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Miley Cyrus stole my boyfriend

Aussie actor Liam Hemsworth’s love affair with Miley Cyrus has left his girlfriend at home heartbroken, writes Jonica Bray.

When Victorian teenager Laura Griffin saw her actor boyfriend of five years Liam Hemsworth passionately kissing the world’s most famous teenager, Miley Cyrus, on the set of The Last Song, she believed he was only doing his job.

But as the 19-year-old student would soon discover, the love of her life was not acting at all — he had fallen head over heels for the Hannah Montanas star.

Even worse, Laura had to learn from friends that 19-year-old Liam was dating the teen star.

“He was my boyfriend and my best friend,” Laura tells Woman’s Day in an exclusive interview. “There is no other reason why we would have broken up.” In the days since she found out her boyfriend had dumped her for Miley, 16, Laura has confessed on her Facebook site her “total utter regret”, that she’s suffering “depression of some sort”, and that she has “tears streaming”.

Meanwhile, the millionaire US actress is using Twitter to bask in the joy of her romance with former Neighbours star Liam. “Against all odds I fell in love,” she wrote recently.

“I think I’ll just sit around and eat sushi and watch Liar Liar with Liam.”

Liam and Laura’s paths first crossed in Year Eight at school on Phillip Island. Liam’s parents had relocated their three boys, Luke, Chris and Liam, from Melbourne.

“He was the new boy at school and all the girls liked him,” smiles Laura. “He was popular, a bit of a joker and made me laugh.”

Just a year later, their friendship blossomed into real love. “We became inseparable. He tried to teach me to surf, we watched movies, and went shopping. Liam became more than a boyfriend, he was my best friend.”

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Jen loses it again

Fresh from being dumped by Bradley Cooper in favour of rival Renée Zellweger, an emotional Jen struggled to hold back tears amid a series of tense phone calls on the Manhattan set of her new movie The Bounty.

“She honestly feels screwed over,” a close friend told

Us Weekly magazine of Jen’s reaction to Bradley and Renée’s recent lovefest in Spain. But The Lowdown can reveal that Jen isn’t planning on letting Bradley and his new “low-maintenance” girlfriend score all the headlines at her expense.

The 40-year-old star has returned to her old tricks, orchestrating a very public date with her co-star Gerard Butler.

As if on cue, US magazine People — Jen’s long-time mouthpiece — then breathlessly reported all the intimate details of the date, after allegedly spotting them at New York hotel, The Jane.

“Jen and Gerry went out on Saturday night,” gushed a source, “They had cocktails and they were hand in hand.”

And just like her headline-grabbing reappearance on the celebrity dating scene, her latest choice in boyfriend is no accident either. “Jennifer won’t date a normal guy,” one well-placed source told Us Weekly.

“She goes after the hottest thing of the moment, what she knows will get her the most time in the spotlight.”

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Inside the sad life of Brian’s little girls

Brian McFadden’s children have suffered at the hands of their drug-addicted mother for years, Josephine Agostino reports.

Kerry Katona, the mother of Brian McFadden’s kids, is so addicted to cocaine she only sees them a few hours a week and has been “too wasted” to take them to school, her stepsister Pat Ferrier claims.

Pat, 51, says Kerry’s $500-a-day drug addictions have left her children — Molly, 8, and Lilly Sue, 6, from her marriage to Brian, and Heidi, 2, and Max, 1, with current husband Mark Croft — alone and scared while their mother stays holed up in her bedroom.

“Kerry does love her kids but she is so hooked on the stuff that she always puts it first. She doesn’t want the kids to see the coke, but they’re often in the house when she’s high,” says Pat, who’s spoken out in UK magazine Closer.

Brian’s ex-wife appeared in UK newspaper News Of The World on August 16 snorting what appeared to be cocaine in her bathroom.

Days later, after being cautioned for drug possession and admitting to walloping her husband “quite a few times” for groping a stripper, she was arrested for allegedly beating her accountant David McHugh over the head and damaging his office equipment. But these incidents are only the tip of the iceberg, according to Pat.

While working as a cleaner in her stepsister’s home for 18 months, Pat’s known Kerry, 28, to use drugs every day for years, regularly going on benders that last days and even suffering a drug-induced fit.

Despite only seeing their mum a few hours a week, Molly and Lilly are all too aware Kerry needs help, according to Pat.

“Sometimes they say things like ‘Mummy’s not well today’ when she’s on one of her benders. And Lilly said recently, ‘Well, Mum and Mark are always in the bedroom.'”

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Hope for Schapelle

As Schapelle Corby’s mental health reaches a new low, Erin Craven reports on moves to bring her home.

The campaign to bring Schapelle Corby home has gained new strength following revelations that her mental health has been in serious decline while serving out her 20-year sentence for drug smuggling in Bali’s notorious Kerobokan jail.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is the latest to join the chorus of high-profile Australians calling on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to honour his 2007 election promise and lobby the Indonesian government harder to try and get Schapelle transferred to an Australian prison to serve out the remainder of her sentence.

“These matters are quite appropriately dealt with on a Federal level but I have to say I have always thought it would be better if Schapelle Corby served her time in Australia,” Premier Bligh commented last week.

Prime Minister Rudd has not responded to reports that Schapelle is suffering from severe depression.

As Woman’s Day has previously reported, Schapelle’s behaviour has raised alarm bells among her family and fellow prisoners, prompting fears that unless she’s transferred to an Australian prison, the 32-year-old may harm herself.

In an exclusive interview just three weeks ago, fellow prisoner Renae Lawrence revealed that Schapelle had become increasingly disturbed in recent weeks.

“She’s definitely not sane any more. She talks about ‘going down’, which means down into a grave,” says Renae, who claims she has been charged with caring for Schapelle.

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Martina’s tragic beauty queen fiancée

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova had a very public coming out last week with new fiancée, former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova. The once ultra-private pair flashed matching engagement rings and hit the dance floor together at a St Tropez party.

The inside word is that the couple are hoping their upcoming wedding will mark the end of a succession of tragedies and scandals that have dogged both women.

Julia, 36, who was crowned the last Miss USSR in 1991, lost her 5-month-old son Maximilien in mysterious circumstances in 2000. Although no-one was ever charged in relation to the death, which was attributed to internal injuries, her Bulgarian nanny suddenly disappeared after the tragedy.

Then in 2005, Julia’s former boyfriend, banker Edouard Stern, was found shot dead wearing a head-to-toe latex cat suit. It was later found that he had been killed by his mistress Cecile Brossard during a bondage session.

The tragic series of events took another bizarre turn when Julia — who had voiced her fears that her son had been murdered before the inquiry into his death was closed due to lack of evidence — claimed that Cecile had phoned her, offering to reveal “the truth about your son”.

While Martina hasn’t endured the tragedy that has plagued her fiancée, the 52-year-old star has long been unlucky in love. Displaying an early taste for beauty queens, she dated former Miss Texas Judy Nelson for seven years before the couple split in 1991 with a headline-making legal wrangle over palimony.

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Idol love affair

Convincing country music star Brooke McClymont that he was the man of her dreams was not easy for highly rated Australian Idol contender Adam Eckersley.

When then 16-year-old Brooke, now one-third of popular and successful country music group The McClymonts, rode her bicycle past 17-year-old Adam’s family home in Grafton, NSW, the long-haired teenager would yell from his verandah, “I’m going to marry you one day Brooke McClymont!”

Pedalling even faster because of her embarrassment, an unimpressed Brooke would yell back, “In your dreams, Mullethead” – a reference to Adam’s hair style, his pride and joy at the time.

Now after travelling a route so circuitous Cupid must be giddy, they will be married on the rural property of Adam’s parents in October.

Between the barbs from a bike and the decision to spend their lives together, Brooke, now 28, and Adam chase separate careers before bringing their tempestuous relationship to a loving conclusion.

“I’m so glad we didn’t get together when we were 16 or 17. It might not have worked out,” Adam says.

“Neither of us intended being with other musicians because we like to keep things separate,” Brooke adds. “But now we have made the decision, it’s the best one we have ever made.”

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Posh and Becks face off over move

The Beckhams have spent the last few years living it up in Los Angeles, but now the location of their dream home is turning into a nightmare.

David and Victoria are said to be stuck in a constant squabble over whether the family should stay put in California or move back to the UK.

Soccer hero David is pushing for a move back to the motherland so he can continue to play for England, a source revealed to the Mail Online. The 34-year-old knows his playing days are numbered, and wants to make the most of his career while he can – but Posh is putting her foot down.

While David’s star is waning, Victoria’s looks to be once again on the rise. The former Spice Girl’s fashion label is fast becoming a red carpet staple and her recent stint on American Idol has helped cement her superstar status in the US.

“It’s a very tense situation,” the source said. “It’s in David’s nature to please Victoria but he won’t be happy if he stays in the States. He’s miserable there and wants to come home and play for England.”

The couple have weathered tough storms before, including David’s cheating scandals that left Victoria devastated, but this time David might be the one left out in the cold.

“[Victoria] wants to prove she can be as much of a star as back home,” adds the source. “David feels he has compromised enough but she always gets what she wants.”

A spokesperson for the couple denied they were fighting but added David was keen to play for his home country. “David is committed to LA Galaxy while being vocal about his desire to keep his involvement with the England team,” they said.

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Farrah Fawcett’s secret love affair

It was her partner of three decades, Ryan O’Neal, who was at Farrah’s bedside when she passed away, but was part of the Charlie’s Angel’s actress’s heart with another?

According to Ryan’s son, Griffin, Farrah had been secretly seeing former flame Greg Lott for eleven years before she died.

The Mail Online reports Griffin confessed he knew of the affair after finding some photographs. “I have to thank Greg Lott for one thing: For loving Farrah the way she deserved to be loved. Ryan was just there for the acclaim,” he said.

The couple first met as students at Texas University, where Greg was a star quarterback and Farrah was studying microbiology. They dated for years until Greg “lost her to Hollywood”.

The pair allegedly rekindled their love in the 90s, after Farrah had a nasty fight with on-again, off-again partner Ryan. They continued to meet in secret, stealing nights away in hotels and even holidayed once in Mexico together on what Farrah called their “honeymoon”.

Now Greg is speaking out about the love of his life and how he lost her not once but twice.

“I last spoke to Farrah late on the night of April 9 – two-and-a-half months before she died. She was preparing to come home from a bout of treatment at St John’s Hospital in Santa Monica,” he said.

“She told me: ‘I’m coming home tomorrow. I love you and I will call you.'”

But in a heartbreaking twist, Greg was blocked from seeing Farrah again – frozen out by Ryan, who forbade him from coming near the house they shared.

Devastated Greg says he’ll never get over the pain. “I never got to say goodbye to Farrah,” he says.

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The Jackson reality TV show

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Marlon and Janet Jackson

The brothers of the late King of Pop are going to appear in a reality TV show together, US cable network A&E has announced.

In pictures: Michael’s memorial

The show will be expanded from documentary footage Michael Jackson’s brothers Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon and Tito filmed before Jackson’s death in June.

The documentary revolved around the Jackson brothers’ reunion tour and it is not known if the late superstar will appear in any of the original footage. Nor is it known how many episodes there will be in the series.

Footage from the original documentary was aired on US entertainment show Entertainment Tonight showing Jackson’s mother Katherine at home with three of the brothers.

Your say: Will you watch this documentary? Do you think the Jackson family are cashing in on Michael’s death? Tell us what you think below…

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Kylie is our most powerful brand

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Kylie Minogue has come a long way from her overall-sporting days of Neighbours, beating media moguls, sports stars and even our Prime Minister in a poll of Australia’s most powerful brands.

In pictures: See the world’s most powerful celebrity brands

The survey, conducted by Talent Inc!, asked around 400 people which Australian they thought best developed their brand and their brand awareness.

And the winner, with more than 10 percent of the vote, was Minogue, a celeb whose entertainment, lingerie and perfume ventures have made her and her brand a household name.

“The theory of building a personal brand is a new concept, based on the idea that ‘celebrity’ goes beyond the realms of talent,” said Mark Richardson from Talent Inc! .

“Those with the strongest personal brands have clearly defined them and built them over time to achieve the highest return possible for everything they do.”

In pictures: Kylie turns 40

Coming in second was Elle “The Body” Macpherson who is the face of Invisible Zinc, a Revlon spokesperson and has her own line of lingerie. Elle recently said of her prominent brand exposure, “This capacity to be flexible with business deals and to be financially independent has enabled me to support and grow my own brand to be an iconic and inspirational brand of Australia.”

In pictures: Elle Macpherson

Rounding out the top five were Shane Warne, Dame Edna Everage and Greg Norman.

Your say: Which Australian do you think has best developed their brand? Do you agree with the results?

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