What's Up With All The Holiday Engagements?

By Jo Piazza Posted Dec 30th 2010 07:15AM

Was there something in the water this holiday season? Was Jared having an extra big sale on diamonds in the greater Los Angeles area, or is love simply winning over all the hardened hearts of Tinseltown?

Whatever it is, we have witnessed an overdose of celebrity engagements this week -- from Hugh Hefner, who continues to give us the willies and forces us to try to divide 84 by 24 in our heads, to LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian to Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth. Oh, and how can we forget Natalie Portman! Engaged and pregnant. Double whammy. One of the reasons for so much popping of the question, believes US Weekly's Rebecca Bienstock, is that celebrities really are just like us, and normal people tend get engaged at the holidays. Just check your Facebook feed this week.

"Just like us, they want to get engaged over the holidays when they're around their families so they can celebrate, or like LeAnn and Eddie they want to immediately go on vacation and enjoy the recent engagement," Bienstock says. "Plus it's easier, you can combine the holiday present with the engagement ring."

And the holidays require very little staging. There is no need for an elaborate set-up since everything is already decked out.

"It's the most romantic time of year because the streets are literally decorated with lights, everyone is smooching under the mistletoe, and the commercials for diamond rings are non-stop," says dating coach Tracey Steinberg, host of 'Dating Help 911.'

Relationship expert Dr. Gilda Carle, author of 'Don't Bet on the Prince: How to Have the Man You Want By Betting on Yourself,' believes there is a darker side to why folks pair up around this time of year.

"For all people, celebs and non-celebs alike, holiday time can feel very lonely for those who are alone," Dr. Gilda explains. "They see their family and friends gather in groups, and, to the naked eye, they appear to be paired. So the holiday season is the ideal time to become wrapped up in the emotions of the moment as an escape from real life. Celebs are especially prone to the holiday escape."

Dr. Gilda notes that after the romance of the holiday goes away and real life settles back in, some of these engagements just won't stick.

"They must be aware that after the celebrations cease, they will have to actually become more grounded with the person for whom they declared their forever love. When reality comes crashing down, that's when holiday engagements are broken," Dr. Gilda says.

And not to be too cynical, but there is also the sweet spot of the celebrity news cycle. The holidays are a notorious down time for celebrity news, so if a celeb wants attention around their engagement, now is most definitely the time to pop the question.

"Some celebrities are more calculating than others," says US magazine's Bienstock. "I tend to believe that the engagement of Reese and Jim is pure and real, but something like the Hugh Hefner engagement certainly does put him back in the spotlight. Of course, this year there were so many engagements, one could easily get lost in the shuffle."

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Comments

(8)

Thursday 30 December

By VITA

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I know Hugh Hefner is rich and famous, but to wake up every morning and see him laying next to me, is not worth all that money. Can he even still get it up?

By Ruth

Would you really want him to?

By Lynn

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You are so right. There is not enough money on the planet to make me want to see that shiveled up prune in the same bed, and I'm 51. But Ruth may be on to something. Maybe he can no longer "perform" and it's all just for show. How incredibly immature that man must be.

By ooiobaae

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Natalie, you dated Jake for 3yr and broke up.
You've been datinng Milli for 10months. Good luck.
Instead of getting pregnant then engaged, you shoulda got engaged hen pregnant. i hope it works out.

Ruth I could care less.haha

By hank

Hefner has a TV show out there...this is for the ratings.. is he engaged to all 3 bimbos? And no, he can't get it up and likely has already maxxed himself out in the sex department to the point where it doesnt hold any attraction at this point. At his age, its about pretty young firm girls serving him his bagel and decaf coffee in the morning. It's his daughter who actually runs the business anyway, but that doesnt make headlines.

Saturday 01 January

By Skinnieminnie2006

As a bride-to-be who just got engaged myself on Christmas Eve, I can honestly say that I am not at all interested in any celeb engagements, especially since their marriages never really stick past two years.

Friday 31 December

By Colleen

Has no one noticed that Leanne Rhimes got breast implants!! I was looking at previous pictures of her while she has been with that loser and noticed a bikini photo of her and she was as flat as a board. Soon she will look like Heidi Montag. I am really surprised that none of the gossip sites caught on.

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