Petra Nemcova ends engagement
The supermodel and the actor made plans to tie the knot after a whirlwind eight-month romance in January 2011, and their ceremony had been planned for June this year. A statement for Nemcova's agency, Next Models, read: "Petra Nemcova and Jamie Belman confirm their separation. They remain close friends and thank their families for their continued support during this time. There will be no further comment on the matter."
Petra had been due to wear a Marchesa wedding dress, which she had picked out in summer last year, at the ceremony. The Czech-born model survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, which tragically claimed the life of her then-boyfriend, photographer Simon Atlee. She has since founded a charity, Happy Hearts, dedicated to helping improve education for children living in disaster-stricken areas. She said since that time she also started living life more fully. She said: "I used to work all the time, and now if there is a wedding, there's a concert, I'm there." Petra has also previously been romantically linked to singer James Blunt, actor Sean Penn and director Peter Berg.
One Direction's Harry Styles on the lookout
The pop heartthrob — who has previously dated TV presenter Caroline Flack and has been linked to singer Lily Halpern — is keen to find someone who is more than just good looking and wants someone who he can have a decent talk with. He said: "I like someone who is fun, someone funny, someone you can have a conversation with."
The singer — who is joined in the band alongside Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — continues to be surprised at how successful the group have become worldwide in recent weeks.
During an appearance on 2Day FM's Kyle and Jackie O Show, he said: "I don't think it's something we will get used to, we're just normal lads, everything that is happening to us at the moment is amazing."
As such, he doesn't believe any of the group — who were formed on the UK version of ‘The X Factor' in 2010 — would ever quit because they are too busy enjoying themselves. He added: "We're having such an amazing time we would never leave."
Christina Applegate opts for maternity jeans
The 40-year-old actress and her musician fiance Martyn LeNoble welcomed Sadie into the world in January 2011 and Christina has confessed she still hasn't ditched her elasticated pregnancy pants. In a feature for Us Weekly magazine entitled 25 Things You Don't Know About Me, she revealed: "I still wear maternity jeans. They're so comfortable."
Since her daughter arrived, Christina hasn't made her own bed because she's just been too busy being a mother. She said: "I haven't made my bed since Sadie was born. Just. Can't." The ‘Hall Pass' star also made another surprising revelation to her fans — she was named after her mother's pet dog.
She stated: "I'm named after my mom's dog, who was named after a painting by Andrew Wyeth."
Christina took inspiration for her own pooch's name from a character in 1976 children's film ‘Bugsy Malone'. She said: "I named my dog Tallulah after Jodie Foster's character in ‘Bugsy Malone'."
The Simpsons' hometown
Matt Groening, creator of the animated series, has always kept the inspiration for the fictional Springfield in the show secret until now, saying it is based on a community 100 miles south of where he grew up in Portland.
He told Smithsonian magazine: "Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show ‘Father Knows Best' took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realised it was just a fictitious name.
"I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the US.
"In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, ‘This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do."
Matt added the animated family's home Evergreen Terrace is named after the street he grew up on, while other characters in the series — which has run for 23 years — such as Reverend Lovejoy, school bully Kearney and the Simpsons neighbour Ned Flanders are all named after streets in Portland.
Four of the family members — Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie — are all named after Matt's own family, but he changed the name of the boy in the series from Matt to Bart.
Explaining why, he said it was because he "had this idea of an angry father yelling ‘Bart,' and Bart sounds kind of like bark - like a barking dog," which he thought would be funnier.
The town of Springfield, Oregon, was beaten by Springfield, Vermont, in a competition to host the premiere of ‘The Simpsons Movie' in 2007.