Britney Spears: Getting Back in Shape Took Hard Work

By Brian Orloff
people.com
Britney Spears showed off her fit body – and a fierce dance routine – during her recent European mini-tour. But what did it take for the pop star to get back in shape? A lot of hard work, the pop star says. "I have had to work hard at getting [my body] back to where it used to be," Spears tells Glamour in its January issue. "I used to be obsessed with working out ... But I can't get motivated right now because I'm so focused on my music." What about her workout regimen? "It isn't fun [for me], so to do it every day would be horrible," Spears say of going to the gym. "Three days a week is cool, even two. It makes me feel good and feel like I've done something. It's important to take care of your body."Still, Spears, who will turn 27 on Tuesday, says that with her efforts comes a new appreciation for her body. "Recently I started to appreciate my body a bit more from before I had kids," the singer says. "But it completely changed."
Family TimeSpears will release her sixth album, Circus, which she describes as "really personal," on Tuesday as well – and will continue her media blitz, performing on Good Morning America. But despite her recent world travels, and whirlwind schedule, the singer says she likes being home and spending time with her sons, Preston, 3, and Jayden, 2. "I fix breakfast for my kids when they're here," she tells Glamour. "And then we'll go for walks. During the day I spend most of the time with my children. At night is when I go to work." With motherhood in mind, Spears passes along some tips for her sister, Jamie Lynn, who is a new mom. "As a mother, the one thing that always goes through your head is, 'You're never enough. You never can be enough – or do enough – for your kids,'" she says. "It's a never-ending issue for me. I had to learn: Don't beat yourself up so much ... You have to take it one day at a time, do the best that you can and enjoy yourself. "I notice that if there are some times I've been stressed ... that affects your kids," she says. "So you have to make sure you're a happy mom so they can be happy." As for her own wishes for her family, the singer, who also spoke out about her tumultuous relationships ("I have good days and I have bad days," she says) in an MTV documentary that aired Sunday, tells Glamour she has a five-year plan.

Michelle Williams on Missing Heath: 'It Just Gets Worse'

By Kate Stroup
people.com
Photo by: Bauer Griffin

It's been 10 months since Heath Ledger's tragic death. And, obviously, Michelle Williams is still reeling.

In fact, during a recent interview with Newsweek, the actress – mother of Ledger's three-year-old daughter, Matilda – burst into tears at the mere mention of his name.

"It's so sad," the 28-year-old told the magazine of Ledger's death – ruled an accidental overdose of prescription drugs – in late January.

How is she holding up? "I guess it's always changing," she said. "What else can I say? I just wake up each day in a slightly different place – grief is like a moving river."

Although the two Brokeback Mountain stars had split before Ledger's death, they always remained close.

"It's a strange thing to say, because I'm at heart an optimistic person, but I would say in some ways it just gets worse," she said of her grief. "It's just that the more time that passes, the more you miss someone. In some ways it gets worse. That's what I would say."

The actress – currently starring in the indie flick Wendy and Lucy – says she's currently taking a year off to focus on her daughter.

"I don't want to work while she's in school," the former Dawson's Creek star (who's been linked to director Spike Jonze) told Newsweek. "I want her to have a routine. I want the plainest, simplest, most ordinary, habituated routine possible."

Jennifer Aniston on John Mayer: 'We Adore One Another'

people.com

By Brian Orloff

Photo by: Mark Davis / Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris / WireImage
Jennifer Aniston has a simple message when it comes to her on-again relationship with John Mayer: "People need to mind their own business," the actress tells Vogue in its December issue.

Of course, Aniston, 39, understands why so many people are intrigued by their romance. There's the age difference – Mayer is nine years younger – and the musician's high-profile past relationships with starlets like Jessica Simpson.

"Did you ever think Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield made sense?" Aniston says, jokingly comparing her relationship to equally unexpected celebrity couples. "Did Susan Anton and Dudley Moore make sense? Wait! I got more!"

When they met at an Oscar party last February, Aniston says she "barely knew his music." But the two began dating – Aniston flew to England where the rocker was touring – and their relationship developed before the cameras.

Did she know it was going to work out at the time?

"You know, it isn't designed," Aniston says. "Love just shows up and you go, 'Oh, wow, this is going to be a hayride and a half.' "


"I Feel Seriously Protective" of Mayer
When talking about Mayer's famous run-in with reporters outside a gym in Manhattan where he said about their split, "I don't want to waste somebody's time if something's not right," Aniston isn't ruffled.

"He had to put that out there that he broke up with me," she says, about Mayer's comments. "And especially because it's me. It's not just some girl he’s dating. I get it. We're human. But I feel seriously protective of him and us."

Adds Aniston: "It's funny when you hit a place in a relationship and you both realize [that] we maybe need to do something else, but you still really, really love each other. It's painful. There was no malicious intent. I deeply, deeply care about him; we talk, we adore one another. And that's where it is.”


On Her Relationship with Brad Pitt
Equally candid about her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, Aniston says she has spoken to him since their divorce, and calls their split "amicable."

"The marriage didn't work out," she tells the magazine. "Pretty soon after we separated, we got on the phone and we had a long, long conversation with each other and said a lot of things, and ever since we've been unbelievably warm and respectful of each other."

(Aniston also shares some thoughts about Pitt's partner, Angelina Jolie, with the magazine.)

Aniston, who says she's been "unbelievably lucky in love," is also practical about the subject. "Whoever said everything has to be forever," she says. "That's setting your hopes too high. It's too much pressure. And I think if you put that pressure on yourself … that's unattainable."

Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora Reuniting for Thanksgiving

people.com
By Chris Willard
Photo by: Kevin Winter / Getty

Heather Locklear and ex-husband Richie Sambora are embracing the spirit of Thanksgiving by celebrating the holiday together – along with Locklear's boyfriend – this year.

"Richie and Heather are spending Thanksgiving together with [daughter] Ava," a friend of Locklear's tells PEOPLE. "Jack [Wagner] and a few good friends will also be having dinner with them."

Locklear, 47, and Sambora, 49, split in 2006 after 12 years of marriage, but they continue to be supportive of each other, and to co-parent their 11 year old daughter.

"They may be divorced, but they are raising a little girl they both love very much," a friend of the Bon Jovi guitarist told PEOPLE in June after Locklear sought treatment for depression and anxiety.

"Heather and Richie are very supportive of each other," Locklear's friend adds. "They talk all the time, and anytime Ava has something important happening they are there together. It's going to be a very nice Thanksgiving for everyone."

Sambora, who was a presenter at Sunday's American Music Awards, tells hollyscoop.com that "everything is really cool," between him and his ex-wife.

He also tells the site, which broke news of their Thanksgiving plans, that Locklear is "doing fantastic" following her DUI arrest in September.

William Balfour Arrested in Jennifer Hudson Family Murders

By Hilary Shenfeld and Jeff Truesdell
William Balfour Photo by: AP
people.com
Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour, was arrested Monday in the slayings of the Oscar winner's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, according to Chicago police. Formal charges have not yet been brought by the Cook County prosecutor's office, but Balfour was transferred from an Illinois state prison – where he has been held on suspicion of a parole violation – back into police custody, says police spokeswoman Monique Bond. Balfour, 27, who is separated from Hudson's sister, Julia, was arrested in the first-degree murders of Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, brother Jason Hudson, 29, and his own stepson, Julian King, 7. The bodies of Donerson and Hudson were found shot to death Oct. 24 in the family home on Chicago's South Side by Hudson's sister, Julia. The body of King, Julia's son, was found three days later in the backseat of Jason's abandoned Chevrolet Suburban parked 10 miles from the family's home. All died from gunshot wounds.
Contentious RelationshipBalfour, who previously served prison time for attempted murder and car hijacking, was arrested hours after the first victims were discovered. He and Julia Hudson married on Dec. 30, 2006, and initially lived together at the family home. But a contentious relationship, marked by fights over money and infidelities according to family members and neighbors, led to Balfour being thrown out of the house in recent months. He had voiced threats against Julia and her family, sources say. His mother, Michele Balfour, told reporters her son had discussed divorce. No motive for the slayings was disclosed, but police told the Chicago Tribune that on the morning of the killings Julia Hudson reported to her job as a school bus driver and learned that her paycheck had been garnered due to unmade payments on a car that Balfour had taken earlier. She then called Balfour. Sources – who reconstructed events based on conversations with a girlfriend of Balfour's – told the Tribune that Balfour then went to the Hudson home and fired through the front door, striking Jason Hudson. Darnell Donerson was allegedly shot as she entered the living room.
Search for Missing BoyKing was reported missing from the home after Julia Hudson came home about 3 p.m. and alerted police. The boy was the subject of a three-day search until his body was found inside a white SUV parked on a West Side street early on Oct. 27. A bullet lodged in the vehicle suggests he was shot in the car, police sources said.