"Ask April" Dishes on Celebrity Couples

About Ask April

April Masini is the Dear Abby of the new millennium and a recognized dating expert. She is also the author of two best-selling books:

• Date Out Of Your League
• Think & Date Like A Man

In addition, April is the April of the widely heralded online dating and relationship magazine, www.AskApril.com. She has been interviewed extensively on the topics of dating, relationships, and celebrities. She has been quoted by a diverse list of media outlets, including CNN, Cosmopolitan, Forbes, New York Times, Maxim, AOL, WedMD, Lifetime, and the Wall Street Journal.

April has built a reputation for being brutally honest. She says, "I'm not interested in giving readers things to think about, and I don’t care about being politically correct. I'm interested in giving specific advice on what to do— that will deliver the results they want!"

LoveToKnow Celebrities turned to April for the hard truth-- as she sees it-- about some high-profile romances. No sugar-coating here!

Challenges of Celebrity Love

Romance in celebrity circles seems to be a revolving door, with a constantly changing cast of characters. April says this is due largely to stress. "People who come to Hollywood to become celebrities have a tough challenge ahead of them, personally," she explains. "When you try to combine someone who's taken on that big challenge with another person who's taken on that same challenge, and then throw them into a relationship, you've got the odds stacked against you."

Celebrity is a fickle status. Today's top stars can be forgotten overnight. "Being a celebrity or even an actor means you have an uncertain future artistically and financially," April says. "Bad hair days or a few extra pounds matter in your job when you're an actor or celeb. Add this pressure to the pressure of a relationship."

Successful Celebrity Couples

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

Although Hollywood relationships seemed doomed from the beginning, there are some that go the distance. According to April, values are the secret to healthy celebrity coupledom. "When actors and celebs put their careers first, and their relationships second, it shows," she elaborates. "There are actors who get into relationships after their careers are successful, and they decide to focus more of their energy on their families, and less on their work. This helps support their relationships." Some couples who seem to exhibit this successful formula are:

• John Travolta and Kelly Preston
• Paul and Joanne Woodward
• Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman
• Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe
• Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

The world was shocked when Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes revealed their relationship. April says we were only surprised because the early days of the relationship were cloaked in secrecy. "They were secretive and private about their dating, and this afforded them some privacy," she reflects. "It also may have stoked the relationship because they knew they were pulling one over on the press and the public by keeping their budding relationship their secret."

Star Power

April looks at this star couple almost as a business partnership. "One of the reasons Cruise may have preferred to enter into a relationship with a lesser known actress than he is, is because Katie Holmes was not trailed by the press."

April believes than Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes will eventually get married, largely for reasons that have nothing to do with love. She believes that Cruise has an insatiable need for publicity and adoration, things that have been missing in recent years. She says, "Cruise does not have the star power he used to have. His wedding media frenzy will satisfy his media need."

Damage Control

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

April points out that Cruise has lost much credibility and public support in the last year. "Cruise lost a great deal of public affection when he lashed out at Brooke Shields with his views on postpartum depression," she explains. "Media attention from a fabulous wedding and successful marriage and family life will be damage control for him."

She goes on to say that Tom's comments and actions regarding Holmes came across as cocky and smug. "Everybody loves an underdog who overachieves, but Cruise is no longer an underdog, and he's lost his sense of humility and perspective. The public felt like he was sending the message that he was better than other people."

She believes that the couple's conservative, wholesome image was badly tarnished by having baby Suri out of wedlock. "He had plenty of time to marry Katie Holmes before their daughter was born, but he put his career and the birth of the baby before his commitment to his woman," she says. "This did not go over well with most people. It was more putting him ahead of everyone else -- including Holmes. Chivalry was lost."

She says that all of these issues disappear once the two wed. "Cruise is more popular and better liked by the public if he does the right thing and marries Holmes and makes the marriage and their blended family with his adopted children, work."

April also feels the marriage would benefit Katie Holmes. She says, "Holmes would do well as a new mother and a woman to marry Cruise and give her new daughter a family that lives under one roof. If she is able to weather the down and dirty work of being a mother and a wife as well as a step-mother, she will mature and gather wisdom that will benefit her family, her self -- and her artistic work."

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

April feels that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are well-matched. "They are both secure in their sexuality and their looks. They're comfortable in their own skin and where they are in their lives." She feels that both stars have clear goals, desires, and interests. "Neither is a slave to Hollywood," she says. "They have their priorities in order, and more importantly, their priorities match up."

In April's opinion, Angelina Jolie has been able to help Brad develop his humanitarian side. Both explore their own interests within the relationship. "This is the secret to love and relationships-- liking who you are when you're around your significant other. Brad and Angelina have that."

Brad the Chameleon

Brad Pitt has long been known as a chameleon. His hairstyles, wardrobe, and hobbies seem to change with each new lover, but April says this is an unfair assessment. "Hair cuts and hair color are just grooming, and not personality changes," she points out. "His history of relationships actually shows some consistency -- except with Aniston. Pitt started with Juliette Lewis, an original like Angelina Jolie. His former fiance, Gwyneth Paltrow, is also her own person with her own sense of her life, a lot like Angelina Jolie. Aniston was "right on paper" for Pitt, but when it came to real life, he needed more excitement. He got that in Jolie."

Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey

After a year of quiet togetherness, Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey recently "took a break." Both cited time apart as the reason for the split, but April believes conflicting priorities were the real issue. "If McConaughey wanted to marry Penelope and have children with her, I believe she would have made the relationship a priority, and given the back seat to her work," she says. "But without that commitment from him, she continued to live her own life and acted in films around the world, and the separations that came between them because of that began to define the relationship more than the times that they spent together."

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn

Unlike Brad and Angelina, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are not the real thing, according to April. She says, "Jen is stung, big-time, by the end of her marriage. She is competing with her ex and trying to get on with her life, without realizing what that means to her." She suggests that Jennifer take time to grieve the end of her marriage before looking for love again. "Jennifer needs to regroup, big time -- not fall into the arms of the closest available man -- even if he is an adorable teddy bear. It's too soon," April says.

Ask April on Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan at Mean Girls Los Angeles premiere

Despite her beauty and her on-screen success, Lindsay Lohan seems unable to form a healthy relationship. Given her young age and her broken home, April says, "She hasn't had time to expose herself to normal, healthy relationships. She also doesn't have the emotional compass to find a normal, healthy relationship. It's not on her radar screen. She's also leading a far from normal existence, and that makes it even more of a challenge to find true love that lasts."

April believes that Lindsay should take time to discover her own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. "Knowing yourself and what you want in a relationship are two of the most important parts of getting what you want in a relationship," she says. She goes on to say, "I would also advise her not to get married too soon. She has a recent history of getting passionately involved and then quickly dis-engaged from boyfriends and lovers before she knows them as people. Or herself. If she were to marry any time soon, it would be short-lived and painful."

April's Fantasy Celebrity Couples

• George Clooney and Julia Roberts: "They've got so much star power, each, and the spark between them is there."
• Nick Lachey and Britney Spears: "He could have the same spacey, buxom blonde with the big career -- without the meddling father in law."
• Usher and Oprah: "It's unfair for Ashton and Demi to be the only May- December romance on the cover of magazines. How great would that be?"