What??? Brad and Jen are through?

I’m not one to scarf down the latest celebrity gossip, although I do confess to the occasional late-night “True Hollywood Story” or People magazine at the gym. But who could have missed the big news last weekend?

Brad and Jen are ovah.

That’s right – after almost five years of marriage, actors and megacelebrities Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announced their separation last week.

In some ways, the split is a bit surprising because a lot about their relationship was pretty normal. Think about it – they met on a blind date and dated for a very respectable two years before getting married. They had a nice house (I know this because I think I saw it on “The Fabulous Life of …”), both had steady work and they even formed a little production company together.

And as individuals, didn’t they just seem more down-to-earth than other Hollywood celebrities? You never saw tabloid stories about airport security finding drugs in their bags or punching a photographer outside of a nightclub or wearing outrageous clothes to award shows.

But of course, there was nothing normal about their relationship. Who is followed around by paparazzi when you make a coffee and newspaper run? Whose every career move is documented in the press? Whose decision to wait to have children would be so scrutinized?

I wonder if the children issue was a big factor in the breakup. There’s such incredible pressure when it comes to kids in a marriage. One happily married friend really wants children and is trying but everyone keeps asking why she’s not pregnant yet and she just doesn’t know and it’s all very frustrating and she’s going to go crazy if one more person asks her!

Another happily married woman I know who already has a child seems to keep putting off getting pregnant again even though her husband would love more kids. The Brad and Jen rumors were similar to this scenario – the tabloids had her running around making movies and partying at clubs, which isn’t exactly normal behavior for a woman wanting to start a family.

And then pile on all the media attention and British odds-makers putting bets on how long your marriage was going to last.

I don’t feel sorry for these people, who without the media attention would be nobodies like you and me. But bets on how long your marriage will last? Who could last under all that pressure?

Here’s what amazed me more than anything, though. The biggest celebrity breakup in months happens and four days after it’s announced it’s old news. I actually had to dig through one entertainment gossip Web site to find the latest information on Pitt and Aniston’s breakup. They weren’t even on the front page anymore!

Things were a lot perkier on the news front, however, as former Motley Crue leader Vince Neil got married, as did rapper Nas and singer Kelis.

Hollywood love lives on.

Pillow talk

I have to say, I’m excited about the approaching Valentine’s Day, mostly because I found Destiny’s Child foil Valentines at the Marden’s in Brewer recently. I plan to dole them out generously to all of my friends, both single and unsingle.

Here’s one present to stay away from, however. New from Japan is the $90 Boyfriend’s Arm pillow, a headless torso pillow with a limb that curves up that so the user can sleep with the arm around her (or him).

The pillow is, “the ultimate bedtime mate who won’t snore or hog the bed sheets” according to the Web site armpillow.com.

The pillow is also called the Cuddle Buddy Body Pillow and is marketed at women who have recently become single or whose husband or boyfriend travels a lot.

Junko Suzuki, a Japanese woman who is separated from her husband, told the Associated Press that she likes the pillow because, “this does not betray me.”

I’ll stick to my Beyonce cards, thank you.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at jbloch@bangordailynews.net