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Grieving father erupts at Parkland school shooter’s trial

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A grieving father erupted in anger Tuesday as he told jurors about the daughter Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz murdered along with 16 others four years ago, his voice rising as he recounted her “infectious laugh that I can only get to watch now on TikTok videos.”

Dr. Ilan Alhadeff’s emotional testimony about his 14-year-old daughter Alyssa marked a second day of tears as families, one after another, took the witness stand to give heartrending statements about their loved ones who died at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.

He and his wife, Lori, described Alyssa’s role as captain of her soccer team, the friend others always turned to for advice or a shoulder to cry on, and her plans to become a business lawyer. He cried as he recounted how he will not dance with his daughter de ella at her wedding de ella or see the children she would have had.

“My first-born daughter, daddy’s girl was taken from me!” yelled Alhadeff, an internal medicine physician. “I get to watch my friends, my neighbors, colleagues spend time enjoying their daughters, enjoying all the normal milestones, taking in the normal joys and I only get to watch videos or go to the cemetery to see my daughter.”

He said one of Alyssa’s two younger brothers was too young to comprehend her death when it happened, but now “asks to go see his sister at the cemetery from time to time.”

“This is not normal!” he said angrily.

Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder in October; the trial is only to determine whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole. Over the two days of family statements, he has shown little emotion, even as several of his attorneys wiped away tears and Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s voice broke when she gave directions. He mostly stars straight ahead or looks down at the table where he sits.

As one family testifies, others sob in the gallery while awaiting their turn. When finished, they stay to lend support. They exchange packets of tissues, shoulder rubs and, when breaks come, hugs. Some jurors wipe away tears, but most sit stoically.

Some families had statements read for them. The mother of 14-year-old Martin Duque wrote that while he was born in Mexico, he wanted to become a US Navy Seal. The wife of assistant football coach Aaron Feis wrote that he was a doting father to their young daughter and a mentor to many young people.

The mother of 16-year-old Carmen Schentrup wrote that she was a straight-A student whose letter announcing she was a semifinalist for a National Merit Scholarship arrived the day after she died. She wanted to be a doctor who researched amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Shara Kaplan sobbed as she told the jurors of her two sons’ sadness that they weren’t there to protect their little sister, 18-year-old Meadow Pollack.

Luke Hoyer’s mom, Gina, said the 15-year-old was her “miracle baby,” her “Lukey Bear.” She said he yelled down that Valentine’s Day morning to thank her for the card and Skittles she’d placed in her bathroom. The gifts stayed there for a year. His father, Tom, said he never saw his son that morning, but he yelled up “Have a good day” as he hurried to work. “That is the kind of exchange you have when you think you have tomorrow,” he said.

Fred Guttenberg, who has become a national advocate for tighter gun laws, said he regrets that the last words he said to his 14-year-old daughter Jaime weren’t “I love you” but instead, “You gotta go, you are going to be late” as he pushed her and her older brother out the door that morning. He said his son is angry with him for telling him to run when he called in a panic to say there was a gunman at the school instead of having him find his sister, even though it would have made no difference.

His wife, Jennifer Guttenberg, said that while her daughter was known for her competitive dancing, she volunteered with the Humane Society and with special needs children. She planned to be a pediatric physical therapist.

Annika Dworet, her husband Mitch sitting somberly at her side, told the jurors about their son Nick, who was 17 when he died. A star swimmer, he had accepted a scholarship to the University of Indianapolis and was training in hopes of competing for his mother’s native Sweden in the 2020 Olympics. His younger brother of him, Alex, was wounded in the shooting.

“He was always inclusive of everyone. On his last evening with us, he spent time speaking to the younger kids on the swim team, giving them some pointers,” she said.

But now, she said, “our hearts will forever be broken.”

“We will always live with excruciating pain. We have an empty bedroom in our house. There is an empty chair at our dining table. Alex will never have a brother to talk or hang out with. They will never again go for a drive, blasting very loud music. We did not get to see Nick graduate from high school or college. We will never see him getting married.

“We will always hesitate before answering the question, ‘How many kids do you have?’”

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Categories
Entertainment

Secrets of world’s most exclusive sex club Snctm revealed by performer

Whispers travel across the dimly-lit room that an A-list female star is among the masked guests at a top-secret Snctm sex party.

Members, who pay up to $50,000 a year to attend orgies in lavish settings, are sipping champagne and cocktails by the bar, while some are already exploring each other’s bodies, The Sun reported.

This is a regular evening at work for Haley Grace, who puts on a tantalizing display with fellow performers, and has recalled her experiences working for the elite society.

The high-end erotic arts club, which launched in 2013, has become a sexy night-life staple in cities including LA and New York, offering guests the chance to realize their wildest sexual fantasies.

Haley is a performer, model, costume designer, and producer who has been working at the club’s intimate events since last September, often held in mansions or luxury penthouses.

Her specialty acts range from fire performance, burlesque, and roller-dancing to environmental character performances. She is also a professional mermaid.

She says her shows for Snctm are “expressive, elegant, and sensual,” and dare the viewer to transcend reality and enter a world of fantasy, reminiscent of the 1999 film ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ starring Tom Cruise.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, she said: “I first heard of Snctm through a night-life venue I perform at, and my first

time attending was actually as a guest.

“I went with a date and we had an absolutely amazing time. I went to the next event again as a guest but alone.

“It was a different experience but exciting and satisfying nonetheless.“At this point, I had gotten to know many of the people involved in making SncTM and it really made me want to be a part of the

team, so I applied to become one of their performers.

“The following event they had I was making my debut performance. I have been a XXX performer for a year now.”

She admitted: “My friends know of my role with Snctm but I have never felt the urge to make it a family discussion.

“I’m polyamorous and also perform with my main partner.

“Doing acts with him is great because the performance is really enhanced when the chemistry between two people is real and they know each other’s bodies.”

When it comes to guest relations, she said performers do interact with them by mingling and flirting to ensure they are having a good time and getting in the mood.

However, as a general rule, performers do not hook up with guests.

“I don’t have any sexual contact with guests – I only physically interact with the other XXX models that I have consented to perform with,” Haley said.

“The show is always different and so is every evening. At the last Snctm party, I did a beautiful bondage scene while being serenaded by a violinist – it was divine.”

She says the crowd of up to 100 is made up of “beautiful, wealthy people” working in everything from business and finance to the arts, including many well-known faces.

Recalling one night in New York which sticks in her mind, Haley said she rubbed shoulders with a female celebrity and the pair had a memorable conversation.

Asked if she’s ever been starstruck at Snctm, she said: “Yes, there was one time I definitely was. And I got the opportunity to talk to them for a while.

“It was an A-list female star, people like to do this in secret and be able to kind of shed their inhibitions.”

Asked if the star got involved with any fellow guests, Haley giggled and replied: “I can’t speak on that.”

Quizzed if the club still gets many big names through its doors, she said: “I’m not really the best with celebrity names and faces, but people do get excited like, ‘Oh, so and so is here’. So that’s fun.

“The organizers are very strict about people’s phones, they are taken at the door. And they have really good security.

“Consent is also the most important thing. They really do a good job of making sure that it’s like a safe space for everyone, not just celebrities.”

The parties run from around 10pm until 3pm and Snctm has also hosted events in the likes of Miami and Moscow, with actress Gwyneth Paltrow even reportedly promoting the club.

“Typically when people arrive, men are in tuxedos, and women are dressed in evening gowns with sexy lingerie underneath,” Haley said.

“They’ll go over to the bar, get a cocktail. We’ll have some more ambient performers.

“And then the night kind of progresses from there. The performances are spread out between rooms.

“We have different stage pieces. There’s a lot of attention to detail, decor, props, things of that sort, lighting, and music.

“A lot of times we’ll have live musicians. I’ve done scenes where I was also being serenaded by either a harpist or violinist, there can be a really beautiful, dark ambience.”

While many sex parties involve guests going off into private rooms to get down and dirty, Haley said Snctm is more of a “play party.”

“The point is really more to play in public,” she said. And then there are people who are fly on the wall [voyeurs].”

Guests get down to business – kissing and engaging in foreplay, in either couples or groups, while others go all the way and enjoy full sex in front of fellow members.

Haley said since events were canceled throughout the pandemic due to safety, Snctm is now more popular than ever, insisting: “We’re always packed out.”

Snctm has thrived under new ownership for the past few years and they have also welcomed a new creative director, Inka Nevala, an award-winning performance artist who also goes by Lou Lou D’vil.

Haley said the majority of her parties have been in New York, with a few in Los Angeles, and she’ll arrive at the event in the afternoon to have her hair and makeup done.

“Next, I will do a run-through and discussion with the creative director and my performance partner(s) about the scenes I’m in.

“Following that I get into costume and do a photo shoot. I usually have plenty of time to relax and socialize until getting ready for the doors to open and the real fun to begin.

“I’ll often start the evening doing a more ambient performance and then later on in the night will do the more intense sex scenes on the main stage with my partner(s).

“I’ll typically have three performative moments throughout the night.”

Haley said she’d encourage couples or single women to join Snctm, describing it as a “sexual oasis” and ”a unique experience.”

She added: “If you are a sexually open-minded person, or want to open up more, it’s a great way to find like minds and try new things.

“The feedback I get from guests is really positive. A lot of first-timers have expressed to me that they were surprised with how open and inspired they felt being there.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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Categories
Entertainment

Secrets of world’s most exclusive sex club Snctm revealed by performer

Whispers travel across the dimly-lit room that an A-list female star is among the masked guests at a top-secret Snctm sex party.

Members, who pay up to $50,000 a year to attend orgies in lavish settings, are sipping champagne and cocktails by the bar, while some are already exploring each other’s bodies, The Sun reported.

This is a regular evening at work for Haley Grace, who puts on a tantalizing display with fellow performers, and has recalled her experiences working for the elite society.

The high-end erotic arts club, which launched in 2013, has become a sexy night-life staple in cities including LA and New York, offering guests the chance to realize their wildest sexual fantasies.

Haley is a performer, model, costume designer, and producer who has been working at the club’s intimate events since last September, often held in mansions or luxury penthouses.

Her specialty acts range from fire performance, burlesque, and roller-dancing to environmental character performances. She is also a professional mermaid.

She says her shows for Snctm are “expressive, elegant, and sensual,” and dare the viewer to transcend reality and enter a world of fantasy, reminiscent of the 1999 film ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ starring Tom Cruise.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, she said: “I first heard of Snctm through a night-life venue I perform at, and my first

time attending was actually as a guest.

“I went with a date and we had an absolutely amazing time. I went to the next event again as a guest but alone.

“It was a different experience but exciting and satisfying nonetheless.“At this point, I had gotten to know many of the people involved in making SncTM and it really made me want to be a part of the

team, so I applied to become one of their performers.

“The following event they had I was making my debut performance. I have been a XXX performer for a year now.”

She admitted: “My friends know of my role with Snctm but I have never felt the urge to make it a family discussion.

“I’m polyamorous and also perform with my main partner.

“Doing acts with him is great because the performance is really enhanced when the chemistry between two people is real and they know each other’s bodies.”

When it comes to guest relations, she said performers do interact with them by mingling and flirting to ensure they are having a good time and getting in the mood.

However, as a general rule, performers do not hook up with guests.

“I don’t have any sexual contact with guests – I only physically interact with the other XXX models that I have consented to perform with,” Haley said.

“The show is always different and so is every evening. At the last Snctm party, I did a beautiful bondage scene while being serenaded by a violinist – it was divine.”

She says the crowd of up to 100 is made up of “beautiful, wealthy people” working in everything from business and finance to the arts, including many well-known faces.

Recalling one night in New York which sticks in her mind, Haley said she rubbed shoulders with a female celebrity and the pair had a memorable conversation.

Asked if she’s ever been starstruck at Snctm, she said: “Yes, there was one time I definitely was. And I got the opportunity to talk to them for a while.

“It was an A-list female star, people like to do this in secret and be able to kind of shed their inhibitions.”

Asked if the star got involved with any fellow guests, Haley giggled and replied: “I can’t speak on that.”

Quizzed if the club still gets many big names through its doors, she said: “I’m not really the best with celebrity names and faces, but people do get excited like, ‘Oh, so and so is here’. So that’s fun.

“The organizers are very strict about people’s phones, they are taken at the door. And they have really good security.

“Consent is also the most important thing. They really do a good job of making sure that it’s like a safe space for everyone, not just celebrities.”

The parties run from around 10pm until 3pm and Snctm has also hosted events in the likes of Miami and Moscow, with actress Gwyneth Paltrow even reportedly promoting the club.

“Typically when people arrive, men are in tuxedos, and women are dressed in evening gowns with sexy lingerie underneath,” Haley said.

“They’ll go over to the bar, get a cocktail. We’ll have some more ambient performers.

“And then the night kind of progresses from there. The performances are spread out between rooms.

“We have different stage pieces. There’s a lot of attention to detail, decor, props, things of that sort, lighting, and music.

“A lot of times we’ll have live musicians. I’ve done scenes where I was also being serenaded by either a harpist or violinist, there can be a really beautiful, dark ambience.”

While many sex parties involve guests going off into private rooms to get down and dirty, Haley said Snctm is more of a “play party.”

“The point is really more to play in public,” she said. And then there are people who are fly on the wall [voyeurs].”

Guests get down to business – kissing and engaging in foreplay, in either couples or groups, while others go all the way and enjoy full sex in front of fellow members.

Haley said since events were canceled throughout the pandemic due to safety, Snctm is now more popular than ever, insisting: “We’re always packed out.”

Snctm has thrived under new ownership for the past few years and they have also welcomed a new creative director, Inka Nevala, an award-winning performance artist who also goes by Lou Lou D’vil.

Haley said the majority of her parties have been in New York, with a few in Los Angeles, and she’ll arrive at the event in the afternoon to have her hair and makeup done.

“Next, I will do a run-through and discussion with the creative director and my performance partner(s) about the scenes I’m in.

“Following that I get into costume and do a photo shoot. I usually have plenty of time to relax and socialize until getting ready for the doors to open and the real fun to begin.

“I’ll often start the evening doing a more ambient performance and then later on in the night will do the more intense sex scenes on the main stage with my partner(s).

“I’ll typically have three performative moments throughout the night.”

Haley said she’d encourage couples or single women to join Snctm, describing it as a “sexual oasis” and ”a unique experience.”

She added: “If you are a sexually open-minded person, or want to open up more, it’s a great way to find like minds and try new things.

“The feedback I get from guests is really positive. A lot of first-timers have expressed to me that they were surprised with how open and inspired they felt being there.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission

.

Categories
US

Orlando residents react to downtown shooting injuring 7 people

Orlando Police are looking for the person who shot into a crowd in downtown Orlando early Sunday morning. Seven people were hurt but are expected to recover. It happened in the area of ​​Wall Street Plaza and South Orange Avenue at around 2 am Police say a large fight broke out as the bars and restaurants were closing. They say that’s when someone pulled out a gun and opened fire hitting seven people.”And seven people, especially in the crossfire is bad. It’s bad,” Martin Carmona, a resident said. “I think it’s just crazy because this block is always shut off. There’s always a lot of cops and stuff, so like so just to know it happened right here is pretty insane.” it’s pretty unreal, but the way things are now it’s not really too surprising I guess,” Nico Zografakis, a resident said. Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith says detectives are actively looking for the person who pulled the trigger and are checking surveillance cameras. “Please, we really need the community’s help on this, so please reach out to us if you have any information in reference to this shooting,” Smith said. Detectives were collecting evidence past sunrise. “It’s very unsettling and definitely could’ve been avoided,” William Solomon, a resident said. Some people who frequently visit downtown Orlando are reconsidering going out when there are large crowds.”Like that’s why I came out so early today. I’m like yo, let me go when it’s dead as opposed to when you feel like a sardine out here because anything can happen,” Solomon said. “Things like this shouldn’t be happening right now. I think we all should try to come together.”Police say six of those that were shot were sent to a nearby hospital. The other one went to the hospital by themselves. Police are asking for the community’s help to find the suspect.

Orlando Police are looking for the person who shot into a crowd in downtown Orlando early Sunday morning.

Seven people were hurt but are expected to recover.

It happened in the area of ​​Wall Street Plaza and South Orange Avenue at around 2 am

Police say a large fight broke out as the bars and restaurants were closing. They say that’s when someone pulled out a gun and opened fire hitting seven people.

“And seven people, especially in the crossfire is bad. It’s bad,” Martin Carmona, a resident said. “I think it’s just crazy because this block is always shut off. There’s always a lot of cops and stuff, so like so just to know it happened right here is pretty insane.”

“Just the fact that that was even able to happen, it’s pretty unreal, but the way things are now it’s not really too surprising I guess,” Nico Zografakis, a resident said.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith says detectives are actively looking for the person who pulled the trigger and are checking surveillance cameras.

“Please, we really need the community’s help on this, so please reach out to us if you have any information in reference to this shooting,” Smith said.

Detectives were collecting evidence past sunrise.

“It’s very unsettling and definitely could’ve been avoided,” William Solomon, a resident said.

Some people who frequently visit downtown Orlando are reconsidering going out when there are large crowds.

“Like that’s why I came out so early today. I’m like me, let me go when it’s dead as opposed to when you feel like a sardine out here because anything can happen,” Solomon said. “Things like this shouldn’t be happening right now. I think we all should try to come together.”

Police say six of those that were shot were sent to a nearby hospital. The other one went to the hospital by themselves.

Police are asking for the community’s help to find the suspect.

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Categories
Entertainment

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s unprecedented pressure after 12 hellish days

The very best thing about being Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, right now, as far as I can tell, is that no one is going to make them go to Birmingham. On Friday, the Commonwealth Games opened in the Midlands city and in the coming days, various members of the royal family will be sent forth to do their flag-waving best.

Never mind that much of Europe is busy slathering on the SPF 50 or that the Queen has begun her usual summer hols or that the beaches of Mustique are calling. To be a working member of the British monarchy this week requires that all available HRHs front up while looking jolly pleased to have to wear a Team GB polo shirt and watch badminton.

Having absconded more than two and a half years ago for sunnier climes and fatter bank accounts, this sort of tedious duty is no longer part of the Sussexes’ lives.

Small mercies, huh?

However, aside from the fact that the couple won’t have to contend with so much polyester and so many hours of archery anytime soon, things are not exactly looking that rosy over Montecito way, with the couple having taken hit after hit over the last 12 days or so.

Rewind to July 18 and Harry and Meghan were jetting into New York where they had an appointment at the UN, with the duke having been asked to give the address to mark Nelson Mandela Day. In the couple strode to the famed building’s foyer, a masterful demonstration of what has become a hallmark of their post-royal careers – purposefully marching into the important buildings for supposedly important meetings and events after which … nothing much would seem to happen.

Anyway, they were back! Back at doing their quasi-royal darnedest! Harry had a speech, Meghan had a Jackie O-esque black dress – what could possibly go wrong?

Well, for one thing, not that many people turned up. As the Duke of Sussex gave his address to him, talking about climate change (conveniently forgetting that the family uses private jets on the reg), disinformation and abortion rights (all the good stars on these fronts) the vast majority of the seats were visibly empty.

For whatever reason, the bulk of the great and good of the international body would seem to have decided to be elsewhere and not watch the sixth in line to the throne have a crack at international statesmanship. (Maybe the UN cafeteria was serving waffles?)

If Harry looked grim when the couple was caught by the paparazzi leaving Italian restaurant Locanda Verde, he had every reason to look sour. That week saw the publication of biographer Tom Bower’s Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors.

Bower’s book is a largely unrelenting, highly unflattering take on the Sussexes, casting them as fueled by ego and some misguided notion that Meghan was going to be Diana mark two, aside from the fact that, in the biographer’s telling, she seemed to have no interest in the monarchy, no willingness to learn its fusty ropes and little enthusiasm for the boring parts of HRH-dom.

As the week progressed, Bower did the press rounds, offering a series of caustic takes including that he thought “they pose a real threat to the royal family” and labeling the duchess “a very scheming” person.

What is surprising has been the reaction from Montecito, with the Sussexes having so far not commented. While in the past, the duo have filed multiple court cases against various media outlets and sent out legal letters during the storm over their daughter Lilibet’s name, however in this instance they have remained staunchly silent.

Then came the development playing out in a court in Florida when lawyers for the duchess got into the “subjective” nature of truth. Earlier this year, the former actress was sued by her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle for allegedly telling “false and malicious lies” during her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview last year.

This week, the Duchess of Sussex’s lawyers moved to dismiss the case, with legal papers filed by their side arguing that Meghan’s description of growing up “as an only child” during the interview was “obviously not meant to be a statement of objective fact” and was “a textbook example of a subjective statement about how a person feels about her childhood.”

While it’s an argument that has more than a tinge of Philosophy 101 (what is truth?) this strategy then raises an obvious question: If Meghan’s characterization about her upbringing was “subjective” then were any of the other devastating claims she made during the two -hour tell-all “subjective” too?

One bright spot on the horizon for the duo during all this was Harry’s successful appeal to the High Court for a judicial review over the Home Office’s decision to no longer automatically grant him full-time bodyguards when he is in the UK.

Except, even this was not exactly a slam dunk; just because the review was granted does not mean it will automatically be successful.

Then there is the cost of the whole legal imbroglio. the Sun has reported that the UK government has spent $156,000 on the case from September last year to May 2020. If Harry’s costs are similar then that would mean he has also spent well into the six figures to argue the case over his security arrangements which only pertain to the handful of days per year he has spent, on average, in the UK since quitting.

That bill could only go up if he ultimately loses the case, with the Home Office having previously said it will look to recover costs if they win.

While August is a traditionally quiet month on the Planet Royal, the rest of the year is shaping up to be a barnstormer of a doozy.

Harry is looking down the barrel of some of the most monumental months of his life since the sonic boom of Megxit, with news his memoir will be published before Christmas and with Page Six having reported that Netflix wants the couple’s “at home” docu series (shush you in the back there yelling “reality show”!) to hit screens this year too.

This book and show will very likely prove to be huge commercial successes for the couple, much needed professional wins after having released exactly no content up until this point for the streaming giant, since 2020 – but at what cost?

If either or both of these projects are focused on little more than the Sussexes launching a fresh volley of complaints about their treatment by the royal family, interspersed with some vignettes of them doing some caring, then they could be playing with fire.

If this scenario came to pass, they would run the risk of looking dangerously like little more than perpetual whingers who are clinging to the self-appointed victim status inside their $20 million mansion at a time when war, fire, floods and monkeypox are blighting the world.

Then there is what toll these two releases could take for his tattered relationship with House of Windsor, a bond that is reportedly hanging by a thread.

as the Sun’s former royal editor Duncan Lacrombe recently told the Daily Beast: “Once the book is out, William will have to make a decision about what he is going to do about Harry, but he is not going to do a thing until he knows what is on.” every page of that book. The reality is that if, as a senior member of the royal family, you have written a tell-all book, you have broken rule No. 1 of the royal family.”

If Harry’s book and/or their Netflix series sees them paint big fresh targets on the monarchy’s backs then will Queen & co. sit idly by and suffer through a fresh hellish round of monarchical character assassinations?

Thus far the Sussexes’ repeated media provocations have been met with a certain imperiousness and contrived dismissiveness from London but should the duke and duchess continue to bait the royal family but we might soon discover that The Firm has some very sharp teeth.

For example, the duo do still, of course, use their gifted Sussex titles from the Queen, day in and day out. While only parliament could officially revoke those titles, that is not to say the weight of the Crown and Harry’s father and brother could not be brought to bear pressure on them to no longer use them.

Would Prince Harry and Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor (or Prince Harry and Princess Henry of Wales) as they could only then call themselves be quite so marketable for Hollywood?

There is so much on the line for them in the coming month – their image, reputations, careers and potentially even a large chunk of money. But, there is always a sliver lining: At least no one is going to be making them sit through a table tennis match any time soon.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

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Entertainment

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck won’t last, first husband Ojani Noa says

Bennifer 2.0 is destined for divorce, Jennifer Lopez’s first husband has said.

Ojani Noa, 48, claims his ex-wife “loves being in love” but loses interest after the passion in her marriages fizzle, The Daily Mailreported.

Mr Noa — who met J-Lo when he was a Cuban refugee waiting tables in Miami — has kept a low profile since his one-year union with Jenny from the Block dissolved in 1998, reported the new york post.

He told the outlet her recent nuptials with Ben Affleck brought back a rush of old memories.

“Ben is husband number four. I was husband number one and she told me I was the love of her life. When we lay in bed on our wedding night, she said we would be together forever,” he said.

In addition to being married four times, Lopez, 53, has been engaged six times, including twice to the Good Will Hunting actor, some 20 years apart.

Mr Noa fled Cuba on an inflatable boat when he was 15 and survived the 150km journey to the US. I found working washing dishes at Gloria Estefan’s Ocean Drive restaurant Lario’s On The Beach by the age of 22.

“Miami was buzzing. I did some modelling. I hustled. I wanted the American dream – and I found it when Jen walked into Lario’s,” he reportedly said.

“I had no idea who she was. Our eyes glanced at each other and I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”

The next night Lopez came back to the bar and Mr Noa served her another customer’s French fries after she said they looked “yummy”, according to the report.

“I was smitten. She was wearing a white top and trousers, and I remember thinking she had the best body I’d ever seen. She later told me she knew that first night she was going to marry me, ”Mr Noa reportedly recalled.

Later that night, the duo partied at a club called Commune, according to Mr Noa.

“When we got to the club my friend Leo took Jen to the dance floor, and I thought, ‘Oh man, you’re a lucky guy.’ Then she (her friend of her) said, ‘When they get back, take Jen out there. It’s you she’s interested in.’

“They get back and I take her hand and lead her on to the floor, and a slow song comes on. It was electric. She was shaking and said, ‘You make me nervous’.

“We could both feel the romantic energy. It was instant and intense. Like it was surging through our bodies. I said, ‘I feel the same way you’re feeling’. I lifted her chin and gave her a kiss – it was a kiss like we’d known each other forever.”

While the two shared a goodnight kiss, a passer-by exclaimed “Oh my God, that’s Jennifer Lopez from ‘Money Train’,” Mr Noa remembered. “That’s when I realized maybe she was somebody.”

“The next morning my pager goes off. Jen had to see me before her flight from her. The door goes and I open it and she falls into my arms. We kissed, and as she drove off in her limo, she looked back like in the movies and I thought, ‘This is it. This is crazy’,” Mr Noa told the Email.

While Lopez was in Los Angeles, Mr Noa talked to her frequently from the payphone at the restaurant, according to the Email. When she returned to Florida, the actor invited him to be her date de ella for the blood and wine premiere.

“I rented a cheap suit. We got to the red carpet, there were all these flashing lights and screaming fans. I started to feel sick. I walked down the carpet holding her hand then stood to the side while she gave interviews.

“I heard her say, ‘Jack, I want you to meet my date, Ojani.’ I turned around and she was introducing me to Jack Nicholson. Then she said, ‘This is Michael’ – and it was Michael Caine. I felt like I was in a movie. A few years earlier I was on a dinghy in the ocean running away from Fidel Castro, and now I’m on a red carpet. Michael Caine was lovely. He said, ‘Don’t worry, you will get used to it’.”

After the premiere the couple consummated their relationship, Mr Noa told the outlet.

“That was the first time we made love. It was perfect. She was perfect. We lay there afterwards and she said, ‘I want you to always be in my life. I love you’. I felt like Mr. Cinderella,” he reportedly said.

Noa said he believed the relationship worked because he wasn’t impressed by her celebrity.

“She’s a traditional girl. She comes from a humble Puerto Rican family. She wanted someone to protect her, someone who would stand up for her. We fell totally in love,” he said, according to the article.

“I quit my job and moved to LA. We lived in a nice apartment. But soon we moved into our first house and then the houses kept getting bigger. She loved that I was a balseros (rafter) from Cuba. I never wanted anything from her. I always worked and had my own money,” he said about life with the Bronx native.

“We’d been together about six months when she got Selena. We went to San Antonio, Texas, for the shoot and every night we’d come back to the hotel and she’d collapse in my arms filled with insecurity. She didn’t think she was good enough. In the middle of the night she would burst into tears. I comforted her and said she was the best, that she was killing it.

“She loves shopping, and when she wasn’t filming we went to the local mall. One day we went into a jewelery store and she started looking at rings. She pointed at one and said, ‘I love that one’.

“She left and I pretended I needed to go to the rest room. I snuck back in the store and told the girl to put it to one side. I had money saved up. I’d been working as her personal trainer but also had modeling money. The ring was US$15,000 (A$21,400) – a fortune back then. I hid the ring in a plastic bag behind the sink.”

Mr Noa proposed to Lopez at the wrap party for the critically acclaimed film, according to the report.

“Everyone was cheering. I went down on one knee and gave her the ring. She was crying and laughing and said ‘Yes!’,” he reportedly recalled.

Tensions developed when Lopez’s mother chastised her for deciding to get married in Florida instead of the Bronx, according to the article.

“Jen would be in tears all the time. Her mum de ella was calling and yelling at her, trying to get her to change the venue. So I called (Jen’s mother Guadalupe Lopez) Lupe and said, ‘You need to stop this’. That was a big mistake. From then on there was tension between me and Lupe.”

Lopez soon started to change with increasing money and fame, the jilted lover reportedly said.

“She went from Jen to being J-Lo, this big business bringing in millions. She had all these new people around her, all wanting to make money off her. I would call and an assistant would say, ‘Sorry, she’s not available’. ”

When Mr Noa was tasked with launching Lopez’s LA nightclub, he would see published pictures of his wife with Puff Daddy, who was producing some of her music in New York, according to the article.

“I rang Jen and asked why she was going out with him on dates and she said, ‘It’s just business. This is what I’m being told I have to do’. I was jealous and would scream, ‘But you are married!’”

“We wanted kids, we discussed having kids. Then she told me she could not have a baby because it would interfere with her career, ”he lamented.

Mr Noa and Lopez went on Oprah, where she denied the marriage was in trouble.

“Our whole life became a lie,” Mr Noa said, remembering he lost 17kg due to the stress of the facade.

“We went to the Golden Globes and sat with Jack (Nicholson). He said, “You guys look so happy.” I told him, ‘It’s not what it seems’. He told me to hang in there. I never thought I would be getting relationship advice from Jack Nicholson.”

After 11 months, the couple divorced and Lopez dated Puff Daddy publicly soon after.

Mr Noa was left with $50,000 in a settlement agreement and continued to wear his ring as the two remained close, according to the report.

“There were times she told me she wanted to get back together. In quiet moments she would say, ‘I need you in my life. I don’t want to lose you’,” Mr Noa reportedly remembered.

Lopez’s brief marriage with Chris Rudd dissolved and Affleck popped the question for the first time before she had officially split from her backup dancer.

Two years later, in 2004, Lopez would get hitched to Marc Anthony. The pair stayed together for 10 years.

The actress hired Mr Noa to manage a Los Angeles restaurant around 2002 but fired him three years later. He sued her, settled, and moved back to Florida where he has not remarried, according to the article.

Mr Noa said he believes he could have made it last with Lopez if it were not for “parasites who feed off celebrities” and media reports that characterized him as a “penniless waiter,” the report said.

“I wish her and Ben the best, but I’m not convinced it will last,” Mr Noa said.

“I think she’s someone who will be married seven or eight times. I can’t see her ever settling down with one person. She pushes herself to constantly go forward in her professional life, which is why she’s had a three-decade career, but she also moves on in her private life.

“If Ben has Lupe on his side then maybe he’s got a chance,” Mr Noa told the Emailsmiling.

This article was published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

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