Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, one-third of super girl group TLC, is ready to make her comeback. At the age of forty-two the raspy voiced songstress is stepping back into the limelight with a new reality show titled “Totally T-Boz” which will premiere on January 1.

The reality show will capture Watkins attempting to reclaim her position in the music industry as well as some of her most vulnerable moments including her divorce, financial problems and life threatening illnesses.

In a sneak peek of the first episode, Watkins meets with music producer Bangladesh (Beyoncé, Missy Elliot, Kelly Rowland, etc.) who expresses his doubts about T-Boz’s commitment to crafting a new album. He has some serious questions for which Watkins does not seem to have the answers. One thing that T-Boz does make clear, however, is that she does not mind proving herself to music consumers.

“I guess I have to prove myself all over again, even if it’s to the world,” said Watkins. “I don’t have a problem doing that.”

Proving herself to the world may be harder than she expects. Indeed, the music industry has seen many changes since her days of girl group domination alongside Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. The last full length album that Watkins was featured on was TLC’s ’3D’.  Released in 2002, seven months after the car crash death of Lopes, 3D achieved platinum status in the United States.

That same year T-Boz was hospitalized for four months due to complications of sickle cell anemia. The singer had been diagnosed with the disease during her early childhood and went public with her illness in 1996.  She later became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

In 2004, Watkins filed for divorce from her rapper husband Mack 10. The two married in 2000 and welcomed a daughter, Chase, shortly after their nuptials. In the years since the dissolution of her marriage, Watkins has had to care for her daughter on her own while battling sickle cell anemia and, most recently, a brain tumor. Mack 10 reportedly owes the singer more than $250,000 in back child support. Her medical issues and lack of support from her ex-husband led Watkins to file for bankruptcy in 2011.

“Totally T-Boz” will also chronicle Watkins’ challenges and joys of single parenthood. The singer is not necessarily alone though. Along for the ride are her support system which includes her younger brother, Koya, cousins Barb and Chris and friend Tae-Tae, as well as her business partner, Tara. “Totally T-Boz” will premiere on January 1 at 8/7c on the TLC network.

Image Courtesy : Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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For many years, January was widely considered “Divorce Month” by divorce attorneys who experienced a dramatic uptick in business immediately following the holiday season. But, according to a new analysis of divorce filings and searches for divorce-related information on the Internet, March is the true “Divorce Month.”

According to FindLaw.com, the No. 1 website for free consumer-focused legal information with more than 5.1 million visits per month, searches for “divorce” and related phrases such as “family law” and “child custody” jumped 50 percent – from just over 10,000 in December 2010 to nearly 16,000 in January 2011, and continued to surge through March. “Divorce” has been the No. 1 searched term on FindLaw.com since February 2010.

Along these same lines, FindLaw.com analyzed divorce filings across the U.S. between 2008 and 2011 with Westlaw, the leading legal research database. The analysis revealed that divorces spike in January, continue to rise and peak in late March.

Mark Ohnstad, an attorney with the Minneapolis law firm Thomsen Nybeck, says there may be several important factors as to why January is such a key time of year for seeking divorce information.

“While they’ve been thinking about divorce for some time, and taking steps such as obtaining marital counseling to save their marriage, many men and women may put off their decision to file to avoid additional stress during the holiday season,” says Ohnstad, who has more than 30 years of experience. “Couples with children may want to have one last holiday season together as a family.”

For others, the stress of in-laws, money troubles and career challenges coupled with the pressures to “be happy” during the holidays leads some men and women to cheat on their spouses during this time.

A study on holiday depression noted that of those who cheat on their spouses, 56 percent of men and 42 percent of women do so during the holiday season, says leading marriage therapist Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, Ph.D., author of Make Up, Don’t Break Up. These affairs may trigger post-New Year’s divorce filings by spouses who discover the affairs or by the cheating spouse who now wants to end the marriage.

Another reason that many people delay divorce until after the holidays is related to income taxes, adds Ohnstad. Your marital status as of December 31 determines whether you’ll file a joint or an individual return for the prior year.

If you’re considering filing for divorce, here are nine tips from FindLaw.com to consider:

1. Can your marriage be saved? Divorce is expensive, and can have an emotional toll for you and your children that can last for years. Ask yourself if you’ve done everything possible to avoid divorce, including seeking marriage or mental health counseling for yourself as well as for you and your spouse.

2. Have a plan. Become familiar with your state’s divorce laws. Some states have cooling-off periods that can last as long as six months. You’ll need to figure out how you will begin the separation process, how you’ll keep your kids secure and safe and how you’ll get by financially.

3. Build a support network. Divorce is also hard on those close to you – your family and friends. So don’t rely on them alone to get you through this transition. Seek out support groups for divorced persons through a nearby church or other community organization.

4. Save, save, save. Divorce is not cheap. Besides legal fees, you’ll need extra cash on hand to establish a new household. In addition, you should anticipate disagreements with your spouse about who pays what bills.

5. Hire an experienced divorce attorney. Seek the assistance of an experienced divorce attorney for the expertise you need to protect your interests throughout the process. An experienced family law attorney can help you understand the best way to approach a divorce filing based on your state’s divorce laws.

6. Protect your safety. Filing for a divorce can unleash powerful, angry and potentially violent feelings and reactions. Before you file, think about how your spouse may react, and make a plan to protect your safety and the safety of your children. If there is a history of violence in your family, act with extreme caution.

7. Put your kids first. It’s critical to reassure your children they are not at fault because mom and dad are divorcing. It’s also essential to make sure both parents tell the children that they’re loved. And as angry as you might be, it’s important not to badmouth your spouse in front of your children.

8. Get your papers in order. Before you file, get all important papers in order, make copies and start a file. You should know the status of all financial accounts and assets – checking and savings accounts, debts, the sources and amount of income entering the home each month, mortgage papers and proof of ownership of all other important assets.

9. Take stock. Before you file, take an inventory of all personal and joint assets, including jewelry, family heirlooms and other personal items. It is not uncommon for personal items to suddenly “go missing” before a divorce is complete.

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Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are rumored to be getting a divorce. Rumors have spread about the split between the couple. They have recognized that their marriage is not always perfect and they are currently having significant problems, but that doesn’t mean they have made the decision to separate.

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have been married for over 13 years and have two children together. Reports In Touch Weekly s stated the couple has already separated. Sources on www.tmz.com, a gossip site, were told it is “definitely a possibility,” but the couple hasn’t pulled the trigger.

Trey Smith, Will’s son from a previous marriage, wrote on Twitter,  “Will and Jada getting a divorce…not true at all. Retweet.” The couple even released a joint statement shooting down In Touch Weekly’s reports about their split. “Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false.

We are still together, and our marriage is intact,”the two stars said. Sources on www.tmz.com doubt the language constructed on their statement. They have become curious since the couple have repeated over and over again that they are still in love and committed to each other.

Smith’s family is going on vacation together.  Sources would neither confirm nor deny if the trip is meant to save the relationship. Smith’s publicist was late to the news and said to TMZ, “What? In Touch said that? I know nothing about this…Lord. I’m going back to bed.” There are also rumors about March Anthony and Jada having an affair. Marc Anthony called the whole story “laughable.”

Earlier this month Anthony said at “Nightline” that he is really upset at these reports because he admitted they have been friends for years. He is bothered by the effect might have on Smith’s family and their loved ones. Anthony also talked for the first time about his divorce with Jennifer Lopez. He said he never cheated on Jennifer Lopez and that he will always love her.

On “Good Morning America” March Anthony kept talking about his divorce wanting to clear up that nothing important caused their separation and there was no infidelity. “I’ll always love Jennifer … and she knows that, it’s important that she knows it and so do my kids,” the singer said.

Will Smith also wants to rip apart every report that says he is splitting from his wife. He wants to clarify all the rumors are ridiculous. When the couple was shopping in Malibu they showed romantic behaviour and they called each other “baby.” For Will and Jada Pinkett Smith the rumors may be just that, but for many stars rumors give a way to reality.

Several celebrities are  known by denying divorce rumors, splitting shortly thereafter, such as, Madonna and Guy Ritchie, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, Heather Mills and Paul McCartney, Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, and last but not least.  Avril Lavigne and Deryk Whibley.

 
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A British calculator that estimates the financial costs of a divorce has become a great phenomenon in China. As a consequence, several Asian couples have begun to reconsider if it’s worth it break up with their partners or not.

The calculator was released at the end of 2010 by a British company. It was invented by the U.K. Financial Education to the Consumer Department, and it’s a free online service that anyone can use in order to avoid any divorce financial problems.

According to the Chinese online media outlet Global Times, the calculator results have frightened a lot of couples that were considering divorce. This invention calculates division of property expense, economic child support litigation and the costs of losing hours of work. Based on these factors it shows the costs of divorce.

Despite the fact that this product was first seen as an entertainment tool, one of its users named Zhanghas has has recently said at the Global Times that after using this calculator he changed his mind on divorce. For him, getting divorced would leave him with only $29. In addition, in the future he would have to pay $247 per year to care for his son and pay rent on his house. It’s important to clarify that this calculator was configured based on the British standards, however most of people use this little machine to calculate estimate expenses data.

“If I would have known how expensive it would be to get divorce I would have never married,” Zhang said to the online media outlet.

He also pointed out that the calculator showed that he may lose more than half the property he shares with his wife. He admitted that thanks to this machine he learned how to better appreciate his marriage and family.

This calculator is not the first created to calculate the consequences of divorce. Divorce 360 provides help, advice and community for people contemplating, going through or recovering from divorce and the issues around it, such as custody, child support, alimony and litigation.

Divorce 360 has created a calculator   that the user can use to know what is going to happen to his marriage in five years. With just five quick questions they can calculate the chances of divorce:

Question 1: What is your gender?

Question 2:  When did you marry?

Question 3: What is your education?

Question 4: How old were you when you got married?

Question 5: How many years have you been married?

According to the Ministry of Civil Actions more than 465,000 marriages ended in divorce by the beginning of this year, making a total of 5,000 divorces per day.

Divorce has become an unfortunate reality. It is difficult, painful and complex. Only time will tell i  f these two “inventions” help to prevent or avoid the number of divorces in a close future.

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In response to the big political and entertainment news of the past weeks, Time Magazine asks why powerful men cheat.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been ousted as a cheater having had a child with another woman while being married with his wife Maria Shriver.  Now there is constant debate on all news networks about why he did it, what does it mean and what will happen next.  If you ask me nothing, nothing should happen next.

A useless question like why men of power cheat does nothing to help political discourse or aid in helping people understand the real reason why we as Americans do what we do.

I often hear people say that Men in powerful positions feel as though they can get away with doing unethical things simply because they can, their arrogance blind them and at the same time shield them from the potential consequences of their actions.

Great psycho analysis but let’s leave the bubble of the political world and think about this objectively and not get caught in fancy titles.

Men in powerful positions cheat for the same reasons men all over the world cheat.  A leader of a fortune five hundred company cheats for the same reasons a person struggling with college debts cheats.

We make a big deal about these men because they are villianized by the media and we see them and feel as though we know them but that is not their fault… it is the nature of the business they are in.  In fact in us being naive, we do ourselves a disservice in electing our politicians.

The question should be why do men cheat in general, ask why did Tiger Woods cheat on his wife then we can ask why did a person like President Bill Clinton cheat or why Presidential candidate John Edwards cheated on his wife.

9819811We say we want our politicians to be one of us and we want to feel as though we can relate to them, so why when the topic of cheating on a spouse comes up we expect them to be different or above us.  Somehow they should only represent the best in us; if that is it then we are being naive.

I don’t want to come off as excusing the action of cheating on your spouse or getting another woman pregnant while being married, but we must find a way to separate the personal lives of our politicians and their service to us as politicians.  Should you be fired or reprimanded from your job because you cheated on your husband or wife? I don’t think so.

I understand it becomes complicated when the issue of tax payer money is involved and when we determine the legality of actions by certain politicians then and only then should it matter what they do in their private lives.

So what does this scandal mean?  Does it mean Governor Schwarzenegger should not be governor, just like Edwards most likely will never be president for this and other reasons?  Must he apologize to us; in fact I’m kind of tired of hearing politicians say sorry to the American people for their integrations.

In a country where the divorce rate is between 40 and 50 percent, why are we still surprise about stories like this, why do we still care… oh yeah I know why, because it shows a lot about a person’s ethics and we don’t want unethical leaders; yeah that’s it.

In reality that is just a cop out and we avoid the real questions and the real answers.

Ask yourself this question, who you consider a better president, the president who was a “compassionate conservative” or the president who cheated on his wife. In other words who was a better leader George Bush the son or Bill Clinton?

We shouldn’t forget about our values and have our president parade around with different model girlfriends on their arms like European Presidents often do, but let’s ask the right questions and disregard the double standards we place on our politicians.

Politicians are flawed men but they are men none the less, we must accept them just like you accept your husbands and boyfriends with their many flaws.

Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

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