Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher has revealed that she was sexually abused by an uncle – something that has haunted the actress for 35 years.
In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Hatcher describes how she carried her horrible secret with her until the 2002 suicide of a 14-year-old girl who also was molested by the uncle, Richard Hayes Stone, Reuters reports.
Afraid that her uncle might avoid prosecution, Hatcher recounts how she found out about the case in newspaper stories and was "blown over by this girl's pain," the actress said. "I thought, 'Boy, that's really close to being me.'"
Santa Clara, Calif., Deputy District Attorney Chuck Gillingham says it was Hatcher's testimony that eventually led to a guilty plea from Stone and a 14-year prison sentence.
"Without Teri, this case would have been dismissed," Gillingham tells Vanity Fair.
Hatcher said that she kept the abuse, which took place when she was 5, a secret from everyone, including her parents. She last saw Stone when she was 8 or 9 years old.
"That's a victim thing; you ask yourself, 'Am I just crazy? Did I make all this up?' Somehow it might be easier to accept that you're crazy and made it all up than to admit that it happened, and how awful it was," she said.
Hatcher never discussed her involvement in the case, even after Stone's sentencing, nor does she discuss it in her upcoming memoir, "Burned Toast."
But Hatcher says she's been haunted by the abuse her entire life and she finally realized it would be better to get it out in the open.
"I'm 41 years old, and it's time for me to stop hiding," she said.
Paris Hilton has to be careful where she lands, according to the rules laid out in an unusual restraining order filed against the 25-year-old socialite.
On Monday, a California Superior Court representative approved a three-year order filed against Hilton by Brian Quintana, an event producer who was once friends with Hilton, the Associated Press reports.
Because they often travel in the same social circles, the order dictates that Hilton must stay at least 100 yards away from the producer – unless they're at the same party. In that case, the distance need only be at least 25 feet.
Quintana and Hilton's friendship reportedly fell apart after Quintana urged Hilton boyfriend Stavros Niarchos III to reconsider his relationship with the hotel heiress. Quintana, 37, who originally introduced the couple to each other, testified that Hilton harassed and threatened him.
A spokesman for Hilton said "The Simple Life" star is happy to keep her distance from him.
Bachelor Couple Call It Quits
The rules drove them apart: That's the official word from The Bachelor: Paris couple Dr. Travis Stork and Sarah Stone, who say they have broken up.
In a joint interview with the Nashville Tennessean on Monday, Stork and Stone said that the rules of the ABC reality show, which forced Stork to keep his selection a secret following the show's taping in November, ultimately led to their undoing, the Associated Press reports.
"You're in Paris and you're part of this incredible experience, this fantasy world, and then suddenly you come back to Nashville," said Stork. Instead of pursuing the romance, "You're forced to pretend you don't know someone."
Although rumors had surfaced following the finale that linked the two, Stork said revealing the outcome would have been a "huge breach of contract." Instead, he added, the couple, who are both Nashville natives, went to great lengths to avoid one another. It wasn't until the Feb. 27 finale that viewers knew Stork selected Stone out of 25 women on the show.
"I remember one day Sarah was running down the street, and I walked out my front door on my bike and I instantly saw this person darting across the street, through traffic. I'm like, 'That’s Sarah. Do I look, do I not? What do I do?'" Stork recalled. He ended up riding his bike in the opposite direction. "It's strange to have to live that way."
Stone said that if the two had met under other circumstances their relationship might have played out differently. "We wouldn't have had all the baggage that comes from being on this show," she said. "It would just be the two of us being able to hang out and get to know each other in a normal situation."
Both say that they remain single and have fond memories of their experience in Paris. "We both agree and know that we’ll be friends forever," Stone said.
Her birthday is more than a week away, but that didn't stop Eva Longoria from starting the celebration early with friends and family at Italian eatery Bella in Hollywood. There the Desperate Housewife – who turns 31 on March 15 – was given a bunch of balloons and a vase of long-stemmed roses, and while she worked the room of 25, she got lots of hugs from her partygoing pals, including actor Mario Lopez. The only important person missing? Beau Tony Parker.
Meanwhile, while the festivities were in full swing, American Idol star Constantine Maroulis feasted with two lady friends at a nearby table.
Madonna's steamy kiss with Britney Spears during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards might have raised some eyebrows around the world, but it left one little girl a bit confused.
The Material Mom tells Out magazine that her 9-year-old daughter, Lourdes, asked whether her mom is gay because she kissed another woman, the Associated Press reports.
"(Lourdes) is really obsessed with who is gay," Madonna tells Out magazine. "And she even asked, 'Mom, you know they say that you are gay?' And I'm, 'Oh, do they? Why?' And she says, 'Because you kissed Britney Spears.'"
"I said, 'No, it just means I kissed Britney Spears. I am the mommy pop star and she is the baby pop star. And I am kissing her to pass my energy on to her,'" Madonna says she told her daughter.
The round of tonsil-hockey, which took place during her performance of "Like a Virgin" at the awards show, has been used as a barometer of VMA excess ever since.
In the interview with Out, which appears in the April issue, Madonna says Lourdes often asks, "'Mom, do you want me to out who the gay men are?' And I say, 'Okay, but I think I already know.'"
Madonna also touches on her feud with Elton John, who has accused her of lip-synching.
"He seems to be angry," she says. "I seem to have become a target. It's not very gentlemanly or gracious." But, she added, John did send her a letter of apology prior to his wedding to filmmaker David Furnish in December.
