ENGAGED
Seems as though towering basketball star Yao Ming may have met his match—off the court. The 7′ 6″ center for the Houston Rockets just announced that he plans to tie the knot with his longtime girlfriend.
According to the Chinese state press, 27-year-old Yao will marry 25-year-old Ye Li in a private ceremony – possibly in their home city of Shanghai, China. The pair has been dating for 8 years (they met as teenagers when he was playing for the Shanghai Sharks men’s team). The couple has at least one thing in common—they both play professional basketball. Ye stands 6′ 2″ and plays basketball for China’s national team.
The tall couple went public with their relationship at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where they were seen walking hand-in-hand at the closing ceremony.
According to media reports, Ye is a regular visitor at Yao’s Texas home and has also studied English at the University of Houston. Yao and Ye are reportedly expected to return to China next month so Yao can play on the Chinese national team.
PREGNANT
NBC’s “Today” show weekend anchor Campbell Brown is getting ready to be a first-time mom. She made the announcement on yesterday’s show, though did not reveal when she was due.
What she did reveal was that she is suffering from morning sickness and is very anxious to find out the baby’s gender. She told viewers she’s looking forward to shopping for her new addition.
The 39-year-old Brown and her 35-year-old former Republican political aide husband, Dan Senor married last year.
NEWLY SINGLE
They said it wouldn’t last… and it didn’t. According to news reports, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal’s romance has ended.
A source close to the couple told PEOPLE magazine: “Reese was the one who had to do it. She just got out of a divorce and was so concerned with her family, she just didn’t have the time for him and he really demanded that.”
Which begs the question: why get involved in the first place? According to the magazine, the couple “remains friends” (don’t they all).
Personally, given the circumstances, I can’t imagine how this relationship had a chance of lasting. Witherspoon split with her husband, Ryan Phillippe with whom she has two young children, and within a few months she started seeing Gyllenhaal. Witherspoon’s relationship with Gyllenhaal was low-key (so low-key that the couple reportedly was never photographed together) and they both went out of their way to avoid the media spotlight. So I guess the press can’t be blamed for the demise of this coupling.