filed under: celebrity breakups

TRANSFORMERS star MEGAN FOX has reportedly called off her engagement to actor fiance BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN.

Sources claim the pretty brunette, 22, sent business associates correspondence last week (beg23Jun08) alerting them to the sad news.

An insider says, "Megan still cares about Brian, but she now realises she's too young to marry him."

Sensational testimony about Christie Brinkley's estranged husband opened their divorce trial Wednesday, giving the public a salacious peek into the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model's fourth marriage.

The husband, architect Peter Cook, testified that he and Brinkley used pornography "to get the mood going." Alexa Ray Joel, Brinkley's daughter with "Piano Man" Billy Joel, said Cook once shoved her head into a bucket of water.

Brinkley and Cook presented a portrait of contentment on the Hamptons social circuit. But behind the scenes, they relied on porn as a precursor to intimacy during the last half of their marriage, Cook said. He acknowledged spending about $3,000 a month on pornographic Web sites in 2005. He said he has not accessed the sites since his breakup and maintained he never looked at them in the presence of his children.

Alexa Ray Joel, 22, testified that Cook treated her well before he married her mother. But she said he was constantly on her case afterward, chastising her "if I chewed too loud" and criticizing her piano playing.

"He was just very critical of me in general," said Joel, a singer, songwriter and pianist. When her lengthy shower caused a leak in the kitchen below in 2003, Cook stormed into the bathroom and demanded she mop up immediately, Joel testified. When she got downstairs wearing only a towel, he pushed her head into a bucket and yelled, "You clean this up!" she said.

ROSE McGowan's breakup with her fiancé, director Robert Rodriguez, could be good news for some other actresses, who could end up with the leading roles she was set to play in his movies.

McGowan was hoping to star in at least three planned Rodriguez films - a remake of "Barbarella," "Red Sonja" and "Woman in Chains!"

But sources say the couple, who we reported last October were engaged, have split, partly over the problems Rodriguez had finding financing for "Barbarella" - the 1968 cult classic in which Jane Fonda played a sexy space adven- turess - with McGowan in the title role.

McGowan, best known for her witchy role on TV's "Charmed," wasn't thought to have enough box-office draw for the $70 million remake, especially after "Grindhouse" disappointed with about $25.4 million in domestic ticket sales.

"Too bad 'Grindhouse' didn't gross $100 million. Then, maybe, 'Barbarella' would have gotten the green light," said one source. "Instead, the moguls were saying, 'We need a bigger star, a bigger name.' " Jessica Alba has been touted as a possible replacement.

The 25-year-old movie star ended her four year relationship with Italian-American businessman, 29, over the weekend.

The Brokeback Mountain star's decision follows over a year of scandal linked to Follieri.

Last week, it was reported his charity Follieri Foundation, which funded vaccination programmes in developing countries, was being investigated by the New York State Attorney General's Office.

An insider tells the Mail Online that Hathaway made the painful decision to end their relationship because of the effects his controversial business dealings could have on her career.

Hathaway served as a director on the charity's board until some time last year, with her rep saying: 'Since she is no longer associated with the foundation, why would you expect her to be familiar with all of this,' when asked about the investigation.

A source said: 'It's heartbreaking for her to dump him, and she's devastated that it's come to this, but she really didn't have a choice. His scandals were hurting her reputation.'

During the making of Get Smart earlier last summer, Hathaway formed a friendship with co-star Steve Carell, who lent her a supportive ear during her problems with Follieri.

'She seemed to really be enjoying her freedom, and making new friends in L.A., especially Steve.'

Hathaway's split from Follieri may mean she finally moves to Hollywood, after years of insisting she would remain on the east coast to stay close to her beau.

A pal said: 'She seemed to really be enjoying her freedom, and making new friends in L.A., especially Steve.

'Anne really wants to find a guy like Steve, and if he weren't married, I have no doubt she would date him in a second.

'She's such a fan of his work she couldn't help but quote episodes of 'The Office' to him when they first met. She thinks he's amazing.

'Even though she loves being near her family, a move to Los Angeles could mean better roles, more money, and a better pool of potential boyfriends.'

Sources have revealed exclusively to Holy Moly that Madonna has hired Britain's toughest divorce lawyer, Nicholas Mostyn QC, to kick start divorce proceedings against her husband of eight years, Guy Ritchie.

Mostyn will no doubt strike fear into the heart of Guy – he is the man who sorted out Heather Mills, trounced Earl Spencer and almost destroyed Ray Parlour in his previous high profile divorce cases.

Suggestions made seem to indicate that, surprisingly, Madonna and Guy do NOT have a pre-nup in place, leaving Guy in line to walk away with up to half of Madge's fortune (according to Forbes she earned $72m last year alone).

Long standing rumours of a rift between the couple are finally confirmed with this news, as Holy Moly's sources suggest nothing more than "growing apart" as the reason for the split. They have spent increasing amounts of time apart with both Madonna's new album and tour and Guy's revived movie career are cited as reasons. The adoption of David Banda attracted a huge wave of negative publicity, allegedly putting further strain on the relationship. The couple have one other son, Rocco, and Lourdes, Madonna's daughter from a relationship with her fitness instructor Carlos Leon.

Madge's meeting with Nicholas Mostyn took place at his London office just over ten days ago.

Don't put any bets on seeing this dragged into the courts McCartney-style though – we can only assume that both Madonna and Guy Ritchie will want to keep this a very private affair.

Having said that, Madonna is theoretically entitled to half of Guy's fortune too – which at least means she'll be able to continue making money out of Snatch. Pleasure.

Holy Moly has approached Madonna's UK representative and is awaiting a response.

DENISE Richards is lashing back at her ex, Charlie Sheen, over the ugly accusations made by his friends on Page Six yesterday.

Sheen branded her a liar and claimed she sent his fiancee, Brooke Mueller, an e-mail asking him for his sperm so she could have another kid. Now Richards, in town to promote her E! reality show "It's Complicated," tells us:

"For him to slam me saying I'm exploiting the kids, well, he's exploited our entire situation," Richards fumed to us yesterday. She claims Sheen obsessively sends her rage-filled text messages. "Last week, I sent Charlie a text message asking him if he's going to Family Day [for daughter Sam's school] and letting him know Sam was sick with a cold," Richards said. "His response was, 'I hope you and your worthless retarded father get cancer and join your stupid mom. Rot in hell you [bleeping] whore.' My mom died of cancer. This is what I deal with on a weekly basis.

"He missed Dad's day at the school and my father had to go in his place. And this is how he talks to me?"

Richards claims the e-mails sent to Mueller were fakes: "I don't want Charlie's prostitute-tranny-infested sperm. I have two beautiful kids. We'll leave it at that. I am so over him. He's the one who can't move on. He's disgusting and he's hit an all-time low."

But Sheen is taking it to the mat - or rather, a computer DNA expert - to prove Richards is lying.

Sheen's rep said, "Denise seems to be denying the existence of [the] e-mail. This goes beyond a he-said-she-said. We have an offer from a [live] TV show. They will bring a computer expert to diagnose the e-mail and to verify it was sent by her e-mail address and to verify it was neither altered nor edited. Computer DNA - it is conclusive.

"The only time Charlie has spoken on TV about her, they were sound bites at red-carpet visits or during set visits," the rep said. "He has not gone on multiple TV shows this week."

[Jessica Simpson’s] fling with Zach Braff began after a recent party hosted by Diddy, when the mogul received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“They spent that night together and several others,” the source said.

“Then she turned to Jared [Leto] for several more romantic trysts! And this was happening right under Tony Romo’s nose!”

At one point she was juggling all three guys, according to the source.

DENISE Richards is a big liar, claim Charlie Sheen's pals - one of whom says she "gets more than enough money from Charlie to never have to work, much less do a reality show that exploits the kids."

Sheen and his friends are furious that Richards taped a reality show debuting this weekend on E! called "It's Complicated," which also features the warring ex-couple's two daughters, Lola and Sam.

In her bid to promote the show, Richards went on "Today," "The View" and "Larry King Live" to explain she did it to make money to support her children.

But, "Denise gets $52,000 a month tax-free in child support," a Sheen insider fumed. "Most people in America can figure out how to live on that, but Denise can't?"

In addition to the child support, Richards got $60,000 a month (also tax-free) for two years in alimony - adding up to a whopping $1.44 million. Richards also gets a chunk of Sheen's hot sitcom, "Two and a Half Men," which "eventually will net her up to $25 million," the source said.

Sheen's ex Denise Richards denied on "Larry King" Tuesday that she'd ever asked Sheen, father of her two children, for a sperm donation after their breakup. Wednesday, the "Two and a Half Men" star countered by distributing to us and others in the media a copy of an e-mail he said Richards sent to his fiancée, Brooke Mueller, on the subject in April 2007.

"I will no longer sit back and be egregiously painted as a liar," Sheen said. "The mere fact that she continues to publicly discuss and harass both Brooke and me three years after our separation, which for the record is longer than the actual length of the marriage, is beyond desperate and speaks volumes."

The e-mail, Sheen claims, reads:

"Dear Brooke, I don't want to have a baby with Charlie. I am having a baby in the next year. By myself ... my girlfriend suggested Charlie be the donor. So, I did bring this up to him. There are so many couples having unhealthy children. Charlie and I have very beautiful healthy children together. I was strictly looking for a sperm donor, if it's any of your business. If it were him, I said we would sign a document that he couldn't come after me and I couldn't come after him ... this wasn't to have sex with him, it was him donating ... that's it. "

After Richards told Matt Lauer on "Today" yesterday that the e-mail was a fake, Sheen challenged: "If any proof can be established that these are not in fact her words and statements verbatim, I openly invite her and would even encourage Ms. Richards to sue me in a court of law."

Sienna Miller and Rhys Ifans are reportedly on the verge of a split. Hot on the heels of engagement rumors, Sienna is said to be struggling to cope with Rhys’ possessiveness; and his behavior reminds her of ‘controlling’ ex-boyfriend Jude Law.

A source says, “Rhys gets very jealous - he hates her socializing with other men and always wants to know where she is and who she’s with. During a row she yelled at him: ‘It’s just like being with Jude’.

“Rhys freaked out, because he prides himself on being the laid-back opposite of Jude. But he just gets worked up seeing men admiring his girlfriend and trying to hit on her.”

Tensions between the pair have worsened due to work commitments. Sienna has been filming GI Joe in America while Rhys has been working in the UK.

“They had a huge bust up recently,” the friend added. “Sienna promised to spend a week with Rhys. He arranged his filming schedule, but at the last minute she canceled her trip, saying she had to work. Rhys hit the roof when he called her and found out she was partying in LA.”

Despite a flurry of engagement rumors, Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson – Hollywood's most notorious on-again, off-again couple – have called it quits, less than two months after rekindling their romance in Miami.

The end of their erratic courtship (they began dating in September '06) comes amid erroneous reports that the pair were engaged, fueled by photos of Hudson wearing a Tiffany & Co. ring (it was a prop!) both on-and-off set of her film Bride Wars, which she's filming in Boston.

"It was a pretty bad breakup," says a Wilson pal. "Owen said it was a tough one. He definitely doesn't want to dwell on it. He wants to put it behind him."

Since the split, Hudson, 29, and Wilson, 39, have each been spotted letting loose. On May 9, Hudson and Bride Wars costar Steve Howey, 30, visited Boston's Liberty Hotel bar, Alibi. And on May 11, Wilson dropped by N.Y.C.'s Upstairs with two women.

"He was pretty chummy with the ladies ... he was certainly doing some sweet talking," according to an onlooker. "He looked happy to be there hanging with them." The late-night outing was followed by a visit to Butter the next night, where he chatted up a sexy blonde. Says a Hudson source: "She feels dumb thinking it was so serious."

Anne Heche got a break from the judge in her custody war today after appearing in court, claiming she doesn't have a pot to pee in ... even less than her deader-beat ex-husband. An L.A. County Superior Court judge has suspended Heche's obligation to pay child support for July. Heche has been forking over $14,798 in monthly support.

In her declaration, Heche noted that her TV show, "Men In Trees," had gotten the ax. She says since January, "I have been unemployed and had no income....except for one very short term contract for a movie role for which I received a total of $65,000."

Heche says she has a grand total of $34,840.93 in her accounts. She claims she can't continue paying for Homer's private school tuition, her Canadian mortgage, L.A. rent, auto and other expenses. She says she's $364,000 in the hole.

BTW, Anne was spotted at the Malibu Beach Inn over the weekend. She blew $30 on appetizers, not including tip.

Liv Tyler has left question marks hanging over her marriage to British rocker Royston Langdon, after posing at New York's Costume Institute Gala on Monday night without a wedding ring. The couple married in March 2003, and have a three-year-old son, Milo. But sources claim the relationship has been on the rocks for some time; rumors seemingly confirmed when Tyler strolled the red carpet alone at the star-studded event, with a clearly naked ring finger - the same night Scarlett Johansson was showing off her brand new engagement ring. When contacted by the New York Daily News, a representative for Tyler, 30, refused to comment on the speculation surrounding her marriage.

"Oh jeez . . . It never happened . . . It was an . . . well, it was an annulment so… it never happened."

"After much soul-searching, Kelly decided that Billy is not the man she wants to marry and has called off the engagement. The split is completely amicable and they remain good friends."

“Several years ago I made an error in judgment by inviting the media into the most intimate area of my life. A month ago I filed for divorce. The dissolution of a marriage is a difficult time in anyone’s life that requires privacy with one’s thoughts. I have committed myself to handling this situation with dignity and grace and look forward to emerging from this period as a stronger and wiser woman.”

IS Madonna about to get into the groove as a single woman again with a dramatic relocation from London to New York - without Guy Ritchie?

The pop queen and her movie-director husband's seven-year marriage is on the rocks, according to Page Six sources and reports out of Britain.

"Madonna is said to have lost respect for Ritchie when she found out he had embellished his past," one in-the-know Briton told us. "Far from the tough, working-class London dude he adoringly echoed in 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' he's actually a privileged, prep school boy who chose to affect a gangland accent and walk with a street swagger. Brits can spot this at 100 yards, or hear it in an accent. Yanks, alas, can't."

But while Madonna might feel she has worn out her welcome in England, Ritchie is loath to leave his native country. "He's known in the UK as a moviemaker homeboy-made good," our source explained, "while in the US, he's just the foreign half-wit who took Madonna from her American homeland and made her talk all funny."

The couple's pals told Britain's Sun newspaper yesterday they're already living separate lives, having divided their country and city homes into "his and hers quarters" to avoid each other. "The marriage is hanging by a thread. No one doubts they adore their three kids, but the children seem to be the only reason they are living this strange loveless existence," one friend of the couple told the paper.

Madonna is headed to Manhattan with Lourdes, 11, Rocco, 7, and David, 2, Britain's News of the World reports, quoting one source: "Madonna and Guy are over. It's all very amicable. They've just fallen out of love with each other."

Baloney, says Madonna's rep, Liz Rosenberg. "All is well and wonderful in the Ritchie household," she told us. "Their marriage is definitely not hanging by a thread. Madonna has no plans to move to New York . . . Separate wings? I think not. I am delighted to confirm [they] remain happily married . . . They're still both sharing Cloud 9 - as opposed to Client 9, ha-ha!"

Still, speculation about the Material Mom's second marriage has been in overdrive. Ritchie wasn't with his wife when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week. And he skipped her Raising Malawi charity drive at the United Nations last month.