After decades of tabloid headlines, it's pretty much expected that celebrity marriages won't last. And the ones that do go the distance are stranger than the failures sometimes.
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00:00After decades of tabloid headlines, it's pretty much expected that celebrity marriages won't last,
00:05and the ones that do go the distance are stranger than the failures sometimes.
00:10Beyoncé and Shawn Jay-Z Carter are the very definition of a power couple. The married
00:15music legends are each incredibly talented and influential on their own, so together,
00:20they're virtually unstoppable. But much of the public's perception about this notoriously
00:25private pair is shaped by what little B and J do share about themselves. Over the years,
00:31tantalizing mysteries about Beyoncé and Jay-Z's relationship have taken shape.
00:35Here are some of the strangest of those stories.
00:39Beyoncé and Jay-Z usually keep the steamiest details of their romantic highs and lows under
00:44wraps, and that shrug-off approach to personal attention has been consistent from the start.
00:49These two kept their relationship a secret so long that even they don't seem to agree
00:53on when they actually got together. In 2008, Beyoncé told Seventeen that she was 18 when
00:59they met, and that they started dating when she was 19 in the year 2000. But Jay-Z told
01:04Charlie Rose they'd known each other much earlier, as far back as 1997.
01:09I met her 10 years ago.
01:12What did you say to yourself at that time? Wow?
01:14I said, that's a fantastic talent.
01:18This could be a bit of revisionist history, since Beyoncé's ex-boyfriend,
01:22Lindell Locke, claimed they'd been together until she began touring with Destiny's Child
01:26in her 20s. In a 2013 Vanity Fair interview with Jay-Z, he admitted that he and Beyoncé
01:32were just starting to date when they appeared together in the magazine's 2001 music issue.
01:38However, despite earlier collaborations and numerous sightings of the duo out and about,
01:42the musicians insisted their pairing was platonic.
01:45Jay-Z all but confirmed their romance in his Black Album single,
01:49Public Service Announcement. The couple finally made their public debut by showing up arm-in-arm
01:55at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
01:59Though still not talkative about their relationship in public, the couple have presented a solid
02:04front. However, after making the rounds at a prestigious 2014 Met Gala in New York, a video
02:10leaked by TMZ showed Beyoncé's sister, Solange Knowles, physically assaulting Jay-Z in a hotel
02:17elevator as Beyoncé looked on. Rumors swirled about the cause of the incident, but the family
02:22simply released a shared public statement dismissing the issue as private. Beyoncé and
02:27Jay-Z commenced with their on-the-run tour as planned the following summer. However,
02:32some subtle lyric shifts during Beyoncé's performances on tour kept tongues wagging.
02:37She later released a flawless remix with a lyric that may have attempted to put the incident on
02:43Of course, sometimes s*** goes down when there's a billion dollars on an elevator.
02:48It's just a coincidence that the couple were both born on the fourth of the month,
02:51Beyoncé in September 1981 and Jay-Z in December 1969,
02:56but they've since adopted that shared digit as something sacred. They were married on April 4th
03:02and each got tattoos of the Roman numeral four on their fourth fingers to commemorate their union.
03:07They gave their daughter the middle name Ivy, which is another reference to the Roman numeral
03:12four. There are other, less obvious examples of their devotion to the digit, like Jay-Z's decision
03:17to accept a vegan challenge in 2013, writing on his website,
03:22There's something spiritual to me about it being my 44th birthday and the serendipity
03:26behind the number of days in this challenge. 22. 2 plus 2 equals 4.
03:32There's no doubt Beyoncé and Jay-Z both have an entrepreneurial spirit.
03:37Consider their endless dedication to promoting his title streaming service,
03:41or her release of Ivy Park sportswear. But when they tried to actually trademark their daughter's
03:46name with the hopes of marketing it as a baby products line, the courts drew a line.
03:51Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly applied for trademark protection for Blue Ivy after
03:56their daughter was born in January 2012, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
04:01declined their request. According to CNN, if they had won the rights to the name,
04:05the trademark would have put a wedding planner, who'd been using the name for years, in a lurch.
04:10But even without the trademark protection, the proud parents are still free to use the name
04:15as they see fit for merchandising opportunities. When Beyoncé dropped her visual album Lemonade
04:21in 2016, it triggered a firestorm of gossip about the status of her marriage with Jay-Z.
04:27Her legion of fans, the Beehive, went on the hunt to discover who the other woman,
04:31known as Becky with the Good Hair, was in her Sorry track. Many wondered if the Carters were
04:36still together, given the tone of the album, but Jay-Z showed up in the second act for the
04:41reconciliation phase. It wasn't the first time the pair shared tough times through music.
04:46Jay-Z's 2006 Kingdom Come track, Lost One, reflected on, quote,
04:51"...how difficult it is to respect a lover as an autonomous human being,
04:55with separate needs and goals and timelines than yours. It's one of the hardest things
05:00about a real relationship of equals. But it's worth it."
05:03And if appearing in the Lemonade reconciliation number wasn't enough,
05:06Jay-Z also offered his own apology to her by way of the lyrics to the title track on his album
05:12444, in which he made no bones about his bad behavior. It seems what the tabloids don't
05:17confirm or deny in interviews can definitely be ascertained from this power couple's music.
05:23Her marriage with Jay-Z wasn't the only relationship Beyoncé may have addressed
05:28in her Lemonade album. She also supposedly documented the ups and downs she's had with
05:32her father, Matthew Knowles, who's made headlines in the past for allegedly cheating on Beyoncé's
05:37mom and fathering a love child. Although father and daughter appeared together after the album's
05:42drop to quell any suspicion of a fallout, Matthew is clearly not in the loop when it
05:47comes to his daughter's life. He revealed that he didn't find out about her second pregnancy
05:51until she announced it to the world on Instagram.
05:54I was shocked. Let me tell you what happened. I got a first text,
05:58and I'm like, why is this person saying congratulations? I didn't know myself."
06:02Matthew added that he thought the surprise reveal was a strategic business decision
06:06on the Carters' part and that he and Beyoncé later engaged in a
06:10wonderful daughter-dad conversation on the subject. Even so, a little heads-up might have been nice.
06:15Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are one of Hollywood's most iconic and lovable power
06:21couples. After dating for four years, the cute pair married in 2008, and they've been going
06:26strong ever since. But there are quirky aspects to any marriage or long-term relationship,
06:32and these two are no exception. Here are some surprising details about their partnership.
06:38When same-sex marriage was legalized in California in June 2008, DeGeneres and
06:43de Rossi could hardly wait to say, I do. But their big day was a surprisingly small affair.
06:49The pair tied the knot in front of just 19 guests at their beautiful Los Angeles home
06:54just two months later. DeGeneres told People that planning a big wedding just got to be too
07:00big and stressful. Sporting custom-made matching outfits from designer Zac Posen,
07:05the couple exchanged handwritten vows during the intimate ceremony.
07:09Although their romantic day was a private affair, the two didn't keep it entirely to themselves.
07:15This moving wedding video was aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
07:18I gotta say, that was the happiest day of my life. It really was.
07:21Me too.
07:24DeGeneres is well-known for playing pranks on her show's guests,
07:27but did you know her mischievous games are also fair play at home?
07:32In November 2013, she hilariously live-tweeted a two-hour stretch in which she hid in a cupboard
07:38in an attempt to scare de Rossi, only to find out that de Rossi had actually been hiding in
07:43their closet waiting to scare her. Two years after this viral Twitter saga,
07:48the pair was at it again, this time in a series of workout-related prank videos.
07:53First, DeGeneres secretly recorded de Rossi working out to a Jane Fonda video and posted it online.
07:59It wasn't long before de Rossi exacted her revenge, sharing a video of DeGeneres
08:04running on the treadmill while singing along with Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk.
08:09Don't believe me, just watch.
08:11DeGeneres and de Rossi are all about the love, not the presents.
08:15During a joint interview with E! News around Valentine's Day 2016,
08:20DeGeneres said the couple did not plan to exchange gifts on the romantic holiday.
08:24"'We don't even give each other presents for Christmas or birthdays anymore. We have everything.'"
08:30The comedian then said love and respect is all they need, before calling Portia
08:35The comedian then said love and respect is all they need, before calling Portia
08:40her soulmate. "'She's my everything to me and I don't know what I'd do without her.'"
08:44At this point, de Rossi chimed in,
08:46"'There it is. That's my Valentine's Day gift.'"
08:50DeGeneres and de Rossi clearly share many passions, including interior design and flipping
08:55houses. In 2011, they gave Architectural Digest an inside look at their beautiful Beverly Hills
09:02home, one of seven they had lived in so far. DeGeneres told the magazine her family always
09:07rented when she was a kid, so the first thing she did when she made money was buy a house.
09:12And then, as de Rossi pointed out, she just kept on buying them.
09:16This way of living, of course, means a lot of moving, but they're both into it.
09:21As DeGeneres wrote in an essay for People in 2014,
09:25"'One tabloid said Portia's leaving me because she doesn't like moving a lot,
09:29which is funny because she is overseeing the construction of our new house and loving it.'"
09:34And they listed their gorgeous Santa Barbara home for $45 million in early 2017,
09:40so it seems the creative pair may have a new project lined up.
09:45DeGeneres and de Rossi clearly have a lot of love to give, but don't expect them to
09:49start a family anytime soon, or ever. The kid question has followed the pair around for years.
09:55In 2009, de Rossi spoke with Access Hollywood to dismiss the rumor that she'd been undergoing
10:01in vitro fertilization treatment, calling the claim,
10:04"'Completely made up.'" DeGeneres firmly, yet humorously,
10:07tried to put an end to the speculation in her 2011 book, Seriously, I'm Kidding.
10:13"'People are constantly asking Portia and me if we are going to have children.
10:17We thought about it. We love to be around children after they've been fed and bathed.
10:22But we ultimately decided that we don't want children of our own.
10:26There is far too much glass in our house."
10:29Pippa Middleton became known around the globe when her older sister, Kate Middleton,
10:33married a prince. But don't worry about Pippa being caught in her sister's shadow,
10:37because she married her very own prince charming, billionaire James Matthews,
10:41and together, they are anything but ordinary.
10:44According to the Daily Mail, James Matthews knew that Pippa Middleton was the one from the moment
10:49he laid eyes on her. They reportedly met in 2007 on St. Bart's in the Caribbean,
10:55and friends said it was love at first sight for James. However, James is eight years older than
11:00Pippa, and back then the age gap was more apparent, as she was in her early 20s while
11:04he was in his 30s. Plus, she had a boyfriend at the time. They stayed in touch but dated other
11:10people until 2012, when they both found themselves single. But after dating for a few short months,
11:15Pippa and James broke up, and Kate's sister moved on. But apparently, she and James were
11:20meant to be, because in late 2015, the two each ended their respective relationships
11:24and got back together. A friend reportedly told the Daily Mail,
11:28"[The truth was, the only girl he really wanted was Pippa. He always carried a torch for her.]
11:33Less than a year after they reunited, James proposed with a diamond ring reportedly worth
11:38over $300,000, and they tied the knot at her parents' estate in May 2017.
11:44She's got a £250,000 engagement ring, course I'm gutted!"
11:49According to The Telegraph, Pippa's mother, Carol Middleton, reportedly told a friend
11:53years before the engagement that she hoped her daughter would marry James Matthews.
11:57James reportedly had a private meeting with Carol before asking for her daughter's hand.
12:02The Telegraph reported that Carol was thrilled about the proposal.
12:05It would also appear that Pippa's mom influenced where the wedding took place.
12:09While some had speculated that the pair would wed at James' family estate in Scotland,
12:13they instead got married on the Middleton family estate in England.
12:17According to a 2017 poll, the average cost of a wedding in England was $36,803.
12:24James Matthews and Pippa Middleton really took their nuptials to the next level by spending an
12:29estimated $1 million. According to E! News, the couple and their 350 guests celebrated with
12:36$92,000 worth of champagne and wine, $20,000 of flowers, and $26,000 in the form of vintage cars
12:44and a fleet of Range Rovers to transport the wedding party and their friends.
12:48Meanwhile, Pippa's hair cost almost $1,000, and her couture Giles Deacon
12:54lace wedding gown was estimated to carry a massive $52,000 price tag.
12:59According to the Daily Mail, Pippa and James also flew in a glass palace from Belgium,
13:04which was rebuilt on the Middleton estate and set them back a whopping $130,000.
13:10But according to E! News, the building wasn't as dreamy as it sounds, as guests reportedly
13:15had to use portable bathrooms that were housed in a tent next to the glass building.
13:20Not many people can say the future king of England was a guest at their wedding,
13:23but Pippa Middleton had both Prince William and Prince George at hers.
13:27Pippa's nephew, Prince George, who is third in line to the throne,
13:31and his sister, Princess Charlotte, were both members of her wedding party.
13:35However, both children were photographed being scolded by their mother for bad behavior after
13:39the ceremony, after apparently stepping on the bride's dress, and George apparently burst into
13:44tears. Pippa Middleton's sister, Kate, became a duchess when she married Prince William,
13:49but she's not the only one in the family with a fancy title. According to House Beautiful,
13:54James Matthews' billionaire father, David Matthews, holds the Scottish title of Laird
13:59of Glen Afrik, and James will inherit the title one day. Pippa will then become Lady of Glen Afrik.
14:06I hate princesses.
14:08Pippa doesn't miss a beat.
14:10While Kate's husband, Prince William, gained his title from being descended from a long
14:14line of kings and queens, the Matthews family bought and paid for their titles when David
14:19purchased the 10,000-acre Glen Afrik estate in 2008. Even before they were officially a couple,
14:26Pippa Middleton and James Matthews competed in sporting events together.
14:30Along with Pippa's brother, James Middleton, they participated in a number of extreme activities to
14:35raise funds for the Michael Matthews Foundation, which was established in honor of the memory of
14:40James' younger brother Michael, who sadly died in 1999 at the age of 22 while hiking Mount Everest.
14:46In 2014, Pippa and James took part in the Race Across America event, and in September 2015,
14:52shortly before they got together, the pair competed in the Otillo 47-mile swim-run race
14:58in Sweden. According to People, Pippa said of the grueling event,
15:02"'It was one of the hardest things I've done. The toughest part was the long swim with the
15:06cold water and big waves, but the scenery was beautiful, and I love the team part of it.'"
15:12"'It feels really special.'"
15:14Unlike her sister, who made the conscious decision to marry into the most famous family
15:19in all of Britain, Pippa Middleton and James Matthews never made the choice to be in the
15:23public eye. In fact, Pippa struggled with her newfound fame when her sister was thrust into
15:28the spotlight. In her 2012 book, Celebrate! A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends,
15:34Kate's sibling admitted,
15:36"'It's a bit startling to achieve global recognition, if that's the right word,
15:40before the age of 30, on account of your sister, your brother-in-law, and your bottom.'"
15:44Pippa was, of course, referencing the fact that photos of her wearing a bridesmaid dress
15:48at her sister's wedding went viral and caused quite a sensation. However, Pippa apparently
15:54doesn't want the same level of attention that her royal sister has. Of the couple's plans for the
15:58future, People reported,
16:00"[Pippa and James have a deep desire to disappear from the spotlight in the longer term.
16:05Another source says they are looking forward to settling down and having children and leading
16:09a quiet life."
16:10It's probably no coincidence that we haven't seen the couple all that much since their son,
16:14Arthur, was born in October 2018. But Pippa did reveal in her column for Waitrose Weekend
16:20magazine that she'd been taking her son for gentle skull massages, and explained,
16:25"[It's a popular alternative therapy for newborns,
16:28particularly those who have had a traumatic birth, are unsettled, or have trouble sleeping."
16:34Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian make up one of the world's top celebrity couples to watch.
16:39With a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, Williams was the highest-paid
16:43female athlete for the second year running in 2017. And as the co-founder of Reddit and
16:48Initialized Capital, Ohanian is a longtime net-neutrality activist who was dubbed the
16:52Mayor of the Internet by Forbes in 2012. While these two are undoubtedly couple goals, there
16:57is more to their relationship than meets the eye. Here are the weirdest things about their
17:01star-powered marriage.
17:02In a way, it's the greatest nerd-makes-good story in history,
17:07you marrying Serena Williams. I mean, it's pretty unbelievable when you think about it."
17:12Williams and Ohanian's love story may be one for the books, but it wasn't love at first sight for
17:17this couple. In May 2015, they met by chance at the Cavallari Hotel in Rome. While Williams
17:22lounged by the pool with a group of her friends, Ohanian unknowingly sat down right next to the
17:26tennis superstar. Williams told Vanity Fair in 2017 that she and her friends misread his close
17:31proximity as creeping.
17:32He plops down right next to us, and I'm like,
17:35Who's this guy?
17:36Who is this guy? And why are you here?"
17:39And purposely lied about seeing a rat being nearby to get him to leave. She said,
17:43We were trying to get him to move. He kind of refuses, and he looks at us.
17:46And he's like,
17:47Is there really a rat here? I'm from Brooklyn. I see rats all the time."
17:50Intrigued by the startup guru's nonchalance, Williams invited Ohanian to join her group.
17:55The pair shared their first official date just a few weeks later, a weekend getaway in Paris.
17:59Careful, there's a rat. There was no rat. And now we're married."
18:05Williams and Ohanian may be at the top of their respective fields,
18:09but they were totally clueless about each other's careers when they first met.
18:12Ohanian admitted to Vanity Fair that while he knew a little bit about Williams' championship titles,
18:16he wasn't interested at all in the sport itself, saying,
18:19I had never watched a match on television or in real life. I really had no respect for tennis."
18:24To be fair, Williams didn't know anything about Reddit at the time, either. Ohanian
18:28ended up attending the 2015 Italian Open to watch Williams in action that week.
18:32He then posted on Instagram,
18:33Looks like I just became a tennis fan."
18:36Williams and Ohanian were initially notoriously private about their blossoming romance.
18:40The couple secretly dated for nearly 15 months before they finally went public
18:44with their engagement in December 2016. While the tech exec dropped hints about their relationship
18:49on social media during that time, he didn't pop up on Williams' own Instagram feed until
18:53over a year after they met. In a group photo in August 2016,
18:56she teased her secret boyfriend by referring to him as the nerd.
19:00Before the two ever celebrated their first anniversary together,
19:03Ohanian knew he wanted to marry Williams. He told Vanity Fair,
19:06I felt like a door had been opened to a person who made me want to be my best self."
19:10And he planned a picture-perfect proposal. He flew Williams to Rome and set up a trail
19:14of rose petals leading to the exact spot where they first met. Naturally, Williams announced
19:19their engagement on Reddit, calling herself FutureMrsNothing, in reference to his username.
19:24In April 2017, Williams accidentally revealed her first pregnancy when she
19:29infamously shared and deleted a Snapchat selfie. Fans may have been stunned,
19:33but the newly engaged pair couldn't have been more shocked themselves when they
19:36found out they were expecting. In the week leading up to the Australian Open in January
19:40of that year, Williams had been feeling off, and she eventually took a pregnancy test.
19:44As she recalled to Vanity Fair, the results read positive. She said,
19:48I did a double take, and my heart dropped. Like, literally, it dropped. Oh my God,
19:51this can't be. I've got to play a tournament. How am I going to play the Australian Open?
19:56I had planned on winning Wimbledon this year. The tennis pro was in denial and needed some
20:00convincing, so she took five more tests, all of which were positive. When Ohanian flew into
20:04Melbourne to meet her, Williams simply handed the surprised internet king a paper bag containing all
20:09six pregnancy tests.
20:10I wasn't quite sure what to think, but I just knew that at that moment,
20:13it was really important for me to just focus right there at the Australian Open.
20:18Determined to compete as planned, Williams famously went on to win her 23rd Grand Slam title
20:23while roughly eight weeks pregnant. Daughter Alexis Olympia arrived in September 2017.
20:28Williams' childbirth complications ultimately led to utilizing her platform to advocate for
20:32healthcare around the world. She shared via Facebook,
20:35My personal experience was not great, but it was my experience.
20:38And I'm happy it happened to me. It made me stronger.
20:42Just ahead of their wedding, Ohanian rented out an entire movie theater so the whole family could
20:46watch Thor Ragnarok together. The proud dad posted on an Instagram vid,
20:50Thor Ragnarok is a family affair. He then added,
20:54Mama needed a day off to relax.
20:56The clip then cut to him, Williams, and little Alexis Olympia cuddling in front of the big screen,
21:01where Ohanian told his little girl,
21:03We're gonna cover your eyes for all the violences.
21:05And whoever you're in love with.
21:07Safety first.
21:08But Ohanian jokingly added,
21:09Even though Thor is your mother's other man, it's okay, he's not that tall.
21:15As the video came to an end, the tennis pro could be seen taking a nap and using her
21:19soon-to-be-husband's shoulder as a pillow.
21:23After a nearly year-long engagement, Williams and Ohanian tied the knot in November 2017 in
21:27New Orleans, but their wedding was anything but ordinary. Rather than opt for a traditional
21:32ceremony, the pair instead threw a Disney-themed affair. The star-studded wedding, attended by the
21:37likes of Beyoncé, Eva Longoria, and Ciara, included a magical Beauty and the Beast theme.
21:41According to an Entertainment Tonight source, guests were greeted with the song
21:44Be Our Guest and were expected to dress to the theme. Williams revealed to Vogue
21:48that she wanted her wedding to be as non-traditional as possible. As she glowed in an
21:52Alexander McQueen gown and Ohanian handsomely sported an Armani suit, the couple exchanged
21:57personally written vows. Ohanian told His Stunning Bride,
22:00You are the greatest of all time, not just in sport. I'm talking about as a mother and as a
22:04wife. I am so excited to write so many more chapters of our fairy tale together. And my
22:09whole life I didn't even realize it, but I was waiting for this moment. I am so grateful and
22:13I am so in love." After the Disney-themed ceremony transformed into a modern ball,
22:18the newlyweds' first dance was set to Taylor's Oldest Time and If I Can't Have You. Oh,
22:22a new addition gave a surprise performance at the reception, before Ohanian surprised
22:26his wife with an all-white carousel as Ginuwine's pony played. You know, no big deal.
22:31Ohanian clearly loves surprising his wife with grand gestures,
22:34but he may have topped even himself with this one. In February 2018,
22:38as Williams geared up for her highly anticipated return to tennis after giving birth,
22:42the startup guru designed and put up four billboards to support her. Ohanian took to
22:46social media to post a photo of his handiwork. Each billboard featured little Alexis Olympia
22:51and Williams, and boasted the acronym GMOAT, meaning Greatest Mama of All Time. He wrote,
22:56These just went up on alongside I-10 in Palm Springs.
23:00Olympia Ohanian and I wanted to welcome her back to tennis. Designed them myself,
23:04with some help from Junior. Days later, Williams made her triumphant return at the BNP Paribas
23:08Open in Indian Wells, California. With her family cheering her on in an admittedly extravagant way,
23:14she defeated her opponent, Zarina Diaz, in the first round of the tournament.
23:19Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian's relationship may have had its fair share of quirks and
23:23insanely wild extravagances, but at the end of the day, there's no doubt these two are clearly
23:28total relationship goals. The married pair is known to share their funniest, cutest,
23:32and most romantic moments on social media, just proving that no matter where they are in the
23:36world, they're never that far apart. And for a world-class athlete and internet mogul,
23:40plus little adorable Alexis Olympia, that's a pretty huge accomplishment.
23:44And we dare fans not to audibly sigh whenever Williams gushes about her man.
23:48She wrote on Instagram at the end of 2017, while sharing her top 10 favorite moments with Ohanian,
23:53He's my rock, my backbone, my love. I am so lucky to have found this wonderful man that
23:58treats me better than a queen. I love you, Alexis. You make me excited to wake up every
24:02morning knowing I'll get to see you." Serena may win all the championships,
24:05but Ohanian's clearly won her heart.
24:08Celebrity food personality and best-selling cookbook author Ina Garten and her husband
24:13of nearly 50 years, Yale professor Jeffrey Garten, are hashtag couple goals for the
24:18hardcore Food Network fan. After first laying eyes on each other in the early 60s, these two
24:24have lived a love story for the ages, and, if you've ever seen them on TV adorably fawning
24:29all over each other, you know that these two are the real deal. Every last chapter of Ina
24:34and Jeffrey's life together shows they're in it for the long haul and will forever be into
24:39one another. Here are some of the stranger things you didn't know about the delightful,
24:43love-fueled, and filled entity that is the Gartens.
24:47When Ina Garten was 15 years old, she and her parents visited her brother,
24:51who was studying at Dartmouth College, where Jeffrey Garten also happened to be matriculating.
24:56Ina recounted the story in her cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey, writing,
25:01Unbeknownst to me, Jeffrey and his roommate were in the college library studying as I walked by
25:06outside. Jeffrey just happened to look up at that moment. He asked his roommate,
25:11who's that girl? Strangely, the roommate did know that girl. It was Ina Rosenberg,
25:16and he had a date with her that night set up by Ina's brother.
25:20Jeffrey ignored the competition from his roommate and went for it anyway. He got her address and
25:25sent Ina a letter. In her book, she recalls the moment, writing,
25:29I received a beautiful handwritten letter in the mail, with a photograph of the most
25:34adorable guy I'd ever seen. A few months later, Jeffrey came to visit Ina in Connecticut,
25:39and she tried to take him to a bar, despite being only 16. Naturally, they were refused service.
25:45In her book, she recounts the experience, saying,
25:48I'd never actually been to a bar, but I figured that's where a college guy would expect to go,
25:53right?
25:54While people got married younger in the good old days, Ina and Jeffrey were shockingly young when
25:59they got hitched. When Jeffrey and Ina made their love state official in 1968, he was 22 years old
26:05and she was only 20. But it's worth mentioning that the couple were together for nearly five
26:09years before they tied the knot.
26:11This is putting up with me for 45 years.
26:13Oh, God.
26:14The ceremony took place at Ina's parents' home three days before Christmas. In an interview
26:19with People, Ina described the romantic day, saying,
26:22It was a perfect day for a wedding. Right in the middle of the ceremony, it started to snow.
26:28When she answered Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire in 2016, Ina said that her
26:33greatest regret was, quote, not marrying Jeffrey sooner. If your biggest mistake
26:38isn't locking down the love of your life as quickly as possible, then you have led a charmed life.
26:43Believe it or not, Ina Garten once worked in a field about as totally
26:48opposite to making high-end comfort food as you can get. She worked for the Feds.
26:53I was working at OMB, Office Management and Budget.
26:55For the federal government.
26:56Yeah, for Ford and Carter. And I worked on nuclear energy policy.
27:02Not to be outdone, Jeffrey Garten contributed his expertise in economics to four presidential
27:07administrations — Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. For the latter,
27:13Garten was the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade,
27:17focusing on emerging markets. So they've both been close to the room where it happens.
27:22Isn't it nice when couples have things in common?
27:25Ina Garten may be one of the most famous names in American food,
27:28but she didn't go to culinary school, and she isn't a chef. She made her mark because she had
27:34a love, passion, and knowledge for the culinary arts, coupled with opportunity. By 1978, she'd
27:40burned out on working in nuclear policy and was ready to make a major career change. At the time,
27:46Garten also had a good side hustle flipping houses. It was about then when she saw a
27:51classified ad about a small, full-service speciality food store,
27:55The Barefoot Contessa, for sale in the Hamptons.
27:58I went home and I told Jeffrey about it. And he said,
28:00Pick something you love to do. If you love doing it, you'll be really good at it.
28:04Despite not having any prior experience in the food world, she ran the store for nearly two
28:10decades. Both Jeffrey and Ina Garten have enjoyed extremely successful and busy careers in their
28:17respective lines of work. While Ina ran a store and parlayed it into a career as a TV personality
28:23and author of 11 cookbooks, Jeffrey Garten became one of the world's foremost minds on business,
28:29finance, and international trade. In 1995, he was named the dean of the Yale School of
28:35Management. He held the position for 10 years before stepping down, but he remains on staff
28:40as an instructor, with the title of Dean Emeritus. According to his Yale profile,
28:45he's also worked on mergers and acquisitions in the private sector,
28:48written a monthly column about global business for Business Week,
28:52and found the time to write six books on economics.
28:55All of this is to say that the Gartens don't see each other too much during the week. Ina
29:00stays in East Hampton working on her career as a food icon, and Jeffrey hangs out at Yale
29:05up in New Haven, Connecticut.
29:07One thing we always do is we always connect with each other during the day. And the thing is,
29:11even though he's away, he's like this anchor in the middle of my life."
29:15Together, Jeffrey and Ina have lived a shared life of seemingly boundless love,
29:20romance, and whimsy. For Jeffrey, it all culminated on one very special day,
29:25which, in an interview with Food Network, he called the single best moment in his life with Ina.
29:30"...so I've got another surprise for you."
29:33It went down in May 2002, when Jeffrey took a red-eye flight from New York City to Paris,
29:38and then took a cab to a building he'd never visited before,
29:41despite many memorable trips to the City of Light with his wife. Ina buzzed him up to an
29:46apartment. This was a little place in Paris that Ina had purchased a year before and extensively
29:52remodeled, all without ever showing Jeffrey a single picture or revealing any details.
29:57In an interview with the Food Network, Ina said,
29:59"...the secret to a happy marriage is that he trusted me. I wanted it to be a surprise."
30:05Both Jeffrey and Ina Garten are in their 70s now, so the opportunity for them to have children,
30:10at least biologically, has passed. Jeffrey and Ina consciously made the decision together to
30:15not start a family, or rather, make theirs larger. In 2017, Ina Garten opened up about
30:20their decision on the Katie Couric podcast.
30:23"...we decided not to have children, but I really felt,
30:25I feel that I would never have been able to have the life I've had, and so it's a choice."
30:31Viewers of Ina Garten's shows know that, when she and Jeffrey reunite each week,
30:35they often dine on roast chicken. At least for that reason, the roast chicken is a very
30:40important dish to the woman who makes great food for a living. And she thinks it should
30:44be an important dish for just about everybody, too.
30:47"...one of the great gifts that you can give people is to cook for them."
30:51In 2017, Ina told Time that the first thing anyone should learn how to cook,
30:56in addition to coffee, should be a roast chicken. It's a special meal she enjoys with her husband,
31:01but it's also apparently a special meal that can land a person a spouse.
31:05In 2018, Ina Garten told NBC's Today,
31:09"...I met some young women and they told me they call the roast chicken in the Barefoot
31:13Contessa cookbook, engagement chicken, because they found that every woman in the office that
31:17made it for their boyfriend was engaged within 24 hours."
31:21It may have even worked for the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. In 2016,
31:25the soon-to-be duchess told Good Housekeeping,
31:28"...there is nothing as delicious or impressive as a perfectly roasted chicken. If you have an
31:33Ina Garten-level roasted chicken recipe, it's a game-changer."
31:37And in their first interview after their engagement,
31:39the couple shared details on the night that Prince Harry popped the question.
31:43"...just a standard, typical night for us."
31:45"...just a cozy night. It was what we're doing, just roasting chicken."
31:49"...roasting chicken, trying to roast a chicken."
31:51"...trying to roast a chicken."
31:52Guess that's how Markle snagged Prince Harry — and how Ina's kept Jeffrey happy for decades.
31:59After five years as husband and wife, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel look as fresh-faced
32:04and head-over-heels in love as they did when they first stepped out together. And they certainly
32:09aren't afraid to tell the world about it via their often-adorable social media output. But
32:14if you remove the filter, it becomes clear that their marriage is not as conventional as they'd
32:18have you believe. Here are some strange things about Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's marriage.
32:25The pair first met through mutual friends and got to know each other at a Golden Globes afterparty
32:29back in 2007, with their instant chemistry apparently proving too much for JT's ex Cameron
32:35Diaz, who reportedly got in a fight with Timberlake when she spotted him chatting up Biel.
32:40Biel arranged for Timberlake to get her digits that evening, but according to sources,
32:44when he failed to call the next day, she took matters into her own hands and drove to his house.
32:49She later joked about how she felt like a stalker. Hey, if Cupid isn't doing the job,
32:54you sometimes have to do it yourself.
32:56Right from their first meeting, Biel was sure Timberlake was the man for her.
33:00She told James Corden that, early on, she sent an email to her producing partner
33:05declaring her intention to marry Timberlake.
33:07"...literally is like, okay, I can't make that meeting, so we'll have to cancel. Also,
33:11I know I'm gonna marry this man. You can't tell anybody but your husband."
33:14Biel's certainty is particularly amazing given they didn't even kiss until well into the
33:18relationship. Biel told Corden, quote,
33:21"...we didn't kiss for a very long time because he was on tour, and we were talking on the phone,
33:25like normal preteens do, we were just chatting on the phone for hours.
33:29So, we never really kissed for a very long time."
33:33Biel and Timberlake's 2012 marriage came as a bit of a surprise to some fans considering
33:38the couple had split up in 2011. Reportedly, over rumors that Timberlake was getting way
33:43too chummy with his Friends with Benefits co-star Mila Kunis, Timberlake denied the
33:48accusations both publicly and privately. But his denials weren't helped by the fact that at a
33:52surprise 30th birthday party thrown by Biel in his honor, Timberlake reportedly acted like a jerk.
33:58Sources claim that after Biel gave a teary speech declaring her love for him,
34:02Timberlake laughed it off, jumping to his feet and shouting,
34:05"...yeah, b----!"
34:06Sorta like this, probably.
34:09"...yeah, b----!"
34:11Timberlake's childish insensitivity was reportedly the straw that broke the camel's back,
34:15leading to their breakup. Luckily, he's learned a few things about making a good toast since then.
34:20"...I'm married to Jessica Biel."
34:24Is there anyone better than Timberlake's grandma Sadie Bomar?
34:27While Biel and JT were trying to be careful about their relationship, Timberlake's unfiltered
34:32granny was more than happy to go on the record in 2009 about the fact that Biel was just getting
34:38Too quickly for her little Justin. She told the Daily Mail,
34:42"...Jessica was keen to marry, but Justin isn't ready. He's busy writing new material and he
34:47works hard to be successful. He's really focused on that. As far as we're concerned,
34:51he's always been single. The girlfriends come and go, but we believe nothing has ever been serious.
34:56Justin does his own thing and he isn't ready to marry just yet."
35:00When the couple finally did break up in 2011, one of Timberlake's pals backed up
35:05Grandma Sadie, telling People,
35:07"...Justin was dying to be single and have fun. He was torn because Jess is an amazing woman
35:12and considered to be marriage material and he loved that about her. But he couldn't drag her
35:16along just because one day in the far future he'd want to marry her. It was making her crazy and it
35:21was making him hate himself." Timberlake wasn't the only one to suddenly change his tune in regard
35:27to marrying, as his family also made a complete 180 on the subject. JT's loose-lipped granny,
35:33Sadie, was at it again as 2011 drew to a close, taking it upon herself to announce that Timberbeal
35:39was not only alive and well, but that Justin had finally popped the question while the lovebirds
35:44vacationed in that most romantic destination of...Wyoming.
35:48"...He called me on Christmas Day and told me he's engaged. The family loves Jessi,
35:53she's a very sweet girl. A sweet girl she may be, but a gullible one she apparently is not."
35:58It wasn't long until their engagement celebrations turned into sour discussions
36:02over a prenuptial agreement, with a source alleging that a proposed fidelity clause was
36:07the main sticking point. She thinks if he strays during the marriage, she should be
36:11royally compensated. She wants a fidelity clause in the prenup giving her at least $500,000 if he
36:17does. If he's faithful for several years, maybe she'll agree to have his baby. She doesn't trust
36:21him 100% yet. Jessica figures if she gets fat during the pregnancy, he'll cheat again.
36:27Divorce rumors, a possible affair, and an obvious absence. How did Melania react to
36:33Donald Trump's alleged infidelity, and does she really want to return to the White House?
36:38Melania Trump is one of the few first ladies in the history of the presidency to delay moving
36:43into the White House. The Trumps made it clear they wanted their son, Barron Trump,
36:46to be able to finish school in New York without interruption. Yet questions remained about the
36:51level of involvement Melania was going to have in her East Wing duties. Back in 1999,
36:56Melania had a much different vision for her theoretical role as FLOTUS. She told The New
37:01York Times,
37:01"...I would be very traditional, like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy. I would support him."
37:06Seventeen years later, Melania drastically changed her tune, telling GQ,
37:10"...I chose not to go into politics and policy. Those policies are my husband's job."
37:14Her position changed again just days before the election, when she announced that one of
37:18her key issues as first lady would be to combat cyberbullying, which many found ironic considering
37:24Donald Trump's penchant for slinging barbs via X, formerly known as Twitter.
37:28"...Social media is an inventable part of our children's daily lives."
37:33During Donald's first official overseas trip, Melania accompanied him and,
37:37according to many accounts, salvaged what could have been a diplomatic disaster.
37:41Melania essentially stole the entire international show,
37:44charming Pope Francis with small talk and making headlines with her fashion choices.
37:48Of her performance during the trip, Donald himself was reportedly overheard aboard Air Force One
37:53describing her as Jackie O on steroids. Melania Trump famously made headlines when
37:58she refused to move into the White House for nearly five months after President Trump's
38:02inauguration. Instead, she chose to remain in New York until Barron Trump finished his school year,
38:07and it wasn't until June 2017 that Melania finally made the move into the White House,
38:12and during that time, taxpayers had to foot a huge bill in order to keep the couple's
38:16long-distance marriage on track. In estimating how much it actually cost to protect Melania
38:20and Barron while they continued to live in Manhattan's Trump Tower, the New York Police
38:24Department arrived at a staggering figure. Apparently, it cost New Yorkers between $127,000
38:30and $146,000 a day to protect the first lady and her son, according to NBC New York. What's more,
38:37the state reportedly incurred additional costs of around $24 million in the two months between
38:42Election Day and Inauguration Day, as they had to protect Melania, Barron, and Donald Trump.
38:47Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill formally sought a full reimbursement while residents
38:52launched a Change.org petition in March 2017. The petition received 560,000 signatures,
38:58but the subject became moot when she eventually made her way to Washington.
39:01Almost no celebrity couple is immune to the occasional tabloid headline,
39:05but when Donald Trump threw his hat into the ring for the presidency,
39:08the supermarket checkout was noticeably quiet about his marriage. According to Politico,
39:13this may have a lot to do with Trump's close relationship to AMI owner David Pekka,
39:17the man whose media empire owns The National Enquirer, The Globe, The National Examiner,
39:22and Radar Online. Trump and Pekka worked together in the 90s on Trump Style,
39:26a magazine for guests of the Trump properties, and the two have remained close ever since.
39:30Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, AMI's publications tended to be highly critical of
39:35Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
39:40While simultaneously championing Trump and leaving Melania Trump out of it altogether,
39:45this was purely coincidental, according to Pekka, who told the New York Post,
39:48"[The pro-Trump and anti-Hillary covers have seen newsstand sales pop 23 percent.
39:53That is the only poll data that I care about."
39:56Donald Trump first met Stormy Daniels in 2006 at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship.
40:02According to the adult film star, an affair soon followed. Donald had married Melania
40:07Trump the year before and their son, Barron, was just a few months old when Stormy alleged
40:11things got physical between them. She shared details of their encounters with InTouch in 2011,
40:16but the outlet didn't publish them until 2018 because Trump's longtime attorney,
40:20Michael Cohen, apparently threatened to take legal action. However,
40:23InTouch finally decided to post the interview a week after a 2018 report from The Wall Street
40:28Journal claimed Cohen had paid Stormy $130,000 in 2016 to keep her from talking about the affair.
40:35The hush money allegations eventually resulted in Donald Trump being slapped with 34 felony counts.
40:40"...and it's not over yet, who knows what's gonna happen."
40:42While he has denied everything, Melania is said to have been angry when news of the affair came
40:47to light. According to a 2024 book by New York Times reporter Katie Rogers, she tried to get
40:52her revenge through small gestures, like refusing to join her husband on a trip abroad.
40:57Not only did the Trumps have a low-key anniversary in the wake of the Stormy Daniels story,
41:01they also sent up some marriage red flags when Melania suddenly dropped out of a planned visit
41:06to Switzerland for the president's attendance at the World Economic Forum. In a statement to CNN,
41:10Melania's communications director cited, quote,
41:13"...scheduling and logistical issues as the reason for the first lady's change of plans."
41:17So what did Melania end up doing the day her husband landed in Davos?
41:22She went to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which just so happens to be a
41:25six-minute car ride or 60-minute walk from the White House, according to Google Maps.
41:30Donald and Melania Trump have repeatedly been accused of being overly cold with one another,
41:35and in 2018, The Washington Post took those allegations one step further.
41:39Speaking to numerous sources, the outlet reported that Melania and the then-president
41:43were leading completely separate lives while in the White House. According to insiders,
41:47the pair did not share a bedroom, rarely ate together, and, as one source put it,
41:51they spent very little to no time together. On the flip side, a different source said
41:55they actually spent almost every evening together while Melania's former friend,
41:59Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, underscored the fact that the distance between the
42:02Trumps didn't signal any trouble in paradise. She said of the pair,
42:06"...they are not that couple that holds hands just because.
42:08Melania is old-world European and it's not who she is."
42:11Indeed, back in 2016, Melania herself told The Washington Post that she and her husband
42:16enjoyed being apart, saying,
42:18"...we are both very independent, we like to do what we like to do,
42:21and we give ourselves and each other space."
42:23Since moving out of the White House and into Mar-a-Lago, it seems little has changed. As
42:27one source told Radar Online in 2023, Melania isn't interested in golfing or schmoozing like
42:33her husband is, and they're happy to spend time apart. They told the publication,
42:37"...she mostly keeps to herself and stays out of Donald's way as long as he stays out of hers.
42:41It works for both of them."
42:43The Washington Post journalist Mary Jordan made headlines in 2020 when she published
42:47The Art of Her Deal, the untold story of Melania Trump, in which she claimed that
42:51the real reason Melania didn't immediately move into the White House was pure business.
42:56According to sources, Mrs. Trump seized her opportunity after her husband was elected
43:00president to demand that he update their prenup. She allegedly forced him to make
43:04it more favorable towards her and son, Barron Trump, if he wanted her to stick around.
43:09Jordan wrote,
43:09"...she wanted proof in writing that when it came to financial opportunities and inheritance,
43:13Barron would be treated as more of an equal to Trump's oldest three children."
43:17"'She's very smart. She's a chess player. She plays the long game."
43:23Melania's chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham,
43:25slammed the reports, telling CNN,
43:27"...this book belongs in the fiction genre."
43:29Jump to 2023, when Donald was ordered to pay $5 million to E. Jean Carroll,
43:34who accused him of sexual assault and defamation,
43:36and Melania reportedly used the opportunity to cash in again.
43:39Sources told Radar that this time, she threatened to renegotiate their prenup
43:43or even file for divorce if Donald didn't up her monthly allowance and
43:47increase their son's inheritance. If he did, she promised to support his 2024 presidential run.
43:52The insider claimed,
43:53"...this really was a take-it-or-leave-it situation."
43:55Let's just say, Melania was in no mood to negotiate with Donald,
43:58and he knew full well there was no chance he was returning to the Oval Office without her.
44:03The first half of 2023 was rough for Donald Trump. In March, he was indicted over an alleged
44:08hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
44:13That April, he pled not guilty to the resulting 34 felony counts,
44:17but if he was hoping for support from his wife, he didn't exactly get it.
44:20As one insider told People, she doesn't sympathize with Donald's plight.
44:24But while Melania Trump didn't appear by his side in court and she never made a public
44:28statement about the indictment, the office of Melania Trump's ex-account did tweet that
44:32news outlets should stop assuming they know how she feels. They also issued a public request,
44:37writing,
44:37"...we ask readers to exercise caution and good judgment when determining whether or
44:41not stories concerning the former first lady are accurate."
44:44That June, Donald's legal woes worsened when he was indicted on 37 federal charges in the
44:49classified documents saga. Again, Melania kept quiet and sources told People she doesn't want
44:54anything to do with any of it. They also underscored that she's moving forward without
44:58getting sucked into the legal battles, but she reportedly does wish all of the charges
45:03against her husband would go away. An insider told the magazine,
45:06"...she wants his legal team to fight this to the end and hopefully end the fight."
45:09Meanwhile, another source told Daily Mail,
45:12"...she is focused on her family and stands behind her husband, as she always has."
45:16She may not have rushed to move into the White House, and she was constantly criticized during
45:20her time there, but Melania Trump is not ruling out another stint as first lady. In her first
45:25sit-down interview since moving back to Mar-a-Lago, Melania told Fox News in 2022 that she actually
45:31enjoyed political life.
45:32"...I enjoyed living in the White House."
45:34She also praised her husband's administration.
45:37"...to be first lady of the United States was my greatest honor."
45:41It seems she may have known something we didn't, because in November 2022,
45:45Donald Trump officially announced that he was again running for president.
45:49Not surprisingly, Melania kept to her word and said she was all for it. She told Fox,
45:54"...my husband achieved tremendous success in his first administration,
45:57and he can lead us toward greatness and prosperity once again. He has my support,
46:01and we look forward to restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength."
46:05Donald Trump has often praised his wife publicly, and yet it seems he has a strange way of
46:10celebrating special occasions. When he celebrates them at all, that is. In January 2024, for
46:15example, the Trumps marked their 19th wedding anniversary. But rather than tweeting about
46:20the milestone, the former president was totally focused on the defamation trial brought against
46:24him by E. Jean Carroll. According to Account by Newsweek, Trump spent January 22nd firing
46:29off a tirade of messages against Carroll and mentioned the retired journalist a whopping
46:3346 times on Truth Social that day, without highlighting his marriage.
46:37A few weeks later, on Valentine's Day, the former president again took a unique approach
46:42to romance when he turned a love letter to Melania into a fundraising opportunity.
46:46In an email sent to supporters, Trump told his wife he loved her and enthused,
46:50"...even after every single indictment, arrest, and witch hunt, you never left my side."
46:54He also thanked her for her unwavering support and shared,
46:57"...I wouldn't be the man I am today without your guidance, kindness, and warmth."
47:01Folks were then encouraged to click a huge red button with the words
47:05which allowed them to send a personalized message to Melania,
47:08as well as donate money to his campaign.