The Bachelor: Courtney’s Mind Games
Courtney Robertson played dirty in her quest to walk away with Bachelor Ben Flajnik’s final rose. “Courtney looked at The Bachelor as a game,” says a set source. “Ben was the prize, and she was going to win.” She knows exactly what to say to guys,” says a Robertson pal. Sure enough, says the set source, Robertson laid it on thick with Flajnik. “She was always like, ‘Do you like me? I really like you! I came on the show just for you.’ He’s a nerdy guy, so having a model into him blew his mind,” says the source. To viewers — and fellow contestants — Robertson’s skinny-dipping and breast-baring were obvious cheap ploys to win Flajnik’s favor. Her schemes paid off: He was easily blinded by her beauty — and all that exposed flesh. “Courtney knew Ben was sexually attracted to her,” contestant Jamie Otis tells Us. “That was the one thing she had over the rest of the girls and she wasn’t shy to use it.”
Rihanna can’t let go of Chris Brown
Of the 100 people gathered to ring in Rihanna’s 24th birthday at a Beverly Hills mansion the day before Valentine’s Day, only one stood out: her abusive ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown. “Rihanna and Chris were very much together,” says one witness, noting the two arrived together at 1 a.m. As the partygoers dug into a cake the shape of Rihanna straddling a huge spliff, the “We Found Love” singer and Brown, 22, remained by each other’s side. “He was touching her butt, rubbing her arm, and they kept dancing with each other,” the source reveals. “They seemed like a couple to everyone.” And although Brown asked guests to sign a confidentiality agreement because he was so worried about his girlfriend, model Karrueche Tran, 23, learning he was there, he kept his gaze on Rihanna until past 4 a.m. Says the witness, “At one point, he went up to La La Anthony and said, ‘Isn’t [Rihanna] beautiful?’ Brown is now biding his time until the next rendezvous. “He will always love Rihanna. If she were like, ‘I want you back,’ he’d drop Karrueche in a heartbeat,” says a Brown source. But Rihanna enjoys controlling the current arrangement. “She likes the loose nature of it and she doesn’t want a boyfriend,” says the friend. “This is dangerous, and she likes playing with fire.”
TEEN MOM 2: Corey Wants Leah Back! Simms hopes ex Messer won’t marry her fiancé
Too little, too late. On season 2 of Teen Mom 2, when Leah Messer, 19, yearned to move into a better home for twins Aleeah and Aliannah, 2, her then-husband, Corey Simms, 21, wanted to spend the money elsewhere. Now a source says Simms has “saved up for a three bedroom house so the girls have space” — and another insider says he’s ready to reconcile with his ex. The hitch: She’s engaged to Jeremy Calvert, 23. “Corey is still crazy for Leah,” says a source. “He doesn’t want her to marry Jeremy.” Adds another pal, “He did all he could to make it work, as she’s the only girl he ever loved.” But Messer, who miscarried Calvert’s baby in January, isn’t planning a homecoming. “Leah will always care about Corey, but she’s happy with Jeremy,” says the first source. “Watching this season made her relive their problems.”
JESSICA BIEL: Showing Off Her Ring!
Rock on! Six weeks after Us broke the news Justin Timberlake, 31, had proposed to Jessica Biel, the actress, 30, finally revealed her sparkler during an SNL after-party at NYC’s Ristorante Asellina February 18. “It wasn’t huge like a Kardashian ring,” says a witness. “It looked vintage and might have been custom-made. Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig both checked it out!” So why did Biel wait so long to expose the stone? “She wanted to wear the ring right away, but Justin has been worried this will be a career killer,” says an insider of the couple, who dated off and on for nearly five years before getting engaged in December. “He’s not sure how he’ll operate as ‘Justin Timberlake, the married man.’” He’ll find out soon enough: “The big day’s this summer at a private estate,” says another source. “Monique Lhuillier is her No. 1 choice for the dress.”
Madge Seeks NFL Star
Prey for Madonna! The singer, 53 — who is dating Brahim Zaibat, 24 — had her eye on New York Giant Victor Cruz, 25, at the Super Bowl February 5. “She wanted an introduction,” says a source. Four days later at an Oster Media bash in NYC, “people were still hounding him to meet Madge.” Alas, Cruz is taken: He and PR exec Elaina Watley have a month-old baby. Madge’s rep contends she didn’t want to meet Cruz, but needed “footage of him doing his salsa dance. She wanted to try it at a press conference.”
Russell’s Single Life
Om-azing! Since splitting with Katy Perry, Russell Brand, 36 — who once fought sex and drug addictions — has kept himself on track with twice-daily meditation and kundalini yoga. He also just invested in some spiritual ink. Says a source, “He got a tattoo that reminds him to be truthful at all times.” Adds another insider, “He’s determined to not let his past demons take over again.” He’s far from celibate, however. Adds the second source, “He’s definitely playing the field. And he never mentions Katy.”
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