The Biggest Celebrity Stories Of 2023

A lot happened in 2023, especially in the world of showbiz…

From Taylor Swift’s whirlwind romance with Travis Kelce, to RTÉ’s infamous payments scandal involving Ryan Tubridy, celebrities kept us thoroughly entertained this year – whether the news was good, bad, or downright ugly.

Check out a list of the biggest stories we covered on the site over the past 12 months:

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby’s This Morning drama

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were the subject of a lot of media attention this year.

The spotlight initially landed on the telly duo in May, when rumours swirled of a “feud” between them.

In a statement released in mid-May, Phillip responded to rumours that his friendship with Holly had “cooled” in recent months, and that they “weren’t as close as they once were”.

A source close to Holly later told The Daily Mail that she was “blindsided” by Phillip’s statement, and didn’t know about it until she saw it online.

On May 20, Phillip announced his departure from This Morning with “immediate effect”.

In a statement shared to his Instagram story, the 61-year-old wrote: “I have always been proud to cover fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.”

“Throughout my career in TV – including the very difficult last few days – I have always done my best to be honourable and kind. I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.”

“So, I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me – especially This Morning’s amazing viewers – and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.”

Holly responded in a statement of her own, saying: “It’s been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The sofa won’t feel the same without him.”

Just days later, Phillip subsequently shocked the world by announcing he had lied about having an affair with a younger man, who worked on This Morning.

The 61-year-old confessed that he lied about the relationship to ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his agents at YMU.

The TV personality also confessed to lying to The Mail on Sunday, which published the story earlier in the month.

His statement read: “I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.”

“The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning,” Phillip continued. “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.”

“Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.”

“When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me.”

“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.”

“But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now,” Phillip continued.

“I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”

“I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me,” he stated.

“I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it.”

“To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so. I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.”

Phillip’s affair admission led him to part ways with ITV and his agents of 35 years, YMU.

ITV were later forced to respond to claims they knew about Phillip’s affair in a statement, which read: “Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.”

“Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.”

“In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.”

“Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.”

On May 27, Holly finally broke her silence on Phillip’s affair admission, telling her Instagram followers: “It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news.”

“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It’s been very hurtful to find out this was a lie. Holly x.”

ITV’s Dame Carolyn McCall later instructed a barrister to carry out an external review of the facts surrounding their handling of Phillip’s affair.

On June 1, Phillip broke his silence for the first time since admitting to the affair in an interview with The UK Sun.

During the interview, the 61-year-old explained that he worked with the man for a short period of time and they had become friends.

“Then one day something happened that just changed it. That is the moment I look back on, and regret so deeply,” he confessed.

“It was in my dressing room in 2017, it was a consensual moment, it was mutual. It was not a love affair, it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends; we were mates.”

“It wasn’t feelings (I was getting), it was more like mates: excitement,” Phillip continued. “I was really struggling with my sexuality at that time in the build up to what happened.”

“But over a period of time it happened maybe five or six times,” he said. “We just didn’t think anyone knew, there was no lying, we thought, stupidly, that nobody knew.”

“You look at yourself. I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career. I know I did that. And there is no excuse. I won’t put forward an excuse. No one did anything wrong apart from me.”

Phillip also denied claims he “groomed” the man in question, after photos emerged of their first meeting when he was a teenager, saying: “I did not, I did not [groom him].”

“There are accusations of all sorts of things,” Phillip continued. “It never came across that way [an abuse of power] because we’d become mates. I don’t know about that.”

“But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that anywhere else.”

“I assume somebody, somewhere, assumed something was going on, correctly, and didn’t say anything.”

“At the time I did not think about it possibly ruining my career. I really probably only thought about it when I saw the rumour mill, and saw it growing.”

“Then I saw the link with the drama school photo all those years before, and thought, ‘This looks shocking’.”

“But I didn’t lie to protect my career, he didn’t want his name in public. He wanted his own life.”

“The lies grew bigger and bigger and bigger. It was affecting both of us deeply. It got to the stage where it was out of control and for whatever cost, it had to stop.”

“I have massive guilt, and regret. I’ve made a mistake, I’ve had an affair at work.”

During the interview, Phillip apologised a number of times – including to his former This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby, and his wife of 30 years Stephanie; however, he said his “greatest apology” was to the man.

“I think my greatest apology must go to him. It has brought the greatest misery into his totally innocent life, his totally innocent family, his totally innocent friends,” he said.

“It has brought the greatest grief to them. I haven’t spoken to him since this s**t show kicked off, but when this was all beginning to get out of control, I paid for his lawyers to independently work on his behalf.”

“I am deeply sorry and I apologise to him because I should have known better. I should have acted the way I have always acted. I should not have done it. I’m sorry. And I will forever be sorry. I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified.”

Phillip also denied a number of shocking claims that emerged since his affair came to light, including allegations the man received “hush money” or signed an NDA preventing him from speaking out.

The 61-year-old also shut down speculation he got him a job on This Morning.

He said: “I told him, ‘I think I can get you an interview but I can’t get you the job. If you get in and screw it up I can’t save you.”

“He got the job on his own ­merits and started working on the show.”

After taking a two-week break from hosting This Morning, Holly addressed the scandal surrounding her former co-host and best pal Phillip.

Speaking to viewers, the mum-of-three asked: “Firstly, are you ok? I hope so. It’s very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. ”

“I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have. Shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on, and full of questions.”

“You, me, and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth. Who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved. That is a lot to process.”

“It’s equally hard to see the toll that it’s taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is the desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone.”

“I hope that as we start this new chapter, and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength from each other.”

“And from the heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning. Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison, Craig, and every single person who works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love,” Holly added.

Following Phillip’s departure, Holly continued to host This Morning alongside a rotation of guest presenters.

But everything changed in October when a plot to kidnap and murder Holly was revealed.

Gavin Plumb, 36, was accused of plotting to kidnap the This Morning presenter by allegedly contacting a hitman in the US to kill her.

It was also reported that Mr Plumb was found in possession of weapons – including chloroform, cable ties and a blindfold.

The police raid on October 4, came shortly after the Metropolitan Police had been tipped off about the alleged plot.

Holly was said to have been informed shortly before she was due on air, leaving her “distraught”.

Days later on October 10, Holly announced her shock departure from This Morning.

In a statement, the popular presenter wrote: “I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning.

“To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together.”

“Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive. To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you.

“Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You’ve been so loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day,” she continued. “Richard and Judy said ‘we only look after this show, it will always belong to the viewers.’”

“It’s been an honour to just be part of it’s story and I know this story has many chapters left to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family.  will miss you all so much,” she added, before signing off with, “Holly.”

ITV are yet to announce permanent replacements for Holly and Phillip, but a host of famous faces have been tipped for the roles – including Cat Deeley, Ben Shephard, Rylan Clark and Emma Willis.

Ryan Tubridy and the RTÉ payments scandal

RTÉ was plunged into chaos by the now-infamous payments scandal in June, just weeks after Ryan Tubridy finished up his 14-year tenure as host of The Late Late Show.

In a shock statement, the broadcaster confirmed that Ryan’s earnings had been publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.

The issue was identified during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, prompting an independent review of the matter by auditing organisation Grant Thornton.

The RTÉ Board issued an apology over the error, and Ryan later apologised for not questioning RTÉ over his published earnings.

On June 26, former Director General Dee Forbes resigned from RTÉ, and acting director general Adrian Lynch released a statement claiming she was the only one who could’ve known the publicly declared figures were wrong.

The issue was partly the result of a commercial deal which saw Ryan receive additional income from Renault, which was guaranteed and underwritten by RTÉ.

The commercial partner only paid €75,000 to Tubridy once in 2020, but RTÉ paid out for the years 2021 and 2022. The manner in which these payments were recorded led to an understatement of his earnings.

RTÉ labelled two invoices of €75,000 payments to Ryan as “consultancy fees”, and the now-infamous barter account was used to pay them.

Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly have maintained they didn’t know the payments came from RTÉ, and believed they came from Renault.

On June 28, members of the RTÉ Executive and the RTÉ Board made their first appearance before the Oireachtas Media committee.

In a viral moment, Chief Financial Officer Richard Collins initially refused to reveal his salary, claiming he couldn’t remember.

Details of discretionary spending from a barter account, which was dubbed a “slush fund”, were exposed – including nearly €5k on flip flops, tickets to rugby matches and trips to Japan.

Grant Thornton later discovered two more barter accounts, despite insistence from RTÉ that there wasn’t one.

On July 10, Kevin Bakhurst began his term as RTÉ’s Director General, and immediately stood down the executive.

Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel appeared before the Public Accounts and Media Committees for more than six hours on July 11.

During this hearing, Ryan also revealed that he never received an undisclosed €120,000 between 2017 – 2019, as the statement issued by the board caused the public to believe.

Ryan claimed he had an entitlement to an end-of-contract payment of €120,000, but he decided not to seek the money amid pressure at the station to reduce payments to top earners.

RTÉ subsequently deducted the money from their statement of Ryan’s earnings from 2017 to 2019.

It’s understood RTÉ’s accountants broke down the uncollected €120k into amounts of €20,000, €50,000, and €50,000, and attributed them to the years 2017, 2018, and 2019.

They then reduced the presenter’s actual remuneration by those amounts for each of the three years.

RTÉ then issued a public statement that understated the amount Ryan had actually been paid for those years by those amounts.

The reversal of this accountancy decision is what led to the board’s statement in June, which caused the public to believe Ryan had received secret payments.

When the payments scandal hit headlines in June, Ryan was pulled from his RTÉ Radio 1 show. During this time, the presenter was negotiating a radio-only contract with the broadcaster.

While Ryan’s return to RTÉ seemed promising despite the payments scandal, Kevin Bakhurst ceased negotiations with the presenter after he released a statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report.

Ryan’s statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report read: “I welcome the findings of the Grant Thornton Report, published today. I also welcome the report’s findings that I did not claim €120,000 in fees which was due to me in 2020 and that I did not agree with how RTE proposed to account for this decision.”

“It is also clear that my actual income from RTE in 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years and RTE has not yet published its top ten earner details for 2022.”

He added: “I repeat my offer to publish the details of any future RTE contract. I am committed to re-establishing the confidence and trust of my colleagues and listeners, and I hope that any fair assessment of the findings of today’s report will help in this regard.”

“Finally, I want to acknowledge the huge support that I have received in recent weeks from people across the country; many cards and letters, greetings on the street and words of support from people I bumped into meant an awful lot to me and I appreciate them all very much.”

The next day, RTÉ boss Kevin Bakhurst released a statement confirming Ryan wouldn’t be returning to his radio role.

“We went into negotiations with Ryan in good faith and in the hopes of reaching an agreement that would see Ryan return to his RTÉ Radio 1 show. I have decided not to continue with negotiations and, as such, there are no plans for Ryan to return to his presenting role with RTÉ at this time,” he said.

“Despite having agreed some of the fundamentals, including fee, duration and hours, regretfully, it is my view that trust between the parties has broken down.”

“Public statements made without consultation appear to question the basis for the necessary restatement of fees paid for services for 2020 and 2021.”

Ryan has since landed a huge new show with Virgin Radio in the UK.

In November, Goss.ie exclusively revealed that the presenter would be moving to London for his new job, just days before he confirmed his return to the airwaves.

Patrick Kielty takes over as host of The Late Late Show

Patrick Kielty was announced as the new host The Late Late Show in May, just weeks before the RTÉ payments scandal came to light.

After breaking his silence on rumours he was being lined up for the role during an exclusive interview with Goss.ie, RTÉ confirmed he would be taking over from Ryan Tubridy, who hosted the popular chat show for 14 years.

After the RTÉ payments scandal hit headlines a month later, the comedian revealed his salary amid calls for him to do so.

The new host of The Late Late Show revealed he will be paid €250,000 per 30-show season.

In a statement at the time, he said: “I’m pleased to finally be able to share that I’ve signed a three-season deal to host The Late Late Show beginning this September.”

“I’m being paid €250,000 per 30 show season. If additional shows are requested by RTÉ, they’ll be paid on a pro-rata basis.”

“I’m also receiving a one-off payment of €20,000 to cover the pre-production and rehearsals from now to September,” Patrick continued to tell the public at the time.

“The contract allows me to submit flight and accommodation expenses, but I’ve waived this. I’ve made it clear to RTÉ that I will be covering my own flights and accommodation costs.”

“I’ve also asked RTÉ to carbon offset my flights. I genuinely hope this helps clarify things going forward. I can’t wait to get started.”

Months later, Patrick hosted his first episode of RTÉ’s flagship programme on Friday, September 15, kicking off the show’s 61st season on RTÉ One.

While Patrick has received a warm reception as the show’s new host, particularly for his first Late Late Toy Show, there has been reports of “tensions” behind the scenes.

Back in October, it was reported that Jane Murphy, executive producer of The Late Late Show, had left the programme just one month after Patrick officially took over as host.

In a statement to the Irish Independent, RTÉ’s group head of entertainment Alan Tyler confirmed her departure.

He said: “As a highly experienced Executive Producer, Jane Murphy worked on The Late Late Show for the past five months in pre-planning and production including taking Patrick and the show to air for the first four weeks.

“Now that the brand-new series has been established, she will be taking up a different role within television. I want to thank Jane for her steady stewardship and hard graft over the last five months to get the new show up and running and off to a great start.”

“Myself, Patrick and the team are very grateful and have our heads down now in the flow of the new season,” he added.

RTÉ hasn’t commented on reports of “tensions” behind the scenes between Patrick and Ms Murphy.

But according to the Irish Examiner, her departure was “unprecedented”.

Matthew Perry’s death

Friends fans across the world were devastated by the death of beloved Friends actor Matthew Perry in October.

The 54-year-old, who played Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom, was found unresponsive in his swimming pool on October 28th, and pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

His death has since been ruled an accident from the “acute effects of ketamine” in his official autopsy report.

The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner also confirmed contributing factors in his death included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder).

The autopsy report stated that Matthew was “receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety” with the most recent dose reportedly taken one and a half weeks before his death.

However, the report continued: “The ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is three-to-four hours, or less.”

The report also noted that he was “reportedly clean for 19 months” prior to his death, according to a witness interviewed by detectives.

In his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew opened up about his lengthy battle with addiction and revealed he almost died when he was 49 years old.

The Friends star spent weeks in a hospital fighting for his life after his colon burst from opioid overuse.

The actor revealed he spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.

He said that when he was first admitted to the hospital, “the doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live. I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”

Matthew, who was just 24 when he was cast as Chandler Bing in Friends, recalled a terrifying time in his career that he was taking 55 pills a day.

He told PEOPLE: “I didn’t know how to stop. If the police came over to my house and said, ‘If you drink tonight, we’re going to take you to jail,’ I’d start packing. I couldn’t stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older.”

The late 54-year-old had been to rehab 15 times, and had 14 surgeries on his stomach so far.

Matthew said fans who read his book will “be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came”.

He continued: “I say in the book that if I did die, it would shock people, but it wouldn’t surprise anybody. And that’s a very scary thing to be living with. So my hope is that people will relate to it, and know that this disease attacks everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re successful or not successful, the disease doesn’t care.”

“I’m an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the possibility to do anything.”

“What I’m most surprised with is my resilience. The way that I can bounce back from all of this torture and awfulness. Wanting to tell the story, even though it’s a little scary to tell all your secrets in a book, I didn’t leave anything out. Everything’s in there.”

At the time, Matthew added that his story is one “that’s filled with hope. Because here I am.”

The late 54-year-old rocketed to fame alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer in Friends – which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 until 2004.

The remaining fivesome released a joint statement on the death of their co-star on October 30.

The statement, shared with PEOPLE, read: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.”

“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able.”

“For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

Matthew’s funeral was held at the Forest Lawn Church of the Hills in LA on November 3, where his co-stars were in attendance, as well as his close friends and family.

After the service, the late actor was laid to rest in the cemetery opposite the Warner Brothers Studios, where he filmed 10 seasons of the iconic US sitcom Friends.

Each of the five remaining Friends cast members have since individually paid tribute to their beloved co-star.

The downfall of Russell Brand

Russell Brand hit headlines for all the wrong reasons towards the end of this year.

Channel 4’s Dispatches special, titled Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, detailed serious allegations against him in September.

The allegations were made as part of a joint investigation between the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.

Four women have accused the comedian of sexual assault for the years between 2006 and 2013.

At the time of the alleged assaults, Russell was a BBC Radio 2 presenter, Channel 4 presenter, acting in Hollywood films, and presenting his own late night talk show Brand X.

Other allegations made as part of the investigation include claims of controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour.

One woman, named Nadia, alleged that Russell raped her against a wall in his LA home. According to medical records, she was treated at a rape crisis centre that same day where she was given antibiotics and emergency contraception.

Nadia sought therapy after the ordeal, and detailed being “scared” to go to the police for fear of the toll it would take on her and her family because of his fame.

Russell’s former personal assistant Helen Berger appeared in the documentary. She branded the comedian a “narcissist” and alleged his “favourite subject was him”.

Helen claimed he was “only ever in his underwear”, which she now deems inappropriate, and revealed she “wouldn’t accept” from a prospective employer.

In the 2010s, Russell was “awarded” ‘Shagger of the Year’ by the UK press three years in a row.

Helen revealed she was “never worried” that Russell’s sex life may have lacked consent, as she saw women “willingly walk into his bedroom” because of his fame and status.

A second woman, named Alice, claimed Russell assaulted her when he was 31 and she was 16 and still in school.

She alleged he referred to her as “the child” during an emotionally abusive and controlling relationship that lasted for about three months.

Alice revealed Russell made her feel “giddy” and “special”, and alleged he “engaged in the behaviours of a groomer” often trying to “drive a wedge between her and her parents”.

A third woman claimed Russell sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in LA, and that he threatened to take legal action if she told anyone else about her allegation.

The fourth woman claimed she was also sexually assaulted by the comedian, and alleged he has been physically and emotionally abusive towards her.

Viewers branded the Dispatches special “shocking” on social media, with one writing: “Big up the brave women that came forward to tell their stories and shame of the weirdos who are making excuses for him.”

In a video, Russell pre-emptively denied the allegations against him, and despite his “promiscuous” days, his relationships have always been “consensual”.

“Now, this isn’t the usual type of video we make on this channel where we critique, attack and undermine the news in all its corruption because in this story, I am the news.”

“I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters or a letter and an email,” Russell explained. “One from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff like community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn’t be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel.”

“But amidst this litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks, often very serious allegations that I absolutely refute. These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies. And as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”

“And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play? Particularly when we’ve seen coordinated media attacks before, like with Joe Rogan, when he dared to take a medicine that the mainstream media didn’t approve of, and we saw a spate of headlines from media outlets across the world using the same language.”

Russell continued: “I’m aware that you guys have been saying in the comments for a while, watch out, Russell. They’re coming from you. You’re getting too close to the truth.”

“Russell Brand did not kill himself. I know that a year ago there was a spate of articles. Russell Brand’s a conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand’s right wing. I’m aware of news media making phone calls, sending letters to people I know for ages and ages.”

“It’s being clear to me, or at least it feels to me like there’s a serious and concerted agenda to control these kind of spaces and these kind of voices. And I mean, my voice along with your voice.”

“I don’t mind them using my books and my standout to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”

“Also, it’s worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack,” Russell continued.

“Now, I don’t wanna get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations, but I feel like I’m being attacked and plainly they’re working very closely together.”

“We are obviously going to look into this matter ’cause it’s very, very serious. In the meantime, I want you to stay close, stay awake, but more important than any of that, if you can, please stay free.”

Following the allegations made against him, YouTube suspended monetisation of Russell’s channel.

The BBC and Channel 4 also removed all content about Russell from their platforms.

The Metropolitan Police has since confirmed that they are investigating a number of sexual assault allegations against the comedian, who has not yet been charged with anything.

After the allegations against Russell were exposed in the Dispatches documentary, Dannii Minogue comments about Russell resurfaced.

The former X Factor judge’s comments were made back in 2006, after she appeared on his MTV chat show.

Speaking to The Mirror, Dannii said: “[Russell] is completely crazy and a bit of a vile predator. I certainly don’t think he has cured his sex addiction, that’s for sure. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Throughout the whole interview, he kept making shocking remarks that I can’t even repeat. Just uttering the words would make me blush.”

“He always goes that step too far. Never quite far enough to slap his face, but usually too far,” Dannii added.

Separate from the allegations against him in the UK, Russell is also being sued by a woman who has accused the actor of sexually assaulting her on set of the 2011 film Arthur.

The lawsuit, filed in New York, claims the comedian exposed himself to the woman on set before allegedly forcing her to perform sex acts on him in a bathroom stall.

This is the first accusation to be made against him in court.

The accuser, named only as Jane Doe, has stated she was hired as an extra for a scene filmed at Le Cirque restaurant in Manhattan in July 2010.

This would have been just three months before Brand married his now ex-wife Katy Perry.

The lawsuit alleges Brand was intoxicated during filming, and accuses him of exposing his genitalia while sat at a table staring at the woman.

The accuser has claimed he later followed her into a bathroom, where it’s alleged he forced her to perform oral sex.

Britney Spears makes bombshell revelations in her memoir

Britney Spears’ tell-all memoir, titled The Woman in Me, was released on October 24.

In the book, the singer revealed she had an abortion during her relationship with Justin Timberlake – whom she dated from 1999 until their high-profile split in 2002.

In an excerpt, the 42-year-old said her pregnancy in late 2000 was “a surprise” but not “a tragedy,” explaining: “I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated.”

“But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.”

“I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby. I don’t know if that was the right decision.”

“If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”

Britney also accused her ex Justin of “cheating” on her with “another celebrity”.

TMZ reported that the singer didn’t want to name the other woman in her memoir because she “now has a family [Britney] doesn’t want to embarrass”.

By the same token, Britney admitted to cheating on Justin.

Their high-profile split inspired the NSYNC star’s hit song Cry Me A River, which alluded to infidelity.

The lyrics of Cry Me A River read: “You don’t have to say, what you did / I already know, I found out from him.”

In her memoir, Britney admitted she was loyal to Justin for years “with one exception”.

The singer revealed she kissed Australian choreographer Wade Robson on a night out in Spain, writing: “We were out one night and we went to a Spanish bar. We danced and danced. I made out with him that night.”

Britney claimed she told Justin about her kiss with Wade and they were able to move past it and stay together.

Elsewhere in the memoir, the singer revealed that she was “devastated” and considered quitting the music industry when Justin ended things with her via text.

She wrote: “I was comatose in Louisiana, and he was happily running around Hollywood.”

Director Chris Applebaum later recalled being with Britney on set of the Overprotected: The Darkchild Remix music video.

The California native claimed the singer suddenly went missing for about 20 to 40 minutes, which was a “long time” because it cost “20 grand to sit around”.

Chris claimed that when he arrived at her trailer, he saw Britney sitting cross-legged on the floor, with her makeup smudged from tears.

In The Woman in Me, Britney also opened up about her “passionate” fling with Colin Farrell.

The singer had a brief, two-week romance with the Irish actor in the early 00s, following her split from Justin.

In an except of her memoir, Britney revealed she was set up with Colin in 2002 by a “club promoter friend”.

Britney claimed she visited Colin on set of 2003 action-thriller S.W.A.T before they began a “two-week brawl”.

“Brawl is the only word for it — we were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight,” the singer writes, per the publication.

The 41-year-old recalled not feeling healed from her split from Justin when she attended the premiere of Colin’s 2003 film The Recruit.

“As I had before when I’d felt too attached to a man, I tried to convince myself in every way that it was not a big deal, that we were just having fun, that in this case, I was vulnerable because I wasn’t over Justin yet.”

At the premiere of The Recruit, Colin told reporters that he and Britney were “not dating”.

Britney revealed she doesn’t recall the end of her fling with Colin, but admits that “for a brief moment in time,” she “did think there could be something there.”

“The disappointments in my romantic life were just one part of how isolated I became,” she wrote. “I felt so awkward all the time.”

Ariana Grande’s shock romance with Ethan Slater after split from husband Dalton Gomez 

Ariana Grande and her husband Dalton Gomez officially filed for divorce after two years of marriage in September.

News of the couple’s split broke back in July.

The singer’s lawyer Laura Wasser filed legal documents citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their divorce.

Dalton immediately followed suit and filed for divorce from Ariana. Their date of separation is listed as February 20, 2023.

The news came amid Ariana’s rumoured romance with Ethan Slater.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of sexual assault and abuse by ex Cassie

In November, rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs settled a federal lawsuit with his ex-girlfriend Cassie who accused him of alleged rape and abuse – just one day after it was filed.

The rapper had vehemently denied the allegations against him.

Diddy and Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, dated on and off for over a decade, before they separated for good in October 2018.

A report by The New York Times had revealed that the R&B singer had accused the rapper of alleged rape and repeated physical abuse.

Huw Edwards named as BBC presenter facing allegations he paid a teenager for sexually explicit images

In July, the wife of Huw Edwards named him as the BBC presenter facing allegations he paid a teenager for sexually explicit images.

The allegations were first reported by The UK Sun, who interviewed the alleged victim’s mother.

The well-known figure, who wasn’t named in the original story, was accused of paying over £35,000 (€40,944) to the person, who is now 20 years old.

It was alleged the anonymous star began the payments when the person was 17.

Following days of speculation, Huw’s wife Vicky Flind named his as the presenter facing the allegations in a statement shared on his behalf.

Vicky said: “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’, I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.”

“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental wellbeing and to protect our children.”

“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years. The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.”

The 61-year-old’s wife said once he is well enough he “intends to respond to the stories that have been published”.

She added: “In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition, I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected.”

“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”

Edwards is a well-known newsreader, and has fronted BBC’s News At Ten programme for the last 20 years.

Ms Flind’s statement came after the Metropolitan Police said “there is no information” to indicate that a criminal offence had been committed by the presenter.

In a statement, they said: “Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command have now concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed.

“In reaching this decision, they have spoken to a number of parties including the BBC and the alleged complainant and the alleged complainant’s family, both via another police force. There is no further police action. As such, the Met has advised the BBC it can continue with its internal investigation.”

“We are aware of media reporting of further allegations against the same individual. No specific details or information about these allegations have been passed to us and therefore there is no police action at this time.”

The news comes after a lawyer for the young person at centre of the scandal claimed the allegations made by their client’s mother are “rubbish”.

Lizzo accused of sexual harassment and weight-shaming in bombshell lawsuit

In August, Lizzo was accused of sexual harassment and weight-shaming in a bombshell lawsuit by three of her former dancers.

Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez claim the singer created a “hostile, abusive work environment”, and that they faced sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.

The dancers also suing Lizzo’s Big Grrrl Big Touring production company and dance captain Shirlene Quigley – who they claim often preached about her Christian views while also sharing “luridly detailed stories about her masturbatory habits and sexual fantasies, occasionally taking breaks to publicly practice her oral sex skills on bananas” in front of the dance crew.

According to the complaint, which was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by E! News, Lizzo made the dancers feel uncomfortable during a trip she organised to Amsterdam’s Red Light District in February.

The dancers accused the Truth Hurts singer of “inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers” at an adult club.

The lawsuit alleges: “The main event of the night was a club called Bananenbar, where patrons are allowed to interact with completely nude performers. While at Bananenbar, things quickly got out of hand.

“Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.”

“Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club,” the lawsuit claims.

Hailey Bieber reignites “feud” with Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez took a break from social media in February, amid “silly” online drama with Hailey Bieber.

It all started when the singer admitted she laminated her brows “too much” as she showed off her brushed brows in a video shared online.

Hours later, fans accused Kylie Jenner of throwing shade at the actress – after the reality star posted photos of her own brows on Instagram, and told fans she “accidentally laminated [her] eyebrows too much.”

The 26-year-old later fueled the feud speculation by posting what appeared to be a screenshot of her Facetime call with Hailey, that zoomed in on their eyebrows.

As fans will know, Hailey is married to Selena’s ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, who she dated on-and-off for years.

Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner are bitter mean girls. Leave SELENA GOMEZ ALONE. Wake tf up pic.twitter.com/GaYUXKbP7X

— Jennifer Coolidge 🇵🇸 (@AJisMIZFT) February 23, 2023

Kylie later shut down claims she was throwing shade at Selena with the photos, accusing fans of “making something out of nothing”.

Selena replied: “Agreed @kyliejenner. It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie!”

Although Kylie and Selena shut down any speculation of a feud between them, the “drama” between Hailey and Selena continued.

A resurfaced video of Hailey “dissing” Taylor Swift went viral, and Selena rushed to the comment section of the post to defend her “best friend”.

In the TikTok video, Hailey pretended to gag when Taylor was mentioned by Drop the Mic co-host Method Man.

The social media user who uploaded the clip accused Hailey, who stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes when Taylor was mentioned, of being a “mean girl” and “a bully”.

In a since-deleted comment under the video, Selena wrote: “So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game.”

Amid the online drama, Selena announced she was taking a break from social media.

In a TikTok Live clip shared by fans, the 31-year-old said: “I’m going to be taking a second from social media, because this is a little silly. I’m 30 and am too old for this.”

“But I love you so much and I’ll see you guys sooner than later. I’m just gonna take a break from everything.”

Selena later returned to the social media platform, but deleted her comment defending Taylor.

In March, Selena pleaded with her fans to stop sending Hailey death threats.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, the singer wrote: “Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity.”

“This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop.”

The 31-year-old’s statement came after fans accused Hailey of “bullying” her on social media.

Just hours later, Hailey publicly thanked Selena, saying: “I want to thank Selena for speaking out, as her and I have been discussing the last few weeks how to move past this ongoing narrative between her and I.”

“The last few weeks have been very hard for everyone involved and millions of people are seeing so much hate around this which is extremely harmful.”

“While social media is an incredible way to connect and build community, moments like this only create extreme division instead of bringing people together,” she continued.

“Things can always be taken out of context or construed differently than they were intended. We all need to be more thoughtful about what we post and what we say, including myself.”

“In the end, I believe love will always be bigger than hate and negativity, and there is always an opportunity to meet each other with more empathy and compassion.”

Last October, Selena and Hailey appeared to quash rumours they were feuding, as they posed for their first photo together at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.

Selena famously dated Canadian singer Justin Bieber on-and-off for eight years, before they officially called it quits in 2018.

Shortly after his split from Selena, Justin rekindled his romance with Hailey.

That July, the Canadian singer proposed to the model during a trip to the Bahamas, and they secretly tied-the-knot in September 2018.

One year later, the couple exchanged vows for the second time at a star-studded ceremony in South Carolina.

During her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast last September, Hailey revealed she got a lot of hate from Selena’s fans for “stealing” Justin from her.

Setting the record straight on the claims, the model told host Alex Cooper: “When him and I started hooking up, or anything of that sort, he was not in any relationship, It’s not my character to mess with someone’s relationship, I would just never do that. I was raised better than that…”

“I think there are situations where you can still have back and forth with someone, but even that was not the situation,” Hailey continued. “I can say period, point blank, that I was never with him when he was in a relationship with anybody. That’s the end of it.”

“A lot of the hate comes from like ‘oh you stole him’, and I guess that comes from the fact that they wished he ended up with someone else. And that’s fine, you can wish that all you want, but that’s just not the case.”

“There’s a certain numbness that you get [from the hate]. It still happens to this day. If I was to go live right now, it would still be happening. You reach a point where you have to ignore it. If we have moved on, why can’t you?” she added. “It’s hurtful and it’s bullying.”

Scandoval

‘Scandoval’ rocked the reality TV world earlier this year.

Vanderpump Rules’ Tom Sandoval, 40, cheated on his longterm girlfriend and co-star Ariana Madix, 37, when he started hooking up with her close friend Raquel Leviss, 28, last summer.

But it wasn’t until this March when Ariana found out about their affair, after she discovered a video of Raquel on Tom’s phone.

Ariana was “heartbroken” over their tryst and immediately dumped Tom, and the fallout of the affair unfolded on season 10 of Vanderpump Rules.

Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast in May, Ariana was asked what happened the night she found out about the affair.

Host Alex Cooper asked, “Is it just like a screaming war until you’re asleep?” and Ariana replied, “Essentially, yeah.”

During their revealing chat, Ariana also admitted she “turned a blind eye” to potentially inappropriate behaviour between Tom and Rachel prior to finding out about their affair.

“I trusted in him so much… that I trusted his perspective on things, and I think I was caught up,” she said. “I’m a smart girl and I could have dug deeper, but I didn’t.”

At another point, Ariana also addressed a longstanding rumour that she and Tom were in an open relationship.

“Honestly I think it came from him,” she claimed, explaining that she heard Tom told Raquel that they were in an open relationship.

When asked about the state of their relationship prior to her finding out about the affair, Ariana revealed that she felt her now ex-boyfriend had been choosing “random nights out” over her.

“He would want to be at [Tom] Schwartz’s for no reason,” Ariana continued, prompting Alex to respond: “Well now you know why.”

Shakira reaches settlement in Spanish tax fraud case

In November, Shakira was hit with a multi-million euro fine, as she reached a settlement in her tax fraud case with Spanish prosecutors.

The Colombian singer attended the first day of her Barcelona-based trial on November 20, after being charged with tax evasion.

Spanish prosecutors allege the mom-of-two failed to pay over €14.5 million between 2012 and 2014.

As part of the deal, Shakira accepted the charges and agreed to pay a fine of 50% of the figure – amounting to more than €7.3 million.

The Colombia native also accepted a fine of €438,000 to avoid a three-year prison sentence.

Judge José Manuel del Amo Sanchez asked: “Do you recognise the facts and conform with the new penalties that have been requested?,” to which Shakira responded: “Yes.”

In a statement to the PA news agency, the Hips Don’t Lie singer said: “Throughout my career, I have always strived to do what’s right and set a positive example for others.”

“That often means taking the extra step in business and personal financial decisions to procure the absolute best counsel, including seeking the advice of the world’s pre-eminent tax authorities PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited and Ernst & Young Global Limited, who have been my advisers during this whole process,” Shakira continued.

Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rape

In September, Danny Masterson was sentenced to serve 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.

Back in June, the actor, who famously played Steven Hyde in That ’70s Show, was convicted of two counts of forcible rape in 2003.

The actor was initially charged with raping a 23-year-old woman in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in 2003, and another 23-year-old woman the same year.

However, he was only found guilty of two counts of rape after a jury failed to reach a verdict on the third count.

All of the attacks, which he denied, are said to have taken place at his Hollywood home.

Los Angeles superior court judge Charlaine F Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old on September 7, after hearing his victims read victim impact statements in court.

In court, one of his victims said: “When you raped me, you stole from me. That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”

“You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent. The world is better off with you in prison.”

Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky announce separation after she raises eyebrows with Morgan Wade

In July, a PEOPLE magazine report claimed Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky had separated after 27 years of marriage.

A source told the publication: “Kyle and Mauricio have been separated for a while now but are still living under the same roof. They remain amicable as they figure out what’s next for them and their family.”

Addressing the reports, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars released a joint statement via Instagram, which read: “In regards to the news that came out about us today… Any claims regarding us divorcing are untrue.”

“However, yes, we have had a rough year. The most challenging one of our marriage. But we both love and respect each other tremendously. There has been no wrongdoing on anyone’s part.”

“Although we are in the public eye, we ask to be able to work through our issues privately. While it may be entertaining to speculate, please do not create false stories to fit a further salacious narrative. Thank you for the love and support. Kyle & Mauricio.”

The statement appeared to address the speculation about Kyle’s close relationship with Morgan Wade – who she has been hanging out with since last year.

Fans had been searching Kyle’s Instagram for clues about her and Mauricio’s marriage problems, and many pointed out that she has been posting a lot of photos with Morgan recently – and not with her husband.

Kyle, 54, and Morgan, 28, attended the Americana Music Awards together in September 2022 and since then, they have been travelling the world together.

One eagle-eyed fan also pointed out that the pair have been wearing what appear to be matching rings.

Others spotted that Kyle and Morgan appear to have matching heart tattoos, and Morgan also has a ‘K’ tattooed on her inner elbow.

After denying rumours of a romance between them, Kyle appeared in the steamy music video for Morgan’s track Fall in Love With Me.

In the three-minute video, Kyle and Morgan play neighbours who admire each other from afar, before they strip down together for a bath.

Taylor Swift’s love life has been a HUGE topic of conversation this year.

Just weeks after her shock split from British actor Joe Alwyn hit headlines, the pop singer was linked to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.

However, their whirlwind romance was brief, as it was reported in June that they had parted ways.

Months later, rumours started swirling that Taylor was dating NFL player Travis Kelce.

In September, the pair confirmed the rumours when the songstress was spotted at a Kansas City Chiefs game, sending fans into a frenzy.

Her appearance at the game garnered huge media coverage, and made headlines all over the world.

During her cover interview with TIME magazine earlier this month, the 33-year-old confirmed she started dating Travis after he called her out on his podcast New Heights.

On the podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother, Travis spoke about his failed attempt to give Taylor his phone number on a friendship bracelet after one of her Eras Tour concerts.

The singer admitted, “We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to know each other.”

Contrary to popular belief, the pair were already a “couple” when she attended her first Kansas City Chiefs game in September.

Taylor explained: “I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”

“When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care… We’re just proud of each other.”

In recent months, the pair have been practically inseparable despite their insanely busy schedules.

Taylor has been seen at numerous Kansas City Chiefs games, and Travis has been spotted at several of her Eras Tour concerts – including a huge gig in Argentina where she acknowledged him on stage by changing the lyrics of her song Karma.

Taylor sang to the stadium of 70,000 people that “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs.”

The NFL player reacted giddily to this surprise, and danced along with her father Scott Swift in the audience.

While Travis and Taylor have only been dating a few months, rumours are rife the pair could be set to walk down the aisle.

Ahead of her 34th birthday celebrations this month, Life & Style reported that Travis was planning a big proposal.

It’s also been reported that the pair have shacked up at the NFL player’s new home in Kansas City until she embarks on the Japanese leg of her Eras Tour in February.

Una Healy and the ‘throuple’

Una Healy sparked speculation she was in a “throuple” with former pro boxer David Haye and his girlfriend Siân earlier this year when she shared cosy snaps of them on a trip to Morocco together.

However, the Irish singer later removed all traces of David from her Instagram feed, and confirmed she was single again.

Speaking out for the first time about her relationship with David, Una said she was never part of a “throuple”, and insisted she was only dating him.

Speaking to Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally on the My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast back in May, Una explained: “Dating him is the right term because that’s how it was, it wasn’t a throuple.”

The 41-year-old went on to describe her “lovely relationship” with David, and recalled meeting him through celebrity dating app Raya.

Una said she was initially turned off by David after he told her he “didn’t believe the traditional relationship exists anymore”, but after speaking to him every day the pair grew close and started seeing each other casually.

The mother-of-two said: “It wasn’t serious. I was happy enough with it. It was in a romantic capacity. He was very honest that I wasn’t the only woman he was seeing, I was very aware he was seeing other people.”

“I knew he was being honest and it’s not like I was being cheated on. I knew he wasn’t husband material, just a bit of fun and I was enjoying it.”

However, David then suggested she meet his on-off girlfriend Sian, as he said they were both “very special” to him.

Una admitted she initially didn’t want to meet Siân, but was concerned people would think David was cheating if their romance became public.

The Saturdays star recalled thinking: “At least if we’re all pictured together we’re all a happy family, there’s nothing sinister going on.”

“He doesn’t label, he’s never called her [Sian] his girlfriend, he’s open, polyamorous. So I did meet her and she was a really nice girl but there was nothing going on there so it wasn’t a throuple.”

“I wasn’t romantic with her, I don’t really know her,” Una clarified.

Referencing their infamous trip to Morocco, the singer explained she wanted to get out of Ireland over Christmas because her children were spending the festive season with her ex-husband Ben Foden.

Una and David decided to go on holiday together, but the boxer requested Sian to come with them.

“The honesty was there and I found that attractive. I remember on the flight over he was in the middle seat and he had one hand on her leg and one hand on mine,” Una confessed.

“I said to him, ‘what am I doing?’ and he goes ‘you’re having a midlife crisis but don’t worry so am I!’ and I thought ‘she’s [Sian’s] not because she’s 10 years younger!’”

Una said they returned from the trip, and quickly their “throuple” started hitting headlines.

Despite being “trolled to death” on social media, the 41-year-old decided to go on another holiday with them to Costa Rica.

However, Una had a realisation when she heard the song The Boy Is Mine by Brandy and Monica, a song about two women fighting over a man.

“As soon as I got there, I could hear the song. It just wasn’t right,” she said.

“There’s no dynamic there – she’s not my girlfriend, he’s both our boyfriend and I just thought, ‘I’m out, you can have him.’ He can have whoever he wants because one [woman] will never be enough for him.”

Recalling the moment she ended her romance with David, Una said he told her to “do what makes you happy.”

When asked if David pushed the idea that they were in a “throuple”, Una confessed: “I think he was very happy about it but I was in bits about it.”

“He didn’t get it, he was always trying to coach me on how not to get upset but I’ve never had to hit the block button so much. I had a list of words blocked on Instagram.”

Una insisted she never wanted to be in a “three-way relationship”, and after host Joanne joked she was “hoodwinked into a throuple”, she replied, “I was!”

Coldplay mania

2023 was the year the people of Ireland truly lost their minds over Coldplay tickets.

After Goss.ie spotted Irish tour dates for 2024 on their Ticketmaster page in July, the popular band confirmed that they’re bringing their world renowned Music Of The Spheres tour to Croke Park on Thursday, August 29, and Friday, August 30.

Due to popular demand, the fivesome later added two more dates – Sunday, September 1 and Monday, September 2.

Tickets for all four dates became like gold dust, as fans scrambled to secure their attendance at the coveted gigs next year.

Although Croke Park has a concert capacity of 82,300, which would mean a total of 329,200 tickets across all four dates, thousands of fans were left disappointed after failing to secure tickets across both the presale and general sale.

Coldplay’s last Irish gig was back in 2017 when they sold out Croke Park.

The band have since released two studio albums: Everyday Life and Music Of The Spheres.

Some of their best-known tracks include Paradise, Yellow, Viva La Vida and Fix You.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘hit-and-run’ ski crash trial

Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash trial was the subject of many memes earlier this year.

Back in March, the actress won her trial against retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who alleged that she skied “out of control” and hit him at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah back in 2016.

He claimed that Gwyneth collided with him “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries”.

Mr Sanderson sought damages of $300k (€280k), having had his previous claim for $3.1 million (€2.89 million) dropped.

The original claim, filed in 2019, stated: “This case involves a hit-and-run ski crash at Deer Valley, Utah, where defendant Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control and hit the back of Terry Sanderson, another skier, who was downhill, knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries.”

“Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”

Gwyneth later filed a counterclaim, for a “symbolic” $1, alleging that Mr Sanderson had hit her and delivered a full “body blow”.

In March, Gwyneth took to the stand and claimed she had been the “victim” in the 2016 incident.

When asked about the “losses” she herself suffered from the accident, the mother-of-two responded with her now infamous line: “Well, we lost half a day of skiing.”

The quote later went viral on social media, as fans poked fun at her unbelievable response.

The jury ultimately decided that Mr Sanderson was “100 percent” at fault for the 2016 incident, meaning Gwyneth won the trial and was awarded her “symbolic” $1 in damages.

In another viral moment from the trial, Gwyneth reportedly whispered to Mr Sanderson, “I wish you well,” as she left the Utah-based court following the verdict.

Mr Sanderson later told Extra TV that he was “very disappointed” by the verdict of the trial.

“You get some assumed credibility from being a famous person… Who wants to take on a celebrity? No wonder I hesitated,” he told the publication.

“It’s difficult. Who wants to do that someone who learns lines, learns how to play someone else’s part and be believable, be credible, wins awards? Who wants to go on that path?”

Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare

Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare was released at the very beginning of this year.

The 557-page-long book was officially released on January 10.

The Duke of Sussex made a number of bombshell claims and accusations throughout the memoir, and revealed he had cut a number of revelations over fears the Royal Family would never forgive him.

While Harry has claimed he held back information in his book, he did accuse his brother Prince William of physically attacking him in 2019 following a row over his wife Meghan Markle.

In the book, Harry also strongly criticised the relationship between the Palace and the British press.

While Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace never officially commented on the book, it was reported at the time that it “rattled” Harry’s family members.

A palace insider told BAZAAR.com’s royal editor Omid Scobie: “There was a feeling that whatever Harry said in his book would just be news today, gone tomorrow.”

“However, the level of detail given in the book about specific relationships with the media has put it all under the microscope now.”

In his memoir, Harry took aim at his stepmother, Queen Camilla, over her close relationships with media figures and publications.

“I had complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar,” he wrote.

“She was the villain. She was the third person in their marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image.”

“That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press. And there was open willingness on both sides to trade information.”

“And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being Queen Consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the streets because of that.”

Further criticising the Royal family’s dealings with the press, Harry wrote: “My problem has never been with the monarchy, not the concept of monarchy. It’s been with the press and the sick relationship evolved between it and the Palace.”

Read more of the bombshell claims in Prince Harry’s memoir here.

Kylie Jenner’s shock romance with Timothée Chalamet

While Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce dominated headlines this year, Kylie Jenner’s shock romance with Timothée Chalamet attracted plenty of attention.

The a-list celebrities were first seen hanging out at Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion show back in January, following reports Kylie had split from Travis Scott once again.

The pair were later spotted out for dinner with Kylie’s sister Kendall and her beau Bad Bunny, and sparked romance rumours when they were spotted on a “secret date” outside Tito’s Tacos in LA back in April.

In a video obtained by TMZ in September, the couple finally confirmed their relationship as they were spotted kissing and embracing at Beyoncé’s concert in Los Angeles.

#KylieJenner and #TimotheeChalamet officially went public with their romance at the #Beyonce concert! 🥵💕 https://t.co/sTBVElkryz pic.twitter.com/v4JYrUoBgK

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 5, 2023

The couple have since been spotted packing on the PDA on numerous occasions, and Kylie even has a cute photo of them set as her lock screen.

Kylie was previously in a five-year on-off relationship with rapper Travis Scott.

The former couple share two children together – daughter Stormi, five, and son Aire, 20 months.

Their breakup was confirmed in January, after fans noticed the pair spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve apart.

Meanwhile, Timothée’s last public relationship was with Lily-Rose Depp.

The actor dated Lily-Rose, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, for almost a year – after they met on the set of Netflix movie The King in June 2018.

Timothée played King Henry V in the movie, and Lily-Rose played his wife Catherine.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s messy split

One of the biggest (and messiest!) celebrity splits this year had to be Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner.

The Jonas Brothers star, 34, shocked fans in September when he filed for divorce from the Game of Thrones actress, 27 – after four years of marriage.

Amid the news of their breakup, multiple news outlets quoted “sources close to the couple” who painted Sophie as a partier who felt trapped in their marriage.

Meanwhile, Joe was painted as a devoted father, as insiders claimed he has been solely caring for their two daughters Willa, 3, and DJ, 14 months, while on tour with the Jonas Brothers.

Amid the flurry of insider quotes and exposés on their relationship, fans took to social media to defend Sophie – and questioned why Joe was being praised for looking after his own children.

Fans also questioned the origin of the insider information, and slammed the narrative that had been placed on the actress since the news of their split broke.

The former couple addressed the “speculative narratives” in September, as they confirmed their split in a joint statement shared to Instagram.

They wrote: “After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage. There are many speculative narratives as to why but, truly this is a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”

Their split later took a messy turn when Sophie filed a lawsuit against Joe at the US District Court in New York, petitioning for the return of their two daughters to her native England.

In October, Sophie and Joe reached a temporary custody agreement, and later released a joint statement about their co-parenting dynamic.

They told Page Six: “After a productive and successful mediation, we have agreed that the children will spend time equally in loving homes in both the US and the UK. We look forward to being great co-parents.”

After reaching this agreement, Joe filed to dismiss his petition for dissolution, which he filed in Miami.

Joe and Sophie famously tied the knot in Las Vegas following the Billboard Music Awards in May 2019.

One month later, the couple hosted a second ceremony at Château de Tourreau in Sarrians, France.