Lance cries as the Crow flies
In case you haven’t heard by now, it’s over between Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow.
The seven-time Tour de France champion and the rock star, who got engaged in September, announced the split on Friday. It would have been her first marriage and his second.
Armstrong, 34, and Crow, 43, met in October 2003 and began dating shortly after. She called him the inspiration for her latest album, “Wildflower”; he retired in July after winning his last race with Crow rooting him on.
The couple had been living together on a ranch in the Austin, Texas, area.
Band mates
Ashlee Simpson doesn’t need to steal your boyfriend – she’s got a new one of her own.
Simpson recently returned from a 10-day vacation in Hawaii with her new boyfriend, bandmate Braxton Olita.
“We’ve been really close for a while now, since he’s been in the band a few months,” Simpson says, but adds that she’s taking it slow: “I just got a new home, but I’m not moving in with him!”
A real stretch
Olympic gold medalist Carly Patterson is pursuing another passion: music.
The gymnast, who turned 18 on Saturday, is getting help from Joe Simpson, father and manager of sister singers Ashlee and Jessica Simpson.
“Gymnastics is what got me here,” Patterson says. “But I’m not going to be the 16-year-old little Olympic gymnast for the rest of my life.”
Be careful, Carly
Courtney Love says she’s moved past her drug problems and has a new direction in life following two treatment programs.
“I feel like I’m getting my creativity back … and that I’ve put a very gnarly drug problem behind me,” the 41-year-old rocker said in a Los Angeles court appearance Friday to give a judge a progress report after violating probation in three criminal cases.
Replied Judge Rand Rubin: “You’re doing really, really well. We’re all pleased with your progress.”
Down a rabid hole
Brian Warner – better known as shock-rocker Marilyn Manson – will play “Alice in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll in a new movie.
“Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll” also will mark Warner’s writing and directing debut.
“It’s a kind of art-house horror; what people expect from Manson, they’re going to get here,” says the film’s producer, Alain de la Mata.
The birthday bunch
Actor Miguel Ferrer is 51. Actor James Spader is 46. Country singer Garth Brooks is 44. Comedian Chris Rock is 41. Actor Jason Gedrick (“Windfall,” “Boomtown”) is 39. Actor Ashton Kutcher (“That ‘70s Show”) is 28.