By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:06am PDT, Aug 8, 2021
Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the celebrities who found love, suffered heartbreak or experienced some other major event in their love lives in early August 2021, starting with this pair… On July 25, Liam Payne and his ex-fiancée, Maya Henry, sparked reconciliation rumors with their allegedly flirtatious behavior at the Crazy Bear Hotel in Buckinghamshire, England. "They were touching each other all the time. Stroking arms and flirting. I'd say it was heavy petting. He even had his arm around her at one point," a spy told The Sun. "They didn't kiss but they were sat right out in the open and it wasn't like they were hiding the fact they were together. They didn't seem to care who saw them. Then they left together." In June, the former One Direction singer revealed that he and the model had called off their engagement of nearly a year.
Now keep reading for more of the week's biggest celeb love life updates…
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Page Six reported on Aug. 4 that Sandra Lee has a new boyfriend: 42-year-old Algerian interfaith leader, writer and producer Ben Youcef with whom she's been "spotted hanging out in St-Tropez this week." Said a source, "Sandra feels especially grateful and blessed for her life right now." In the summer of 2019, the TV chef ended her relationship of 14 years with embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
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Model Paige Lorenze — who made headlines earlier this year when she alleged that Armie Hammer abused her during their relationship — sparked rumors that she's dating Morgan Wallen when she took to Instagram on Aug. 3 to share a video of herself hanging out with the controversial country music star's sister, Ashlyne Wallen, at a Nashville farmers market. Earlier in the month, Paige could be seen watching Morgan sing and play guitar for a small group of friends seated around an outdoor fire pit. (See a video here.) It's entirely possible, of course, that she's simply friendly with the whole Wallen clan…
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On the Aug. 3 episode of "The Talk," John Corbett revealed that he and his partner of nearly 20 years, Bo Derek, quietly tied the knot "around Christmastime" last year. "We didn't make an announcement, [but] all our friends and family knew," he said. "But this is the first time either one of us has said anything publicly about it because really, we haven't had an opportunity. … Now I guess I'm telling all of America or the world. And, yeah, after 20 years we decided to get married. We didn't want 2020 to be that thing that everybody looks back at and hated, [so] we thought, 'Let's get one nice thing out of it.'" Last summer, Bo indicated that she and the "Sex and the City" actor had no plans to take their relationship to the next level.
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Deux Moi reported on Aug. 4 that, according to an anonymous source, Amy Poehler is "seeing a man right now" who "happens to be a famous architect" in Los Angeles. The "Saturday Night Live" alum, who shares two sons with ex-husband Will Arnett, has managed to keep her love life almost entirely under wraps since her two-year romance with Nick Kroll came to an end in 2015 … so take this potentially exciting news with a hefty grain of salt!
On Aug. 5, Kate Bosworth took to Instagram to announce that she and Michael Polish are going their separate ways after nearly eight years of marriage. The "Blue Crush" actress captioned a photo of herself kissing the filmmaker during happier times, "The beginning is often the best part of love. Fireworks, magnets, rebellion — the attraction. The onset signals a wide open expanse of possibility. Split a burger with someone when you are falling in love, and you can die happily knowing this is your last meal. Buy a bottle of whiskey and share shots, pour me a waterfall. Play that perfect song on the jukebox and dance with someone you have known your whole life, though you met minutes ago. Inherently we fear an ending. To lose what you have because you got what you wanted. To be attached to the expectation of the outcome. The great Unknown. What if we chose not to fear but instead, to love. If that most delicate and vulnerable last flicker to the flame became another type of furnace entirely. Perhaps this will sound strange to some, romantic to others. To us: this is truth. Our hearts are full, as we have never been so enamored and deeply grateful for one another as we do in this decision to separate. Together, over the last ten years, Michael and I have chosen love, every time. We hold hands as tightly today as we entangled fingers on our wedding day. Our eyes look more deeply into one another, with more courage now. In the process of letting go, we have come to acknowledge that our love will never end. The connection does not simply disappear. The love deepens, the heart expands. We know the 4 am calls are coming. Songs will be exchanged to communicate only what songs can do. We laugh as we plan for our next movie together and are excited to share our latest collaboration. We believe the most epic love stories are those which transcend expectation. Our greatest honor has been to experience love like this, and to continue to marvel at the beauty of love's evolution. What happens when we reach the end of something and realize … we are just at the beginning. This is love." The duo tied the knot in 2013 after he directed her in the 2011 drama "Big Sur."
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"The Real Housewives of Orange County" alum Jo De La Rosa announced on Instagram on July 31 that she and Taran Gray Peirson are engaged. "Still feel like I'm dreaming. The morning after but last night, I said yes," she captioned a photo of herself cuddling the musician with her new engagement bling on full display. Taran, meanwhile, shared a close-up shot of the former reality star's ring-adorned hand along with the caption, "Jo Peirson has a nice 'ring' to it." The duo met on the dating app Hinge in June 2020.
Nelly and longtime love Shantel Jackson have gone their separate ways after about seven years of coupledom. On July 31, the actress took to Instagram to share a slideshow of photos of herself. When a follower asked if she and the rapper are "still together," she replied, "No we're not ….. Just friends." Late last year, Nelly told "Entertainment Tonight" that he and Shantel were in it for the long haul and "working towards" an engagement.
During a July 29 interview with Life & Style magazine, Matthew Rondeau confirmed recent speculation that he and Shanna Moakler broke up again. "I broke up with Shanna months ago, and I'm happier than I have ever been," he said. "I'm focusing truly on finding myself again as a person emotionally and mentally. I hope she finds what she's looking for, but it's not going to be me." According to a People magazine source, however, "it's not true he broke up with her." Added the insider, "She's focused on her own life and happiness, not on Matthew. She's busy with work and is moving on." The off-and-on couple sparked split rumors when they suddenly unfollowed each other on social media and deleted old photos of themselves together.
On Aug. 3, Yung Miami took to her Instagram Story to share a brief video of herself drinking from a liquor bottle while sitting in Diddy's lap. She quickly deleted the super-short clip (see it here), which fueled rumors she's dating the 51-year-old music mogul. Said a Page Six source of the rumored couple, "[He] is known for dating young beautiful women and the City Girls mantra is to only date men with money or it is just a waste of your time. [She] has her own money, but she wants someone to 'match her fly' and treat her to the lifestyle that she has become accustomed to. So a boss like Diddy is a perfect fit." The duo first sparked romance rumors in June when the 27-year-old City Girls rapper posted a slideshow of photos from an Atlanta bash including a shot of herself and Diddy holding hands.
During an Aug. 2 interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Giannina Gibelli revealed that she and "Love Is Blind" co-star Damian Powers are no longer a couple. "I am officially single," she said, adding that they "haven't been dating for a couple of months now" and that she's "moved on" from their relationship of about two and a half years, has "processed" their breakup and is now "at peace." Explained the reality star, "We were just very different, and I think that's very clear. There's nothing wrong with that, opposites really attract, but with us … the way that we communicated, we didn't really understand what the other was trying to say. It was constantly like that. … We had some really great moments in our relationship. Like some of my best memories, ever … but at the end of the day, we just weren't as compatible as we should have been after dating for two years. If the relationship isn't easy and you're kind of arguing over these little things, things that you should have moved on from, it's just like, 'All right. What's happening?'" She also admitted that Damian's flirtatious friendship with "Too Hot to Handle" alum Francesca Farago played a role in the breakup, noting that "that trust wasn't really there" anymore after he brought Francesca to a "Love Is Blind" party in the fall of 2020. (The party played out on the "Love Is Blind: After the Altar" reunion special, which debuted on Netflix on July 28.) Giannina hasn't ruled out maintaining a friendship with her ex, though: "We always felt that we were really good friends. But as lovers, it was just very intense, in not the best ways," she said. Meanwhile, she's "definitely ready to date."
On Aug. 4, Jaime King and her boyfriend, Sennett Devermont, finally made their relationship Instagram official: "I love you," she captioned a professional photo of herself and the Mr. Checkpoint founder looking all loved-up. (See it here.) The pair were first linked in November.
Still going strong! Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott took to Instagram on Aug. 4 to publicly celebrate their second anniversary. "2 years and still my favorite," the actress captioned a sweet selfie with the "Property Brothers" star. Jonathan, meanwhile, shared a slideshow of photos and videos with Zooey on the set of "Carpool Karaoke," where they first connected in 2019. "Who knew that two years ago, walking into the 'Carpool Karaoke' offices, I'd meet you and my life [would] change forever. Thank you for making everything better @zooeydeschanel (time really does fly when you're having the most fun!)," he wrote in the caption.
During an interview with Us Weekly that debuted online on July 29, "Below Deck Mediterranean" star Malia White revealed that she and Tom Checketts called it quits last summer after she learned "through a friend" that he cheated while they were working on different boats during the pandemic. "It was impossible for us to see each other. It was right when [season 5 was] coming out, [and there was] obviously a lot going on in our lives. And, yeah, he found someone else on his boats, and I didn't know for a couple of months," she said, adding that her ex is "very sorry" and "wants to get back" together with her. She ruled out a reconciliation, though, saying, "Wow, not for me."
According to Us Weekly, Bachelor Nation's J.P. Rosenbaum filed to divorce former "The Bachelorette" star Ashley Hebert in Florida's Miami-Dade County on July 28 — nearly a year after they first announced they were going their separate ways following eight years of marriage. The couple fell in love on the seventh season of the hit ABC reality show back in 2011 and tied the knot the following year.
On Aug. 2, a judge in King County, Washington, signed off on the divorce between billionaire philanthropists Bill Gates and Melinda Gates following 27 years of marriage. According to People magazine, Melinda will not receive spousal support from her ex or revert to her maiden name.
Here we go again… The Blast reported on Aug. 2 that Lisa Marie Presley's ex-husband, Michael Lockwood, is taking her back to court to secure monthly child support payments for the twin daughters they share. He claims in legal documents that although they both "earned very minimal income throughout their marriage," he and the singer "lived what can conservatively be considered a very extravagant lifestyle" with "expenses [that] averaged at least $100,000 per month" thanks to funds she received through her trust and through the Presley family's various business endeavors stemming from her late father's estate. The duo have been fighting over money since they first separated in 2016.
