It is so creatively fulfilling.”
The actors began working together during season 6 of the Hallmark Channel series playing Nathan Grant and Fiona Miller, respectively. While their characters aren’t romantically involved, McGarry and Wallace sparked a real-life relationship off camera.
McGarry confirmed they were dating via social media in November 2020. Less than two years later, the couple starred in their first rom-com for the network, Feeling Butterflies, which aired in March 2022.
The twosome teamed up for Hallmark’s Christmas in July film My Grown-Up Christmas List. In the movie, Wallace portrayed Taylor Nichols, while McGarry played Luke Malone.
“The trick to my treat. It’s like being in a loving caring, magical relationship with the house that gives full size chocolate bars!” the Christmas Scavenger Hunt actor wrote via Instagram in a tribute to his love. “Happy Birthday Darling xx @imkaylawallace.”
Wallace showed McGarry support ahead of the premiere of his holiday film, Checkin’ It Twice, which premiered on Hallmark October 20. She reposted the movie’s poster via her Instagram Story, adding a red heart emoji alongside a tag with his name.
McGarry confirmed at the annual Hearties Family Reunion fan event that he and Wallace had tied the knot. “That ring on your finger, I hope it’s not a prop,” a panel host asked him in an Instagram clip from the event. McGarry responded, “No, it’s not a prop,” before flashing his wedding band for attendees. He did not share additional details about their nuptials at the time.
“Her smile is my favorite thing. I’m so happy I get to look at it for the rest of my life,” McGarry gushed about Wallace via Instagram. “Happy Kayla-ween to my beautiful wife. Xo 🎃 Happy birthday 🎈.”
The following month, McGarry sang his wife’s praises while supporting her debut on the Paramount+ series Landman. “So incredibly proud of my beautiful, movie star wife! Xo @landmanpplus premieres Nov 17th on @paramountplus,” he captioned a series of social media photos of Wallace on the red carpet.
“A story about the people and families that work the oil patch to supply America with its largest export!” McGarry added. “An exceptionally talented team of writers, actors, and crew create a story that’s suspenseful, horrific, exciting, but above all heartbreakingly human. Can’t wait for the world to see it, Darlin.”
Wallace exclusively told Us Weekly about her and McGarry’s dynamic, revealing how they coordinate working apart. “Kevin and I have been really lucky that our schedules have kind of flip-flopped,” she said. “We've just been incredibly lucky with timing.”
The actress noted that they “hope” they can continue to “be in the same city with each other as the other person's filming” but acknowledged that it’s a “struggle” at times.
“There's travel involved in this career, so we've just been super lucky so far that we've been able to be together in both cities,” she added.
Wallace also teased that fans could see them reunite for future When Calls the Heart episodes. “I can say that there’s a chance that I will return,” she said.
Tim Tebow and wife Demi-Leigh Tebow are expecting their first baby.
“Baby Tebow ,” the couple captioned an Instagram Reel on Tuesday, January 14, announcing Demi-Leigh’s pregnancy. The twosome revealed that their little one is due this summer.
In the video, the former NFL quarterback, 37, gave his wife a kiss before unveiling a sonogram of their baby to the camera. Demi-Leigh, who is 16 weeks pregnant, glowed in the maternity photo shoot, wearing a form-fitting white dress that showed off her growing baby bump.
“We are just so excited and so over the moon to be having a baby together,” Demi-Leigh, 29, told People on Tuesday. “I feel like every time I say, ‘Tim’s going to be a dad!’ it feels so surreal.”
Tim, meanwhile, said he is “honored for the privilege of getting the responsibility and the joy of being mom and dad.”
The couple shared their pregnancy news ahead of their five-year wedding anniversary. Tim and Demi-Leigh tied the knot in Cape Town, South Africa, on January 20, 2020, after a yearlong engagement.
The retired football player met his now-wife in 2018 at the Tim Tebow Foundation’s annual event Night to Shine, which is a prom for people with special needs.
“Demi had a little sister with severe special needs. [She] was kind of our matchmaker,” Tim exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2024 of Demi-Leigh’s sister Franje, who had cerebellar agenesis and died in May 2019. “Demi and her family were invited [to Night of Shine], but unfortunately her sister was too sick to go. But through that, we connected and never stopped talking.”
While the pair felt an instant connection, Demi-Leigh confessed to Us in August 2024 that there was a “language barrier” when they began dating.
Courtesy of Demi-Leigh Tebow/Instagram
“Loving in a second language is different,” Demi-Leigh explained, asking her husband, “Remember the first time after our first date, I told you, ‘Keep well,’ and you thought I was dismissing you?”
Tim recalled the moment, telling Us, “Her first language is Afrikaans, not English,” since Demi-Leigh is from South Africa.
“I was like, ‘Keep well? … I don’t know if I’m going to see you again!’” he laughed of their initial exchanges.
Despite their communication barriers, the duo said “I do” in 2020 and were quickly asked when they planned to expand their family.
“I don’t know if we’re running the four-minute offense or we’re playing defense,” Tim told Extra in November 2020. “We’re trying to figure out what’s next for us.”
Tim noted that both he and the former Miss Universe “definitely want” children and were “excited for when it’s just the right time” to become parents.
The couple started out as two friends in Texas who went to school together. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback became close with Matthews in 2011 when he was just a freshman at Whitehouse High School.
After dating for several years, the pair attended different colleges but remained an item.
“He ended up going to Texas Tech, and that’s when it really hit me, ‘Oh s—t, he might go play professional football,” Matthews told Today in December 2020 of her then-fiancé’s football skills. “It was surreal to see him living his dream and seeing him grow as an athlete and as a man in general was just amazing.”
They cemented their relationship in March 2022 when they said “I do” in Hawaii. Mahomes and Matthews have since embraced married life — and the craziness that comes with raising three children.
Scroll down to relive Mahomes and Matthews’ love story:
The Texas teens started dating in March 2012 when Mahomes was a sophomore and Matthews was a junior at Whitehouse High School in East Texas. The pair were friends for a year before Mahomes gave Matthews a Valentine’s Day card and a rose in the cafeteria, which resulted in the soccer player considering him as a romantic prospect.
The couple attended multiple school dances together including Matthews’ senior prom in May 2013.“Best prom date a guy could ask for!! #prom2013 #bestfriend #greatnight,” the quarterback captioned a collage of photos from the night via Instagram.
The pair kept their romance alive while attending different colleges in Texas. Mahomes played football at Texas Tech University from 2014 to 2017, while Matthews played soccer for the University of Texas at Tyler from 2013 to 2017.
Mahomes chose to forgo his final year of eligibility as a college quarterback to enter the NFL draft in April 2017. He was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs as their first-round pick and the 10th overall pick. “Officially a Kansas City Chiefs fan! I'm so proud of you Patrick!” Matthews wrote via Instagram at the time. “I cannot wait to take on this amazing journey by your side!❤️ I love you lots!”
A month after her love signed with the Chiefs, Matthews landed her own deal with Iceland’s pro soccer team. Mahomes was by her side in May 2017 when she signed the contract.
After two seasons with the Chiefs, the couple bought a home together in May 2019 in Kansas City. The nearly $2 million home has three bedrooms, three baths, a home gym and pool, according to Bizjournals.com.
The couple celebrated Kansas City’s Super Bowl win in February 2020 with an on-field kiss and lots of confetti. “I am so beyond proud of this dude and this team, all year it was about battling, amazing comebacks and overcoming an injury, and for that YOU DESERVE THIS,” Matthews captioned a series of photos after the victory.
“8 years ago, you played safety & I was a cheerleader in a small town called Whitehouse, TX,” the fitness trainer wrote via Instagram in March 2020, celebrating the couple’s 8-year anniversary. “Oh how times have changed! Love you❤️.”
After more than eight years together, the professional athlete proposed to Matthews in September 2020. Mahomes got down on one knee in a VIP box at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in front of an illuminated sign that read, “Will You Marry Me?” There was also a massive floral display and a candlelight dinner to follow.
Weeks after getting engaged, the couple announced in September 2020 that they are expecting their first child together. “Mom & Dad, taking a small detour to the wedding❤️,” the bride-to-be wrote via Instagram alongside a photo of the pair holding a sonogram.
The soon-to-be parents revealed in October 2020 that they are having a baby girl. The pair set off confetti poppers while their friends and loved ones virtually watched the announcement.
The football player announced the arrival of his first child with Matthews on February 21. "Sterling Skye Mahomes 2/20/21," he captioned an Instagram pic of his daughter's hand with his and Matthews'. The new mom was photographed wearing a necklace bearing their daughter's name.
Matthews celebrated after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round NFL playoff game. The fitness guru popped a bottle of champagne and sprayed fans in the Missouri stadium. "Oops 🤷🏻♀️ #LETSGOOOOO," she captioned the clip via Twitter.
In their joint Instagram post announcing Matthews' pregnancy, she and Mahomes revealed they are ready for "Round 2!" with their second child. The couple posed for multiple photos with their daughter, Sterling, who wore a shirt that read, "I Have a Secret to Tell You." She then changed into a different shirt emblazoned with the phrase, "Big Sister."
"Just traveling the world with these two❤️," Matthews captioned a sweet photo of her and Mahomes with their little girl in a tropical location.
Matthews gave birth to the pair’s son on November 28. Named after his father, their second child will go by “Bronze.”
“Patrick ‘Bronze’ Lavon Mahomes III 11/28/22 7lbs 8oz,” the athlete wrote via Instagram at the time.
Mahomes joined his wife as a part owner of the Kansas City Current more than two years after Matthews became involved with the team. The women’s soccer organization was also cofounded by Chris and Angie Long.
“I am thankful for the chance to join @brittanylynne as part of the @thekccurrent ownership team,” the quarterback wrote via an Instagram statement. “She and the Longs have done an incredible job building a world-class organization and I am excited to join another championship-caliber club as it continues to make history.”
Matthews, for her part, said in the team’s statement that she is "so thrilled to make this a family affair.” She noted that her husband” has been a huge supporter behind-the-scenes. His passion for the Current is undeniable and I am glad that he will be with us as we continue on our journey to become the best in the NWSL."
"MY BABY DID IT!!!!!" Matthews tweeted after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. "Patrick and his teammates are DAWGSSSS."
“Happy 1st Anniversary. One of the best weeks of my life, marrying your best friend it’s one of the greatest things you could do!” Matthews wrote via Instagram. “Nothing beats doing life with you and these beautiful kiddos of ours! Year 1 was wild but we got many more to go☺️. You & Me forever♾️.”
The couple reminisced about the start of their relationship during episode 1 of Netflix’s Quarterback docuseries, which premiered on July 12. “We kinda met in seventh, eighth grade,” Mahomes recalled in the documentary. “She was the grade above me, I was kind of the best friend, in the friend zone forever.”
It wasn’t until Mahomes gifted Matthews a rose on Valentine’s Day during his sophomore year of high school that he upgraded from her friend to boyfriend. “He thought it was a joke,” Matthews said of the gesture. “I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. And then everyone at our lunch table started chanting, ‘Kiss him, kiss him,’ and made it really awkward cause we were ‘just friends’ so that’s kind of what started it and then I thought it was cute.”
Patrick led the Chiefs to their second consecutive Super Bowl victory before Brittany joined him on the field for the Lombardi Trophy presentation. She brought kids Sterling and Bronze with them, as well as Patrick’s mother, Randi, and brother Jackson.
“It means the world that [they’re here],” Patrick gushed. “Brittany is a great wife with two great kids. I can’t ask for anything better than this.”
The pair revealed they are expecting baby No. 3. Brittany and Patrick shared the news via an Instagram video that featured Sterling and Bronze showing off their mom’s ultrasound photos.
The couple welcomed their third child, daughter Golden.
“•Golden Raye Mahomes• 1/12/25🎀✨,” read a joint Instagram post that showed off their newborn daughter’s feet.
