“Dear Christmas” – Lifetime(LOS ANGELES) — For many people, 2020 has been a trying year. For that reason, Melissa Joan Hart — a perennial staple in Christmas movies — says holiday flicks have found a new importance.
Speaking with E!’s Daily Popon Tuesday, the Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum revealed why she completely endorses cheesy Christmas movies.
“I think this is the year we all need a happy ending,” Melissa revealed, who says there’s zero shame in Christmas movies being a source of comfort.
“They give you a safe place to go and you can just enjoy,” the 44-year-old actress explained before nodding to her new Lifetime movie Dear Christmas, which gives the audience exactly that.
“[It] is really sweet,” she dished, explaining that she plays an author that “believes in true love” — despite never experiencing it herself — and celebrates holiday love stories on her successful podcast. Of course, during a trip back home before a major book tour, a local firefighter, played by Jason Priestley, catches her eye.
That said, the Lifetime Channel started up their holiday rotation well before Halloween — airing their first seasonal film on October 23.
Another source of comfort this year has been nostalgia, with the New York Times saying Americans are turning to their old shows and movies to mentally escape the uncertainty brought on by the ongoing pandemic.
As for Melissa, she’s been reflecting on all the fun she’s had on Sabrina, which celebrates its 25th anniversary next year.
The actress revealed that there’s one special episode where she has nothing but fond memories — when she went to Disney.
“We did a whole episode at the Animal Kingdom,” she gushed. “We got to take the whole crew! We just had a blast.”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic(NEW JERSEY) — Jersey Shore star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is about to have a situation on his hand — a baby situation, that is.
The reality star and his wife Lauren announced that they are expecting their first child together in adorable Instagram posts shared on Tuesday.
Both Mike and Lauren shared the same photos in their social media announcement. The first was a photo of the couple in the kitchen with their dog and on the counter, spelled out in flour reads, “Baby Sorrentino May 2021.” The second, showed a close up of the flour message with the ultrasound and, the third, was of the couple kissing in front of it.
“We have a Baby Situation,” Mike captioned the post. Meanwhile Lauren wrote, “Our biggest blessing is on it’s [sic] way.”
The couple, who married in 2018, also made an Instagram for their bundle of joy, @itsbabysituation, that already has over 40,000 followers.
The exciting news comes about a year after Mike and Lauren shared that they suffered a “heartwrenching” miscarriage. Speaking with Strahan, Sara & Kekein November 2019, the mom-to-be explained that they conceived the night Mike had returned from serving an eight month prison sentence for tax evasion.
“The night he came home, we actually conceived. And then at about six-and-a-half, seven weeks, I miscarried,” Lauren revealed.
“It was heart-wrenching. When I found out we were pregnant, I felt like this is why we went through all these challenges for years and that this was our time and it was our blessing,” she emotionally recalled. “It was hard. It was really difficult.”
ABC NewsBy ASHLEY LOUSZKO and EMILY TAGUCHI, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Mike Tyson, the once undisputed world heavyweight champion boxer, appears to be a different man than he was during the two decades that he reigned in the sport, and he says it’s not just his age.
But this weekend, the legendary fighter will be returning to the ring to face former champion Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match. It’s a fight that he’s spent months training for and, despite his reputation, one that he said he’s both “excited” and “absolutely” nervous about.
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have nerves,” Tyson, 54, told ABC News’ Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts. “I mean, you don’t participate in anything at this level of excitement without having nerves, but that also catapults you another level of participating.”
Although it’ll be an exhibition match, anything can happen in the ring when the two men start throwing punches, Tyson says.
“It’s an unwritten clause in our contract … that anytime during training and fighting, you can die,” Tyson said. “I’ve seen it happen. … So that’s a great possibility that we wish don’t happen, we hope don’t happen, but that happens in the sports game.”
The match will be part of a new initiative that Tyson’s launching called “Legends Only League,” which will give retired athletes a chance to compete again. He says that the “second chance at glory” was inspired by stories about former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice.
“Just ask anybody who would they rather see play, Jerry Rice or the guy that’s playing his position right now on a team that he played with, and you would get, overwhelmingly, they wanna see Jerry Rice,” Tyson said. “And so, now just because he’s a few seconds over for the best time, he can’t participate?”
The initiative is only the latest of Tyson’s ventures since retiring from professional boxing in 2005. But even then, his tumultuous past would continue to haunt him.
Having grown up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Tyson was exposed to violence and poverty at a young age. With an estranged father and an alcoholic mother, he was no stranger to street crime, having been arrested over 30 times before 12 years old.
He was eventually introduced to Hall of Fame trainer and boxing manager Constantine “Cus” D’Amato, who molded him into a professional boxer. In 1986, at just 20 years old, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time after defeating Trevor Berbick.
The title helped launch Tyson’s fame around the world. But for all the love he received from fans, there was also controversy.
During an interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters for 20/20 in 1988, his then-wife Robin Givens accused him of domestic violence.
“He shakes, he pushes, he swings,” she said on TV. “Sometimes, I think he’s trying to scare me. There are times when it happened that I thought I couldn’t handle it. And just recently, I’ve become afraid. I mean, very, very much afraid.”
The marriage ended in divorce a short time after the interview. Then, years later during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he admitted to Winfrey that the relationship had been abusive.
In 1992, Tyson was convicted of raping 18-year-old Desiree Washington in Indiana and sentenced to six years in prison. He was released less than three years later, after which he returned to the ring.
Just a couple of years later, in 1997, Tyson was disqualified in a now-infamous moment during the world heavyweight championship fight when he violently bit off a piece of opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear. The incident led to the suspension of Tyson’s boxing license, although it was later reinstated.
Tyson left boxing and began to dabble in movies. In 2009, he appeared in a now-famous cameo in The Hangover. But on and off the set, he was also struggling with drug addiction.
“I OD’d a bunch of times,” Tyson said. “And my wife snapped me out of it and stuff — called people, fixed me up.”
Today, Tyson hosts the “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” podcast and manages the Tyson Ranch, a company that promotes cannabis-based products.
However, he says his most important role is that of “family man.” Tyson had two children with his third and current wife, Lakiha Spicer — Morocco Tyson, 9, and Milan Tyson, 11. Tyson says Milan, who is a budding tennis player, “will be a prodigy.”
Reflecting on his past, Tyson says he is committed to leaving it behind.
“Life has beat me into submission. It has nothing to do with me being humble. Life was just tougher than me at the moment,” he said, referring to his responsibilities as a father and husband. “I’m unable to successfully be the ass—- that I was before. … I have no choice … I’m committed and living the other way.”
“I have struggled,” he added. “But it’s really good.”
ABC/Craig Sjodin(LOS ANGELES) — On Tuesday’s episode of The Bachelorette, Tayshia laid down the law after discovering what some of the men had been saying about her right before the rose ceremony.
The episode kicked off with a group date that featured Bennett, Ivan, Blake, Riley, Demar, Kenny and Zac competing for the only one-on-one date, each using his limited musical skills to write and perform a love song for Tayshia. The winner was Ivan, who touched her heart with his spoken-word piece, and sealed the deal by inviting Tayshia on stage to sit next to him as he performed it.
The date began with Ivan joining Tayshia in her suite for a fun evening of games, including Twister and a pillow fight. However, things turned serious when the two shared an emotional conversation and bonded over their similar backgrounds of being mixed-raced and the difficulties they faced growing up. Afterwards, Tayshia offered him the date rose.
Next, former Bachelorette Becca Kufrin and Sydney Lotuaco, from season 23 of The Bachelor visited Tayshia, and helped her plan an outrageous game of Truth or Dare for six of the men: Bennet, Demar, Kenny, Blake, Zac and Riley. The dares include chugging disgusting smoothies, having host Chris Harrison autograph “a part of their body where the sun doesn’t shine” and proposing to Tayshia after eating a spicy habanero pepper.
Later came the “Truth” part of the date and Zac had all the right words for Tayshia, who enjoyed “looking at the stars and talking about life” with him. He was rewarded with the date rose.
Heading into the rose ceremony, Ben and Ed both felt they needed to make a bold move to ensure they wouldn’t be sent home… So each decided to surprise Tayshia with a late-night visit at her villa.
The risky move paid off for Ben, who impressed Tayshia for “showing up,” something she said he needed to do earlier during his group date. The two shared a romantic evening together and bared their souls while enjoying champagne with strawberries.
Ed, on the other hand, in what turned into a comically awkward moment, knocked on the wrong door and wound up spending the evening with Harrison. “That was weird,” mused Chris as he watched the embarrassed and frustrated bachelor head home afterwards.
Meanwhile, trouble was brewing at the men’s quarters, where some of the guys were still fuming over Noah’s stunt from last week, in which he crashed a group date, monopolized Tayshia for most of the evening and then managed to snag the date rose.
Noah attempted some damage control at the pre-rose ceremony cocktail party, privately telling Tayshia that some of the guys were “discrediting” her thought process and that they viewed her awarding him the rose as a “stunt” to “shake things up.”
Tayshia then gathered all the men together to reaffirm the promise she made when she first met them — that she was being her “true self” before telling them all to “grow up.”
“If you’re going to be questioning me,” she warned, “I’ll gladly walk you outside.”
At the rose ceremony, Jordan C., Joe, Kenny and Chasen were sent packing.
Here are the remaining men:
Ben, 29, an Army Ranger veteran from Venice, Calif. Bennett, 36, a wealth management consultant from New York City, N.Y. Blake Moynes, 29, a wildlife manager from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Brendan, 30, a commercial roofer from Milford, Mass. Demar, 26, a spin cycling instructor from Scottsdale, Ariz. Eazy, 29, a sports marketing agent from Newport Beach, Calif. Ed, 36, a health care salesman from Miami, Fla. Ivan, 28, an aeronautical engineer from Dallas, Texas Noah, 25, a registered travel nurse from Tulsa, OK Spencer, a 30-year-old Water treatment engineer from La Jolla, California; Riley, 30, an attorney from Long Island City, N.Y. Spencer, 30, a Water treatment engineer from La Jolla, California Zac C., 36, an addiction specialist from Haddonfield, N.J.
The Bachelorette returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
“Dear Christmas” – Lifetime(LOS ANGELES) — For many people, 2020 has been a trying year. For that reason, Melissa Joan Hart — a perennial staple in Christmas movies — says holiday flicks have found a new importance. 
