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Bec snaps: I’ve had enough

Bec snaps: I've had enough

The cracks show in Bec and Lleyton Hewitt’s seven-year marriage.

Bec Hewitt may be contemplating life as a single mum, with her tennis-star husband Lleyton crushing her dreams of more children and refusing her plea to move back to Australia. The former Home And Away star, 29, gave up her TV career for life on the road with Lleyton, 31. Now she is at her lowest ebb in years as she battles tense times within their seven-year marriage.

Worried friends say the romance in the glamour couple’s relationship has faded and they are at loggerheads over a cluster of personal issues, including Lleyton’s refusal to have more children. He and Bec already have three kids – Mia, 6, Cruz, 3, and Ava, who turns 2 on October 19. “Being the content mother of a large brood of kids has been Bec’s dream from childhood and she’s never been secretive about wanting to have more siblings for Mia, Cruz and Ava,” confides a friend, who praises Bec as “the best wife and mum” and reveals she’s livid at the way she is being denied her dream.

“They [Bec and Lleyton] were once proud to boast they’d never had a cross word, but they’re arguing about this all the time and things are getting worse. “Right now you can’t imagine these two gushing over each other and kissing in public the way they used to – they’re both too annoyed,” the friend adds. “To be fair, Lleyton has always been open about hating the chaos of travelling with a big entourage.

He often pats Bec on the back by saying he doesn’t know how she’s managed over the years, raising the kids in hotel rooms and rented houses or holding the fort at home as a single mum. “He has always maintained they would stop at three children, while Bec always assumed she’d be able to talk him round.” Bec is said to have been devastated by rumours earlier this year that she was pregnant.

Read more about Bec and Lleyton in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 8, 2012.

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Deborra-lee Furness: My secret life with Hugh

Deborra-lee Furness: My secret life with Hugh

The world’s luckiest woman spills the beans on Spanx, Fifty Shades Of Grey and what she gets up to with her heart-throb hubby.

She’s married to one of the sexiest men on the planet, but Deborra-lee Furness is just like the rest of us when it comes to surviving a blah day. “It’s OK for a chick to wear Spanx,” Deb revealed on Network Ten’s Can Of Worms. “I wouldn’t leave home without one!”

Deb also admitted she wished she could have a superpower, saying, “[I want to] eat whatever I want and lose weight.” Hugh Jackman’s wife of 16 years didn’t hold back when faced with tough questions host Chrissie Swan threw at her. When asked whether she’s done a nudie run, Deb didn’t even blush.

“When I first started dating my husband he used to get off the tram [because] he was doing a theatrical show,” she remembers. “And the first night he came home I went to meet him at the tram stop and I just (mimics flashing breasts) – he nearly died.”

Mum to Oscar, 12, and Ava, 7, Deb also weighed in on the best-selling book Fifty Shades Of Grey. “It is complete fantasy, it is not reality,” she says. “Men have had porn forever and enjoyed it and women are doing the same thing.”

Read more about Deb and Hugh in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 8, 2012.

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Delta and Darren back on!

Delta and Darren back on!

Despite rumours of a split, The Voice stars are very much an item.

Their clandestine romance reportedly fizzled as quickly as it began on the set of The Voice, but it seems Delta Goodrem and TV host Darren McMullen are back together.

Dressed in shorts and sunnies, the couple looked more like extras from a romantic comedy than celebs as they got hot and heavy playing golf in LA last week. Ever the gentleman, Darren was only too happy to help Delta with her technique, embracing her from behind and guiding her swing.

After a flirty round, the pair stopped for a sneaky kiss in the car park – the first time they’ve been busted making out in public. Despite being photographed hanging out in LA since The Voice wrapped, both Delta and Darren have refused to comment on their romance. “He’s a really close friend of mine,” Delta said in August.

“I really enjoy his company, but we’re friends, just friends. I’ve learned from my past relationships I’d like to keep things to myself. I’m learning as I go.” But friends say things are very much on between the couple. “He makes her laugh and she loves talking to him, and they are definitely having fun,” a friend of Delta’s tells Woman’s Day.

Read more about Delta and Darren in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 8, 2012.

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Ashton tells Demi: You have to let me go

Ashton tells Demi: You have to let me go

With marriage to Mila on the horizon, the actor begs his ex for a divorce.

It was the conversation with Demi Moore that Ashton Kutcher couldn’t put off any longer, even though he knew it would break his fragile estranged wife’s heart all over again. As the actor’s relationship with Mila Kunis heats up, those close to Ashton – who was busted cheating on Demi with a 22-year-old on their sixth wedding anniversary last year – say he’s planning to propose to his new love at Christmas.

But first he has to finalise his divorce from Demi who, despite their rocky relationship, was said to be still desperately in love with Ashton and clinging to the hope they’ll one day reconcile. “Ashton has been trying to take things slowly with Demi because he’s mindful of the state she’s in,” a source tells Woman’s Day exclusively.

“It has been difficult for him because he still cares deeply about her and feels terrible about what happened. But it’s time to move on with his life – he’s a changed man with Mila and is crazy in love with her.” According to Heat magazine, Ashton, 34, is preparing to whisk Mila to Bali, where they holidayed earlier this year, and pop the question. The proposal won’t come a moment too soon for his former That ’70s Show co-star.

“They’re moving fast, but neither of them has ever been so happy,” a source tells Heat. “Mila says she’s been waiting for a man like Ashton all her life and wants nothing more than to marry him.” And it appears Demi has finally accepted that there’s nothing she can do to win back her husband, agreeing in an emotional heart-to-heart to divorce Ashton and leave him free to marry 29-year-old Mila.

Read more about Demi and Ashton’s chat in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 8, 2012.

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Bachelor Harry is man of the year

Handsome Prince Harry has been featured on the cover of British magazine Tatler completely decked out in his best military uniform. The magazine, which named him their man of the year, chose the playboy prince to grace the cover of their November issue.

The image is a stark contrast from the leaked naked pictures of him partying in Las Vegas which shocked the world a few months ago.

But this isn’t the first magazine cover for the fun-loving 28-year-old. He posed for the cover of British GQmagazine last year and was featured in an article alongside wounded servicemen.

Here we take a look at some of the most famed royal magazine covers.

Prince Harry on the cover of *Tatler* magazine.

Prince Harry on the cover of Tatler magazine.

Prince Harry’s GQ cover.

Princess Mary and her family posed for German *Vogue* magazine.

Princess Mary and her family posed for German Vogue magazine.

Sarah Ferguson posed for *Healthy Ageing* magazine.

Sarah Ferguson posed for Healthy Ageing magazine.

Queen Elizabeth II graced the cover of *Time* Magazine during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Queen Elizabeth II graced the cover of Time Magazine during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Princess Diana’s famed *Vanity Fair* Magazine cover.

Princess Diana’s famed Vanity Fair Magazine cover.

Zara Phillips on the cover of *Tatler* Magazine.

Zara Phillips on the cover of Tatler Magazine.

*Newsweek* caused an uproar when they published a photoshopped image of Kate with Diana.

Newsweek caused an uproar when they published a photoshopped image of Kate with Diana.

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Nicole Kidman refuses racist script

Nicole Kidman has definitely stepped out of her comfort zone in her role in controversial new film The Paperboy, but she drew the line at using the 'N' word in deference to her adopted son.
Nicole Kidman and Connor Cruise

Nicole Kidman has definitely stepped out of her comfort zone in her role in controversial new film The Paperboy, participating in risqué sex scenes and posing nearly nude to promote the film, but she drew the line at using the ‘N’ word.

The 45-year-old actress and mother enthusiastically accepted the role of a trashy, bleach-blonde woman in the dark film set in the 1960s, but she did request that racial slurs be removed from the script out of respect for her adopted African American son, Connor.

“I just didn’t feel it was right for the character,” she explained.

“I have a son who is African American. I just didn’t feel like it was right. What I try to do as an actor is fulfil a director’s vision. I have opinions, but at the same time I’m not there to stop him from anything. I’ve really tried to do that in every film. I never want to pull them off their vision.”

Director Lee Daniels revealed he welcomed Kidman’s request, excusing her from using the offensive word after she had been so willing to cooperate in other controversial scenes.

“I asked her to use the ‘N’ word,” Daniels said in a press conference.

“I could feel the racial tension was there in the town. She said, ‘I won’t do it’. I told my producer, then he mapped it out — ‘Lee, day one she is on a washing machine, day two she is urinating on (co-star) Zac Efron, day three she’s having telepathic sex… I think you can forgive her.”

Wife to Keith Urban and mother of adopted children Isabella, Connor, and daughters Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, Nicole has her hands full with family, but has revealed she wants to take on more challenging roles in the future.

“I just wanted to push myself to do something I haven’t done before. I want to feel challenged, ripped open, to bring discomfort to myself and it’s really hard to find those roles and people who will do it with you,” she said.

“But at this point in my life I don’t want to be scared. I’m going to push through.”

Nicole is currently in Nice, France filming a Grace Kelly biopic.

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Backlash at Cadbury’s ‘patronising’ marketing to women

Backlash at Cadbury's 'patronising' marketing to women

Cadbury is facing criticism over its new 'female-friendly' chocolate bar

Women have come a long way since the 1990s, making advances in the workplace, pay gaps, and women’s rights, but while the fight for a female-friendly chocolate bar was not on feminist’s agendas, apparently it’s a high priority for confectionery giant Cadbury.

In a bid to win back female chocoholics, Cadbury has launched its first new chocolate bar of the century aimed expressly at women with a campaign that has feminists furious.

Olympics outrage: Female athletes fly economy, men fly business

The female-friendly chocolate bar named ‘Crispello’, is hitting the market with a $11 million ad campaign that has attracted criticism for being patronising towards its target audience.

The ad campaign, yet to be revealed, is reported to be a return to token ’90s gender-based marketing, coincidentally the last time Cadbury launched a new chocolate bar with the light, also female-friendly Flake.

Advertisements for the new product will reportedly feature overflowing roll-top baths occupied by scantily-clad women, enjoying the chocolate bar which bears the patronising tag-line “a little treat for you”.

The product itself has also been specifically designed to appeal to weight-conscious, time-poor, female chocolate lovers.

With only 165 calories per chocolate bar, the product comes in three parts — so you don’t have to indulge all at once — and comes in a resealable pack.

“The mix of wafer and chocolate is a lighter way to eat chocolate and we know from experience that women are attracted to this particular format,” a Cadbury spokesperson said.

“It will also appeal to women because it is in three separate portions so they can consume a little at a time rather than in one go.”

According to industry research, annual sales of single chocolate bars have seen a market slump, and marketeers believe one of the main causes is women buying less chocolate in an attempt to be healthier.

But critics don’t believe Crispello is the answer, threatening to boycott the chocolate bar.

“I can’t think of a man or woman who would like to be seen dead scoffing a Crispello,” wrote UK newspaper The Telegraph women’s editor Emma Barnett.

“Even the premise of trying to design a chocolate bar ‘for women’ seems unbelievably retro and just downright denigrating to ladies.”

The gender-based campaign comes on the back of a surge in popularity in ‘mummy marketing’ techniques, which Marketing Magazine revealed is also struggling to work.

“Spare me the mummy marketing,” was the collective cry of mothers interviewed in an investigation into the technique, which marketing experts have labelled dangerous.

“It’s dangerous territory to hook a marketing campaign on a universal experience of motherhood,” said co-founder of Mumsnet, Justine Roberts.

“Most parents I know share only one characteristic: they’re knackered most of the time.”

Stationery company Bic has also come under fire recently after releasing a range of pens for ladies — seriously.

Related: Women still doing more housework than men

Boasting female-friendly features such as a “thin barrel to fit a woman’s hand,” and “elegant design — just for her!”.

The product received several snarky reviews online including this from one Amazon shopper.

“Finally! I had despaired of ever being able to write down recipes in a permanent manner… But, AT LAST! Bic, the great liberator, has released a womanly pen that my gentle baby hands can use without fear of unlady-like callouses and bruices, Thank you, Bic!”

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Couples reunited: Can a relationship be revived after divorce?

Couples reunited: Can a relationship be revived after divorce?

It has hardly been a year since Maria Shriver filed for divorce against Arnold Schwarzenegger following the discovery of his affair with the family maid and a resulting secret love child. But Arnie is convinced he can win his “fantastic” wife back.

It may sound crazy, even to the estranged wife with whom he has four children after a 25 year marriage, but while it comes with many challenges reuniting after divorce is probably not as uncommon as we think.

While it’s an area that is yet to be closely studied, Relationship’s Australia counsellor Mary-Jo Morgan says that couples can successfully revive relationships after a divorce, but stresses the need for professional guidance.

“I think it’s considered a lot more than we realised, but it’s one of those things that people don’t talk about,” she says.

For couples considering repairing their relationships, Ms Morgan recommends counselling, and working through the issues that led to their divorce before taking steps towards getting that relationship back on track.

She says that after a period of time, the biggest temptation for divorced couples will be remembering the attraction they initially had to their former partner, and a desire to reclaim that.

Couples that rush into a relationship for the second time may find themselves lured in by the “honeymoon phase”.

“There’s always going to be that rush of endorphins and sometimes rational and logical thought goes out the window in place of those intense emotions,” Ms Morgan says.

But for couples that have been together for a long time in the past, the desire to repair a relationship goes beyond chasing that warm and fuzzy “butterflies” feeling.

“What you have with your ex is a history and some important shared memories about a time in your life that was special, and the fact that you made that speaks to the level of intensity and commitment in that relationship,” Ms Morgan says.

“I advocate caution around that. Those feelings are real, but you need to spend time together, and I would advocate that couples considering reuniting after divorce get counselling.”

Even if Arnie gets his way and the divorced couple decide to rekindle their relationship, there are obviously going to be issues.

The main need for that counselling, as relationship experts advise, is to work through the reasons for the divorce.

“The main struggle is going to be the reason they split up in the first place,” she says.

“Whatever the reason is, the likelihood of it raising its head is very strong, and if that hasn’t been dealt with it will be a real hurdle.”

And couples will also face the issue of managing other people’s relationships, as friends and family tend to take sides when a couple splits.

But not all cases of post-divorce relationship revivals are doomed to fail. Some divorces are worth reconsidering, or could have been avoided.

In the case of couples that do decide to revisit the marriages that failed them, there will no doubt be struggles, but Ms Morgan says, with support from fellow counsellors, a successful relationship is not entirely off the cards.

“It that’s the path [the couple] want to take, we do grow and change and often years have gone by, and there could be real and strong reasons for getting together. If you can work through the initial issues, there’s a chance,” she says.

“It’s not the easiest of paths to take, but it doesn’t mean it’s one that can’t work out.”

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Nicki and Mariah at war on American Idol

Nicki and Mariah at war on American Idol

The war between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey is heating up on the set of American Idol.

The two, who were filmed during an explosive feud about a contestant (see video above) during auditions on Tuesday in North Carolina, are continuing the argument off set.

Fellow judge Keith Urban was stuck in the middle of the pair during the blow-up, in which Nicki was recorded saying: “I told them I’m not f–kin’ putting up with her f–king highness over there.

“Figure it the f–k out. Figure it out.”

Now veteran TV journalist Barbara Walters has got herself involved in the row.

Mariah sought the advice of The View host following the war of words and called her to talk about the incident, saying the worst part wasn’t even captured on video.

“She said that when Nicki walked off the set, multiple people heard her say, ‘If I had a gun I would shoot that bitch’,” Barbara revealed on The View.

“And she said there were staff members that heard – hairdressers, producers and other people. She said she’s very concerned. She is with her twins and doesn’t feel that anything would happen, but ‘Nicki is unpredictable’. Mariah says she can’t take a chance and has hired extra security.”

The interference didn’t go down well with 29-year-old singer Nicki, who took to Twitter to slam the claims.

“Ironically no camera or mic heard the gun comment though,” she tweeted. “LOL at the struggle. Not even the producers believed you. Say no to violence barbz.

“I don’t call TMZ and Barbara Walters because I stand on my own two feet. Never needed an army. God is good. Insecurity is as cruel as the grave,” she wrote.

“I guess it hurts to have the producers tell you to your face that Nicki is the best judge we’ve had since Simon. Awww, poor you. Keep them lies coming.”

Mariah’s husband Nick Cannon has also spoken out in defence of his wife. “[Mariah] is the strongest and the classiest woman I’ve ever met,” he told Access Hollywood “She signed up to do a job to help young people accomplish their dreams and [the spat] is like a sidebar. I hope that’s not what this show becomes about, the catfights.”

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Mother’s emotional reunion with missing boy

Mother's emotional reunion with missing boy

Bianca Graham and her son Riley Martin, 4.

A mother’s emotional reunion with her missing four-year-old son has been caught on camera.

Riley Martin, who has Down syndrome, disappeared from his home in Nambucca Heads at midday yesterday, along with the family’s three dogs.

In pictures: The beautiful faces of Down syndrome

His mother Bianca Graham was in the middle of an impassioned plea for his safe return on the TODAY show this morning when the boy was found.

A couple discovered Riley lying under a tree with one of the dogs and family friends interrupted tearful Bianca’s live TV interview to tell her the happy news.

Their reunion was then captured on camera and was quickly shared thousands of times on social networks.

Bianca says she believes the family dogs, a kelpie and two fox terriers, helped keep Riley safe.

In pictures: Meet the newest Down syndrome superstar

“I tell you those dogs kept him alive, they looked after him, those dogs,” she said.

Riley was taken to hospital for a check-up, but appeared to only to have suffered a few minor scratches after the incident.

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