Passages

BABY ON BOARD

The Bachelorette’s Ashley Hebert, 30, and J.P. Rosenbaum, 37, are expecting their first child this fall. “They are both so thrilled,” a source told PEOPLE.

SPLIT

Twilight actress Nikki Reed, 25, and American Idol’s Paul McDonald, 29, are ending their two-year marriage. “They have been living separately for the past six months due to work obligations,” Reed’s rep told PEOPLE. “They remain best friends.”

UPDATE

British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, 54, spoke openly for the first time about what 2013 was like for her. “I’ve had better times,” an emotional Lawson said on BBC One’s Michael McIntyre Chat Show. “Life has its dips and it can get better. You can’t fight it.” During last year’s fraud trial brought against her two former assistants, Lawson had to testify about her past drug use and give details on her divorce from millionaire Charles Saatchi, 70. Lawson said the experience has left her feeling as if she had “a layer of skin removed.” But now Lawson is ready to move on: “I’m feeling better and I’m very happy to be here.”

CONTROVERSY

Tasha Adams, 29, was arrested in Conway, Ark., last November for child endangerment after she breast-fed her 6-month-old daughter while drinking beer at Gusano’s restaurant. Jackie Conners, a waitress at the restaurant, reported Adams to the police, and the mother of three was taken to jail. “If I knew it was illegal, I wouldn’t have done it,” Adams told ABC’s 20/20 in a story that ran on March 26. In Arkansas it is not illegal to breast-feed and drink alcohol. All charges against Adams have been dropped. Conners was later fired by the restaurant for calling the police.

DEATHS

On March 25 magic duo Siegfried Fischbacher, 74, and Roy Horn, 69, best known as Siegfried & Roy, announced on their Facebook page that Mantecore – the Bengal tiger that nearly mauled Roy to death onstage during a performance on Oct. 3, 2003 – died on March 19. The white tiger was 17. Mantecore had been living at the Siegfried & Roy Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at Las Vegas’s Mirage hotel. Roy remains partially paralyzed from the 2003 attack. • Kate O’Mara, the British actress who played Joan Collins’s manipulative sister Caress on the hit ’80s TV series Dynasty, died on March 30 in Sussex, England, after a short illness. She was 74.

RECONCILED

After being banned on NBC’s Tonight Show for 28 years, comedian Joan Rivers, 80, appeared on the late-night show on March 27 as a sit-down guest with host Jimmy Fallon. Rivers – who was the show’s permanent guest host in the early ’80s – had been exiled by Johnny Carson for leaving to host her own late-night program on FOX in 1986, and Jay Leno honored Carson’s edict while he hosted the show as well. “It was an amazing, emotional night and well worth waiting for,” Rivers, host of Fashion Police, told PEOPLE. “The last time I was on The Tonight Show was four noses ago.”

FIGHT

PEOPLE has confirmed that on March 27 The Real Housewives of Atlanta stars Kenya Moore, 43, and Porsha Williams, 32, got into a physical altercation during the taping of the show’s reunion episode. “There was some hair pulling, but no one was injured,” says a source. What caused the fight is unclear, but there has been tension between Moore and Williams since the two met during season 5. Bravo host Andy Cohen has told People that emotions always run high during the reunions. “They’re all intense, he said. “They’re all very driven women with a POV.”

Canine Cupids

A U.K. couple are brought together during a guide-dog-training course

When Claire Johnson enrolled in a guide-dog- training course in Shrewsbury, England, two years ago, her service dog Venice immediately became smitten with classmate Mark Gaffey’s Labrador retriever named Rodd. When the visually impaired owners tried to keep the dogs apart, Venice and Rodd continued to nuzzle and play. After the course ended, Johnson, 50, and Gaffey, 51, scheduled playdates for their pooches, and soon they too fell in love. “I have no doubt that our dogs brought us together and helped me find my true love,” Johnson told the Daily Mail. On March 22 the couple married in Stoke-on-Trent, England, with the dogs as ring bearers. “Much like our two dogs, we are soulmates,” said Johnson.

Why He Left

Saying Goodbye to Good Morning America

In the end, Josh Elliott tells PEOPLE, his decision to leave GMA for a job at NBC Sports “had nothing to do with money.” The former news anchor, who joined GMA in 2011, says it was a difficult decision because there were two great offers. “It wasn’t about anyone or anything at ABC,” he added. “It was about what lies ahead for me at NBC Sports.” According to a source, Elliott, 42, had been offered $5 million a year to remain at ABC but wanted $10 million; Elliott declined to comment on the money involved. “We worked hard to close a significant gap,” ABC News President Ben Sherwood told staff. “Josh felt he deserved a different deal, and so he chose a new path.” With Elliott’s departure, Sherwood announced that Amy Robach, 41, was being promoted to news anchor.