In the news
■ Former first lady Melania Trump is angry over renewed attention to the hush-money payments her husband allegedly made to a porn star, and has been living in a separate area of their Mar-a-Lago estate, People reported last week. Melania, 52, never forgave the former president for his alleged 2006 tryst with porn star Stormy Daniels, sources said. Donald Trump met Daniels at a celebrity golf tournament less than four months after Melania gave birth to their son, Barron. Donald denies having sex with Daniels but has admitted to authorizing a $130,000 payment to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 election—a payoff that is the subject of a Manhattan grand jury investigation. Melania continues to appear at Trump’s side at social events at the club but “is leading her own life,” with a focus on her parents and Barron and friends. She “doesn’t sympathize with Donald’s plight,” the source said.
■ Gwyneth Paltrow testified last week that she was the victim, not the perpetrator, of a 2016 skiing collision at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort.Terry Sanderson, a retired Army optometrist, is seeking $300,000 in damages from the actress and wellness mogul, accusing her of crashing into him from behind on a beginner’s slope, leaving him with broken ribs and a concussion. Paltrow, 50, countersued, saying Sanderson rammed into her. On the stand, Paltrow said she initially thought Sanderson was trying to sexually assault her after she felt “a body
pressing against me” and hearing “a very strange grunting noise.” Asked what she suffered from the collision, Paltrow replied, “Well, we lost half a day of skiing.”
■ Actress Reese Witherspoon and producer Jim Toth announced plans to divorce last week after nearly 12 years of marriage. “We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness, and mutual respect,” the couple said in a statement. A family friend told The Sun (U.K.) that Toth, 52, recently experienced a “midlife crisis” and began wearing weird jewelry and “dressing like somebody half his age.”They share a 10-year-old son. The friend said the couple have been growing apart since 2021, when Witherspoon and Toth sold their stake in production company Hello Sunshine for $900 million.