It's official! Prince William and the former Kate Middleton have let us in on their due date: The royal couple is expecting their third child in April 2018. They released the news today via a statement posted on Kensington Palace's official Twitter account.
Palace tweet
Palace tweet
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in April 2018," the palace tweeted. Which means spring baby! Which means adorable royal clothing with bunnies and chicks! We hope this announcement is an encouraging sign that Kate's severe form of morning sickness — hyperemesis gravidarum — is waning. Her cheerful frolicking with Paddington Bear yesterday at a children's charities event was another hopeful sign, maybe. Her surprise appearance there delighted the crowd (and us) and was only her second public appearance since she and William let us in on the pregnancy news back in September.
Meanwhile, in other royal news, Prince William revealed one of Prince George's favorite movies to a young guest at the same Paddington Bear-attended reception yesterday in London. Hint: It's not The Little Prince, but the main character is indeed a prince. Sky News Royal Correspondent Rhiannon Mills tweeted this super-sweet video of Prince William talking about his son at the event, which took place on the vintage Belmond British Pullman train at Paddington Station. Mills was clearly impressed with the young guest's interviewing skills, captioning the video, "We should employ this kid @SkyNews... he got #PrinceWilliam to reveal that #princegeorge likes to watch The Lion King."
Prince William
Prince William
In the video, Prince William names the Disney hit The Lion King as one of George's favorites. We would give anything to hear him singing along with Simba in "I Just Can't Wait to Be King." To be fair, George obviously has a bunch of favorites. William was clearly going through quite the list of shows and movies in his head, saying, "Trying to keep [George] off the television is hard work."
We're really, really hoping that Prince George's journey to kinghood isn't quite as dramatic as Simba's (ascension to throne caused by dad being killed by a stampede of wildebeests) and we certainly wouldn't wish any Mufasa-Scar-level rivalry between George and any future brother of his. But will there be a brother? We hope we don't have to wait until April 2018 to find out.
Let's face it, many believe that pornography ruins relationships by setting unrealistic expectations in the bedroom. It's a sound argument. But it would only be fair to make an opposing case that in some ways porn can improve your sex life.
"Pornography can spark curiosity and open conversation between partners. It's so easy to get into a routine with your significant other, and it can be hard to break out of that. Watching or reading erotica allows couples to explore sexual activities that they may be curious about," says Polly Rodriguez, CEO of Unbound.
A study published in the journal Sexual Medicine even shows that watching at least 40 minutes of porn twice a week can boost your sex drive and your overall desire to have sex. Not to mention, it’s really hot to watch people have sex, and sharing this with someone you love can enable a deeply sensual experience.
Convinced enough? Here are nine ways to incorporate porn into your sex life.
1. Have an open & honest conversation about it
Talk about your desires and interests and set boundaries of what is and isn't OK, suggests Rodriguez. "From there, only good things can happen if you're open and honest with each other about what you're curious to try."
2. Use porn as a source for inspiration
Be it BDSM or role-play, Rodriquez explains that having an example you can both watch and learn from together helps to frame what it is you're curious to try.
3. Expand your sexual repertoire
Talk about the type of porn or fantasy you like to watch. Girl on girl, threesomes, just oral… have you always wanted to try a certain position or sex act? “This is the chance to open up and be honest about what you may have been afraid to voice to your partner,” says Antonia Hall, a psychologist and award-winning author of The Ultimate Guide to a Multi-Orgasmic Life.
4. Don’t be judgmental
Your partner might like something you don’t, notes Alicia Sinclair, Founder and CEO of b-Vibe and Le Wand. “It’s important to find the common ground and make the process sexy.”
5. Start soft
Begin with something you know turns you both on. “Try something in the amateur or couples section. It’s probably not a good idea to start with a hardcore sex scene (unless you’re both already into that of course),” says Sinclair.
6. Find a website both of you enjoy
Send each other clips you want to watch together later. "I'm a personal fan of Bellesa (run by Michelle Shnaidman) because it's a bit more sensual than what you'd find on one of the bigger tube sites," says Rodriguez.
7. Let it put you in the mood
Before your sweetie gets home. Put on your favorite video, rub one out and let yourself get totally aroused. As soon as they walk through the door, you'll be in full get-it-on mode.
8. Aim for quality content
Sinclair suggests, Trenchcoatx. “This porn-for-women site is run by two women and has tons of quality content. Plus, you’re supporting women making porn, which is kind of a win-win in my book,” she adds.
9. Make you own porn
Get creative and make your own erotic video. It’s a fun way to experiment, act and enjoy watching it together later on. Just make sure to use a digital camera and not your cell phone so you don’t have to worry about it accidently getting uploaded and can delete it at any time.
The Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment and assault case has allowed women to step forward with their own stories. Alyssa Milano took to Twitter to encourage women to use the hashtag #MeToo to share their stories of sexual exploitation. #MeToo was originally created in the mid-2000s by Tarana Burke – an organizer and youth worker who survived sexual assault – and empowered women, particularly young women of color to share their stories. In light of the Weinstein scandal, this hashtag has seen major pickup with many people (including lots of celebrities) using their voices to share their experiences with the world.
America Ferrera bravely revealed on social media that her sexual assault incident happened when she was only 9 years old. To make matters worse, she had to continually see the offender on a “daily basis for years.”
Ferrera explained her emotions as a young girl. "[The f]irst time I can remember being sexually assaulted I was 9 years old," she wrote. "I told no one and lived with the shame and guilt thinking all along that I, a 9-year-old child, was somehow responsible for the actions of a grown man."
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon ELLE Sexual Abuse
Reese Witherspoon ELLE Sexual Abuse
Reese Witherspoon used her speech at the Elle Women in Hollywood event to share her own situation that occurred when she was 16.
“This has been a really hard week for women in Hollywood, for women all over the world, and a lot of situations and a lot of industries are forced to remember and relive a lot of ugly truths,” she said on Monday.
“[I feel] true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16 years old and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment,” Witherspoon continued. “And I wish that I could tell you that was an isolated incident in my career, but sadly it wasn’t. I’ve had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault and I don’t speak about them very often.”
Sadly, she and Ferrara joined a growing group of famous women and men who have experienced sexual harassment and assault on the job at a very young age.
At the same Elle event, Jennifer Lawrence told her story, and not all the harassment came from men she worked with. A female producer contributed to her humiliation during an audition.
"During this time, a female producer had me do a nude lineup with about five women who were much, much thinner than me. We stood side-by-side with only tape covering our privates," Lawrence said on Monday. "After that degrading and humiliating lineup, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet."
Furthermore, during this audition, a male producer added his two cents to the situation. "He said he didn't know why everyone thought I was so fat. He thought I was 'perfectly fuckable,'" Lawrence continued. "I let myself be treated a certain way because I felt I had to for my career."
Martha Stewart recently came forward with her own tales from her days as a model. At the age of 16, Stewart was asked to don a bikini for her go-see.
"I was asked to wear a bikini under my clothes. I thought, 'Oh, maybe we're doing a beach commercial or something,'" Stewart said to People. "So I go into the room and there's a table with all men sitting around it and it's an advertisement agency, I can't remember which one it was. They said, 'Now you can take your clothes off,' and I said, 'Oh, is this where are we doing the commercial? Are we wearing bikinis in the commercial?' They said, 'No, but as long as you're here we might as well see what you look like.' I thought that was harassment of the first order."
She had the strength to tell the men that "this is not what I'm here for" and extricated herself from the situation.
These four celebrities join a long list of women who have bravely shared their stories. It’s too long a list and these stories aren't only hitting Hollywood. So many women in other industries share too similar a tale.
If you're experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace and are unsure what to do, call the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at 800-669-4000 for help.
What's the first thing you think of when you hear Alfred Hitchock's name? Most likely, you immediately reflect on his contribution to the film industry.
From Psycho to The Birds to Rear Window to Vertigo to North by Northwest to The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hitchcock had a way of scaring individuals greatly, all while making them think. He certainly knew how to create both horror and mystery.
There's no denying he had a talent — and one that is still recognized today. But there may be some things you don't know about the late filmmaker. Basically, Hitchcock was an odd man to say the least and someone who came under scrutiny for his treatment of women. It should be noted that in her 2016 memoir, Tippi, Tippi Hedren accused Hitchcock of sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior during the filming of The Birds.
If you really take a dive into the internet and research him, you'll soon learn all kinds of facts about Hitchcock — and ones that just might make you do a double take. With that, allow yourself to become acquainted with the real Alfred Hitchcock.
According to Newsweek, Hitchcock feared a lot in his life and was said to be an "artist of anxiety," per director François Truffaut. As listed by Newsweek, "He suffered from vertigo, he was scared of sex, he had been morbidly afraid of the police ever since his father, to punish him for a childhood misdemeanor, had him locked up for three minutes in a police cell."
2. He enjoyed scaring his stars
Also reported by Newsweek, he wasn't shy about scaring those who starred in his films, because, apparently, it was his way of "keeping them on edge during the shoot in order to catch their tension on celluloid." So much so, the outlet reports he even hid the body of Norman Bate's mother in Janet Leigh's Psycho dressing room to measure her scream. Leigh even once said (via Newsweek), "He relished scaring me."
3. His pranks sometimes went too far
The Telegraph reports that Hitchcock loved pranks, but they weren't your typical ones. Truffaut once said that Hitchcock admitted to him, "I do have a weakness for practical jokes and have played quite a few in my time."
As for these so-called practical jokes, one time the director held a dinner party and added food coloring to the food resulting in blue soup, blue trout and blue peaches and ice cream. Hitchcock was reportedly interested in seeing how his guests would react to this kind of situation. Furthermore, he once played on actor Elsie Randolph's fear of fire by having a technician pump smoke into a telephone booth she was in after locking the door.
He reportedly defended himself in a 1972 interview regarding his pranks and said he had never meant to "harm or denigrate" anybody.
Believe it or not, Hitchcock's fans weren't the only ones afraid of his movies. According to The Independent, he said in 1963, "I’m frightened of my own movies. I never go to see them. I don’t know how people can bear to watch my movies."
5. Eggs also scared him
His films weren't the only thing that frightened him. So did eggs. Yes, the eggs you eat. Per The Independent, "I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me," he admitted. "That white round thing without any holes… Have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I’ve never tasted it."
6. He refused to meet Steven Spielberg
As the late Bruce Dern detailed in his autobiography (via Biography.com), he tried to get Hitchcock to meet Steven Spielberg. "I said, 'You're his idol. He just [wants] to sit at your feet for five minutes and chat with you.'" However, Hitchcock wouldn't do it because as Dern explained, "He said, 'Isn't that the boy who made the fish movie?... I could never sit down and talk to him... because I look at him and feel like such a whore.'" After Dern asked him why he made him feel that way, he said Hitchcock revealed, "Because I'm the voice of the Jaws ride [at Universal Studios]. They paid me $1 million dollars. And I took it and I did it. I'm such a whore. I can't sit down and talk to the boy who did the fish movie... I couldn't even touch his hand."
7. What he thought about blondes
Hitchcock cast many blond female actors (Leigh, Hedren, Doris Day, Eva Marie Saint) in his movies, and apparently, there was a reason for it. Via The Guardian, he once said, "Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints."
In a fact that you probably didn't see coming, Psycho was the first American film to show a toilet on screen according to NPR. And here everyone thought the shower was the most famous thing from the movie.
9. He once gave Melanie Griffith this bonkers gift
In The Telegraph's feature about Hitchcock's pranks, it was also revealed he once gave Melanie Griffith (Hedren's daughter) an extremely strange present. "He gave the little girl the gift of a painfully accurate wax doll figure of her mother in a miniature coffin, dressed in the same costume she wore in The Birds," per the outlet. "Years later, a grown-up Griffith said of Hitchcock: 'He was a motherfucker, and you can quote me."
10. He built an entire apartment complex for Rear Window
When it came to the set of Rear Window, Hitchcock didn't spare any expense. So much so, he had the apartment complex showcased in the movie built. As revealed by Steven Jacobs in The Wrong House: The Architecture of Alfred Hitchcock (via the New York Post), this set "...became the largest indoor set ever built at Paramount. Hitchcock himself superintended the huge and complex construction that took six weeks to set up." Jacobs also added, "The entire set was fit with a sophisticated drainage system for the rain scene and with an ingenious wiring mechanism for the highly complex lighting of day and night scenes in both the exterior of the courtyard and the interior of the apartments."
11. He also "planted" 100 Ponderosa pines for North by Northwest
That wasn't the only set Hitchcock went above and beyond for. According to the Turner Classic Movie network, MGM wanted to ax the famous scene in the woods with Cary Grant and Saint due to expenses. However, Hitchcock wouldn't listen and ended up building the woods set on a soundstage using 100 Ponderosa pines.
No matter where you fall on the debate surrounding gun control, chances are you feel pretty strongly about your stance. Whether this is based on awareness of how regular mass shootings have become, generally being uncomfortable with firearms, wanting a means of self-defense, needing multiple weapons for multiple purposes or just collecting, the rationalizations vary as much the positions.
However, researchers at Harvard Business School decided to take a different approach: Conducting research on one specific gun policy — a mandatory waiting period before purchase — in order to determine whether it has any noteworthy outcomes. Turns out it does and could save hundreds of lives each year.
Currently, more than 33,000 Americans die each year from gun-related events, including suicides, homicides and accidents, making it a leading preventable cause of death and, in turn, a major public health issue. This is something that many prominent public health advocates have called on the public and elected officials to accept and address and pointed to the lack of solid research in the area as one of the reasons for legislation that is lagging.
But given how varied gun-control legislation is from state to state, it would be difficult to trace the effects of a single regulation. Drawing on research from other countries, which found that having some sort of waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm could potentially reduce gun deaths, researchers at Harvard also decided to focus on this aspect of the legislative debate, deciding to take action following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.
The Harvard researchers looked at the 19 states that, following the passage of the 1994 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, suddenly had mandatory waiting periods. They discovered that there was a 17 percent decrease in gun homicides and a 6 percent reduction in suicides when the 19 states had laws requiring waiting periods with gun purchases. Although computerized background checks replaced the mandatory waiting periods after 1998, some states kept the waiting period regulations in place.
Today, there are 17 states with waiting period laws, which the researchers estimate means that there are approximately 750 fewer gun homicides each year. If the mandatory waiting period were required in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., the authors of the study estimate that an additional 910 lives could be saved each year.
Margaret Formica, a public health researcher at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse who studies firearms deaths but wasn’t involved in the Harvard research, calls this study “an innovative way of looking at this issue” that comes with one major limitation: “You can’t tell if gun purchasers were the ones directly affected, so you can’t know for sure that it’s a causal relationship,” she told Science Magazine. In other words, this is a start, but more research in the area is needed.
So why hasn’t there been more research looking into the larger impact of gun control? Part of it was a 1996 de facto ban on federally funded research on firearms in which Congress told the Centers for Disease Control that they were not permitted to “advocate or promote gun control.” That was more than 20 years ago, and we can't afford to continue this approach. Gun control is, in fact, a serious public health issue, and it’s time to start thinking of it in those terms.
Power singer, three-time Grammy winner and American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson says the news these days — namely, the widespread discussion of the alleged Harvey Weinstein sex crimes — is offering a huge teachable moment for parents. And she and husband Brandon Blackstock aren't shying away from having that tough conversation with their kids.
“We have four children,” Clarkson said at Variety’s Power of Women event in LA on Oct. 13. “It’s an important time to mold these lives... to sit down and have these conversations no matter how awkward they might be.”
Kelly at Variety
Kelly at Variety
She added, “I think we should take this horrific, negative thing that’s happening and teach not only our daughters, but our sons, to stand up for what’s right... and how to respect other people and their bodies and how to love and be kind."
Clarkson and music manager Blackstock have two children together: River, 3, and Remington, 18 months. Blackstock also has two children, Savannah and Seth, from a former relationship.
Clarkson explained that Savannah, 16, is newly passionate about politics — for good reason. “I think she’s legit frightened right now,” the singer said. "We said [to Savannah], ‘Hey, in a couple of years, you’re going to vote. Don’t just do what we’re doing. Look up, watch their speeches, who are they? Believe people the first time they tell you who they are. Don’t think they’re going to change. And just be informed.' That’s the best advice I can give anyone.”
We love Clarkson's advice to her stepdaughter — and we admire her ability to address a terrible yet important subject in an accessible, proactive way with her kids.
Regis Philbin and Michael Strahan are two of Kelly Ripa’s former co-hosts, and they are nothing but a distant memory now that she’s formed a bond with her current Live co-host, Ryan Seacrest. Ripa isn’t the only one who loves Seacrest, though. Her husband, Mark Consuelos, is also having a full-on bromance with his wife’s co-worker.
The trio, along with Seacrest’s girlfriend Shayna Taylor, had an epic outing on Saturday night that involved wine, burgers and some serious bro time. On Monday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, the TV hosts recalled their night out, with Ripa teasing Seacrest about how he ordered wine because he requested something, “young, white, French and dry.”
Kelly and Ryan show
Kelly and Ryan show
"Mark turns to me and says, 'I think Ryan just ordered wine — I think,’” she laughed. “The wine was so nice... I just learned that I like dry, young, white and French wine.”
The double date even turned more indulgent when the foursome ordered entrées and an additional burger and fries for the table to share.
Seacrest admitted was a little jealous of Ripa’s husband for his appetite and his fit physique. “Mark had two of the quarters [of the burger] and still has 0 percent body fat,” said Seacrest.
Surprisingly, the famous couples did not create that much of a buzz in the restaurant they were hanging out it, although one woman did recognize Ripa. Seacrest recalled the amusing moment. “You got recognized and the best part is that you were walking in front of me. I could hear the people talking in your wake,” he explained. “And what I heard from one woman was, ‘They’re much bigger on TV.’“
Oh, and if you think a double date between the Live duo and their better halves is a one-time thing, guess again — New York City fans can expect more outings with Seacrest and Ripa. They gushed about their great night out. “As I said to you the next day, thank you and we should definitely do that again,” said Seacrest.
Ripa agreed and confessed how much her husband loves Seacrest and the bromance that is brewing. “He loves you too, so much. It gives him such a sense of satisfaction to just chill with another dude,” summed up Ripa.
I don't know about you, but this sounds like a bromance made in heaven.
We all have that pile of old picture frames gathering dust in a closet somewhere. We've been planning on tossing them for years now, but just haven't been able to bring ourselves to do it. Maybe it's the beginning stages of a hoarding habit, but now we're actually kinda glad we didn't toss that junk — because those old frames are actually prime candidates for some major upcycling.
Dust off your picture frames and get ready to create something beautiful. The cherry on to pis that these repurposing projects are super easy.
Whether you have a pile of mismatched frames around the house or you’re a pro at thrifting, this hanging vase project is the perfect way to give picture frames a fresh look. To complete this gorgeous project, all you need to remodel the frames is a little paint, a few tools and mismatched votives and vases. This is a simple craft for those who aren’t accustomed to DIY projects. Customize these wallflowers with your favorite paint colors and colored glass vases and votives.
Who doesn’t have a ton of pennies in a jar somewhere in the house? Combine that loose change with a picture frame that needs a makeover. You probably have most of the materials you need for this easy project around the house. If you have kids interested in science, this is a fun DIY project to share with the whole family. Even adults will be delighted to see how some simple chemistry changes the color of pennies to create an ombre landscape. Get your hot glue gun fired up to create a unique work of art.
Visit Doodlecraft to learn how to make your own penny art.
Give your frame a totally new purpose by transforming it into a quaint tray that’s perfect for breakfast in bed or for decorating. Use it to display your favorite loose accessories, makeup or remote controls. This easy DIY project makes great use of scrap fabric and doesn’t involve any special tools. Pick up drawer handles at your local hardware store for a few dollars or repurpose them from old furniture. Customize this fun project by choosing your favorite colors and fabric prints.
Visit A Thoughtful Place to find out how to make a cute picture frame tray.
Don’t feel limited by the photo mats at your local crafts store. This super-easy project upcycles old picture frames by creating a totally custom mat with your favorite fabric. Whether you’re displaying a photo in a child’s room or you’re creating a wedding photo project, fabric gives you the possibility to create unique art. These fun mats allow you to make any standard frame look like a treasure.
Actors — and former co-stars — Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are parents first these days, and they're adamant about keeping their kids out of the spotlight.
Although the pair posted an Instagram pic of a That '70s Show tee modeled by their son Dimitri, 9 months old, the photo doesn't show Dimitri's face. And we still don't know whether it was a baby picture of Wyatt (now 2) that Kutcher used in his 2015 Instagram post about the Red Sand Project, a sidewalk art project designed to call attention to human trafficking.
Dimitri
Dimitri
Red Sand
Red Sand
When it comes to their children and social media, Kutcher and Kunis are very low-key on the profile. Kutcher recently explained why during an interview on Thrive Global Podcast with iHeartRadio: "My wife and I have chosen a career where we’re in the public light, but my kids have not, so I think they have the right to choose that."
“We have a private social network that we share stuff with the families so the grandparents can see the kids and stuff... But we don’t share any photos of our kids publicly because we feel that being public is a personal choice," Kutcher said.
Kutcher — who invests in tech companies — discussed his mistrust of social media with the podcast. He ruminated in his interview about what might happen in the future if he and Kunis shared pics of their children publicly. "It’s their private life. It’s not mine to give away... Your social profile is yours to create, not for someone else to create for you," he said. "I actually don’t think that they should have images of them as children that somebody could potentially blackmail with or do whatever."
While that may seem like a grim take on social media and the internet, it's also pretty real — as is the importance of protecting children online. We don't get the feeling that Kutcher is going to cave anytime soon, either. "I am Wyatt and Dimitri’s dad... Everything else is secondary," he said. You tell 'em, Ashton.
Following Ben Affleck's admission last week that he acted inappropriately toward fellow actor Hilarie Burton at an event in 2003, all eyes have been on the Affleck-Garner clan, who is sticking together publicly despite the accusations.
Us Weekly shared photos of exes Affleck and Jennifer Garner out and about on Oct. 12 and 13. They were first spotted taking their children out for ice cream and then photographed the next day attending a private event. They then attended church on Sunday, Us Weekly adds.
All the scrutiny seems to be directed at the interactions between the parents. Is Garner still supporting Affleck or is she furious with his groping admission? Maybe a bit of both?
A source told E! News that Garner "is very annoyed because it just means more attention on her and the kids as a result of Ben's actions." The source added, "She tries to shield them from any and all publicity and scrutiny. She's taking her kids to school and to all of their activities. As far as they know nothing has changed and all is well. That is always her goal but she's been pretty frustrated with him."
Either way, it's clear the two are at least sticking together and keeping things cordial for the sake of their three children.
The couple separated in 2015 and made their divorce official in April 2017. Affleck is currently datingSaturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus and is continuing to work to fight his alcohol addiction. He most recently completed treatment at a rehab facility in March.
Okay, everyone needs to calm down with these wild allegations about why Fixer Upper is ending because chances are, you don't know the entire truth of the matter. You know who does? The actual stars of Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines. In light of this, Chip and Joanna recently got candid about the reason they decided to end their time hosting Fixer Upper after rumors of marital trouble have plagued the couple since the announcement.
During an interview with the Today show on Tuesday, Chip explained, "Look, I'll give [the rumors] a little credence. For us, the most important thing in the world is Jo and I's relationship followed very quickly by these four beautiful kids [of ours]. We didn't want to push it, to redline it for so long that we woke up and realized we are at a point of no return. We wanted to take a step back and focus on what is absolutely the most important thing to us." The couple has four children: Drake, 12, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie, 7.
Joanna added, "We've kind of all grown together. With the audience, they've come alongside with us. On the other side, there's so much encouragement. Even though it was sad, they get it. We have this young, growing family and I just think that was one of the biggest reasons why we wanted to end the show."
chip and joanna gaines today show interview
chip and joanna gaines today show interview
The two announced at the end of September that Season 5 of Fixer Upper would be their last.
In a joint blog post on their site Magnolia Market they wrote, "It is with both sadness and expectation that we share the news that season 5 of Fixer Upper will be our last. While we are confident that this is the right choice for us, it has for sure not been an easy one to come to terms with. Our family has grown up alongside yours, and we have felt you rooting us on from the other side of the screen. How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place."
Of course, the couple was also sure to add that they home renovating adventures were far from over.
"Though our Fixer Upper chapter is coming to a close, we aren’t done with Waco. We aren’t done renovating homes. We aren’t done designing things to make your home your favorite place on earth. We aren’t done working towards restoration in all things or helping out those who could use a hand. In fact, in all of these things, we are just getting started."
The promise of a fresh start for these HGTV stars is exciting, to say the least. It's good to see they aren't letting the shady rumors get them down and are instead moving onwards to the next exciting adventure.
We’re all familiar with lesbian porn. The majority of it is produced with straight men in mind and is therefore designed to live up to their fantasy rather than our reality.
I’ll be honest. I haven’t watched a whole lot of porn, lesbian or otherwise, for a long time — in part because of the aforementioned reason, but also because I’m just more inclined to read my porn.
Romance novels have always been one of the bestselling genres, and it’s for a reason.
I was a teenager when Twilight was trendy. I’m not too proud to admit that I read the books and even somewhat enjoyed them (I had a crush on Alice). But, more significant than my lapse in literary taste was that it led me to the world of fan fiction (this was when smutty fan fics were still referred to as “lemons,” the reason behind which I have literally no idea). So I naturally fell into reading smut instead of watching it.
But mostly, I read porn because (especially with fan fiction) I’m represented there, and I’m often being represented by other people who are like me. In those cases, what I’m reading feels real and plausible, and I’m as turned on by good writing as I am the scenarios being described.
Within the scope of fan fiction and literotica, there is far more inclusion of all genders, sexualities and subcategories. In a way, there is more representation for those who rarely see themselves in other forms of media. With places like FanFiction and Archive of Our Own, authors who care to take pre-existing characters and gender-bend or change their sexuality are not only accepted, they’re celebrated.
The literary world has given us many fantastically layered characters, and yet neglected to put them in situations that people in the LGBTQ community can relate to. By taking already existing characters and bending them, it is the ultimate equalizer. When it comes to erotic content, these characters earn an extra layer in every fan’s mind as they are finally paired with people who represent all people.
Erotica in particular is quite a powerful equalizer because anyone can contribute to it. With porn, there are caveats. You have to have consent from the participants; they have to be filmed; the lighting has to be good; the editing has to be concise enough to get the point but long enough to keep the watcher interested. There are a lot of hoops to jump through. One of the best parts about erotic literature is the instant gratification. You don’t have to cast anyone. You don’t have to pay any crew members. You can make it exactly as you want it.
There is a quick journey from mind to pencil, so for those being underrepresented, the writings of tried-and-true authors are often what we can cling to. Even if they revamp characters or bring their own to the table, these authors live with utter authenticity. The feelings of lust and love are as real as possible because there’s no acting, no pretending. These characters can be as real or detached as the reader wishes them to be.
Beyond all of this, these authors are bringing pleasure, not just in the form of eroticism, but also in the form of literary enjoyment. They serve as a perfect stepping stone for those just discovering their sexuality or perhaps even those on the verge of discovering exactly what they like in terms of a sexual relationship. These stories are comforters. They show people that anything is possible, that nothing is abnormal.
The list of erotica below contains only novels because it’s been so long since I’ve actually sat down to read anything and I keep track of books on Goodreads but have no way of remembering fan fic I’ve read. Some of these have a great plot as well as engaging sex scenes, so it depends on what you’re into.
Starting from Scratch — Georgia Beers
This was the first actual novel (with sex scenes) that I read; previously, I’d just been reading fan fiction, so this book has a special place in my heart. It’s got a great story and it’s super-sexy and the best part is that the cover is so subtle, you can read it anywhere.
There’s a review on Goodreads that summarizes my feelings about this book perfectly. “Cute and fluffy. I’m rather enjoying lately reading books about lesbians who are adults. No coming out stories necessary. Instead, they’re just regular stories about meeting someone and falling in love. They’re sweet and worth the few hours it takes to read them, if only to remind myself that when we get stories that don’t treat us as 'other,' they can be wonderfully boring in their normalcy.”
Reading a story about queer characters that doesn't revolve around coming out is refreshing. While coming-out stories are important, there is more to a queer person’s life than that one event.
This one’s a double whammy — fan fic that got published, and I don’t mean like when Fifty Shades of Grey got published and it gave fan fiction a bad name for eternity. This story is fun and sexy and was originally a SwanQueen (of which I’m an avid 'shipper) fan fic, so it really ticks all the boxes.
It takes us through the main character, Elena, going on a bunch of blind dates even though she’s obviously into the babysitter, Allison. It’s a wholesome story with some very steamy scenes; you won’t want to put this one down.
Sweet and Rough — Sinclair Sexsmith
This one has something for everyone, with 16 erotica stories covering a range of preferences. The stories are all written from prompts taken from Sinclair’s blog, so they are literally the stories that readers asked for. There’s dapper dates, femmes in pretty dresses, flogging, bondage, flirting on the subway, bold moves, strap-ons... and I started typing this list with the L Word theme song in my head.
Sinclair is an adamant believer that sex and politics are linked, especially in queer circles, and this shines in their writing without being on the nose. Sexsmith is a very popular queer erotica writer, so take a look at some of their other work.
Molly Ringwald is the latest actress to come out with a powerful statement about her experience with sexual exploitation and demeaning mistreatment in Hollywood. The Pretty in Pink actress wrote an essay in The New Yorker, adding her voice to the dozens of others that are now coming out to create a chorus Hollywood and the rest of the world can no longer ignore. While Ringwald says she was never sexually mistreated by Harvey Weinstein, there have been plenty of Harveys throughout her career.
She begins: "When I was thirteen, a fifty-year-old crew member told me that he would teach me to dance, and then proceeded to push against me with an erection," she writes. "At fourteen, a married film director stuck his tongue in my mouth on set. At a time when I was trying to figure out what it meant to become a sexually viable young woman, at every turn some older guy tried to help speed up the process. And all this went on despite my having very protective parents who did their best to shield me. I shudder to think of what would have happened had I not had them."
She then goes on to recount a story in which a director asked her to wear a dog collar during an audition, which seemed to be a request that had nothing to do with the action or intention of the scene. Ringwald was so upset she cried in her car after the humiliating experience.
"I could go on about other instances in which I have felt demeaned or exploited, but I fear it would get very repetitive. Then again, that’s part of the point," she wrote. "I never talked about these things publicly because, as a woman, it has always felt like I may as well have been talking about the weather. Stories like these have never been taken seriously. Women are shamed, told they are uptight, nasty, bitter, can’t take a joke, are too sensitive. And the men? Well, if they’re lucky, they might get elected President."
Ringwald's article has been met with an outpouring of support and has helped to continue the conversation that needs to be had.
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If you're experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace and are unsure what to do, call the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at 800-669-4000 for help.
I watched as a very pregnant woman boarded the crowded bus. I assumed someone would offer her a seat before she got to where I was in the very back but no one did. I watched school kids on their phones, grown women and men of all kinds half-glance at her and turn their heads away. I stood up and offered her my seat.
"Maybe it's just because it's winter," I told myself, since bulky clothes meant people were less likely to notice this woman was so obviously pregnant. But I wasn't convinced. After all, I had spotted her from a distance. Surely, someone else must have too?
I didn't think much of the incident after that — until a couple of years later when I got pregnant myself.
I had zero expectations about anyone offering me any consideration or special treatment. Even when I started to show around five months along, I still didn't want anyone to offer up their seat — perhaps because I was being macho and thought, "Hey, I don't need anyone's help." It was a good mentality to have, because as the weeks and months passed and I became larger and more blatantly pregnant, still no one helped me.
By the time I was about eight months pregnant, clearly showing to all the world, it was springtime, and no bulky clothes were hiding my giant belly. That's when I started to feel differently about the world so blatantly ignoring me and my belly.
At eight months pregnant, I'd get tired pretty quickly and would have loved to sit down. I would stand on the bus hovering over able-bodied adults who would turn away and stay seated. I started getting to the bus stop early so I could be first to board, thus increasing my chance of scoring a seat.
But even worse than refusing to offer me a seat, people were flat-out rude to me. Not only did no one extend a courtesy like holding a door, they did one worse and literally pushed past me. You know, because I wasn't walking as fast as I normally could due to the bowling ball I was hauling around, but if you're not going to hold the goddamn door for the pregnant lady, the least you can do is wait for her to walk through it. Why did shoving past a pregnant woman into a doorway become acceptable social behavior?
I took to putting my elbows out when I walked — aggressively protective, trying to avoid someone smashing into my uterus.
My good friend who was pregnant at the same time reached out one day. She asked if anyone had extended me any kindness in public and I relayed that they hadn't. "Me neither," she said. So she decided to start wearing a button. It was big and yellow and read, "Baby on board," and she wore it on her coat in the hopes that people who might have otherwise missed the message that a skinny woman with a giant belly usually indicates. I was excited to see what would happen. Would the common courtesies return?
I reached out a few weeks later to see if anything had changed — if magically the general public could now read the signs, literally, and realize they should be kind.
"Not once," my friend reported back. "No one offered me a seat or any consideration." I was stunned.
I was raised to always help the old lady across the street, to give the homeless man food, to give the pregnant lady my seat. I couldn't believe these basic courtesies were dead as a doornail. Was feminism to blame? Was it because millennial men are being raised to believe women are equal and don't require special treatment? Or does everyone just have their heads up their butts and in their phones so much that they literally don't see the world or those in need around them? Or do they just choose not to see or to care? Has the feminist pendulum swung too far in the other direction?
A few days later, I boarded a crowded train during rush hour. I was nine months pregnant. Another woman boarded holding a tiny baby strapped to her front. No one offered either of us a seat.
I walked over to what appeared to be an able-bodied man and tapped him on the shoulder. I pointed to the woman with the baby and motioned for him to get up. He did. I beckoned to the mother, who looked gratefully my way and took the seat. Of course, no one else got the hint and offered me a seat, but I felt vindicated.
I continued to do this — asking parents with small babies or children if they wanted a seat, and then facilitating for them, asking people who looked healthy and strong and perfectly capable of standing on the bus or train to get up and give their seat up. Of course, I was making an assumption as to who might be able to oblige and I recognize that not all disabilities are visible. But more often than not, there was a young man who had no problem giving his seat up; he just hadn’t thought to extend the courtesy without someone pointing out that he should.
And then, a glimmer of hope emerged. Just days before I gave birth, a man held the door for me as I was leaving a store. I was so stunned I almost forgot to thank him. Not 10 minutes later, I boarded the train car, and a woman and her friend started to get up and offered me their seats. After months of waiting for this moment, I felt immediately guilty. I didn't want anyone doing anything for me. I could fend for myself!
"No thank you," I said to the very kind women. "I'm getting off at the next stop."
Perhaps courtesy isn't entirely dead, but until I become convinced that it's at least on an upswing, I'm going to continue taking matters into my own hands and asking people to give their seat to others in need. And I hope that by the time he's, oh, 7 or so, my baby will give his seat up to pregnant people too.
We're not sure we were prepared for the responses we got when we got a chance to chat with Broad City star Abbi Jacobson, but that doesn't mean they weren't delightful as anything. Jacobson is back on the ground putting together a comedy festival on a plane(yeah, you read that right) in partnership with Virgin Airlines. Called #LiveWithVirgin, the festival's lineup was curated by Jacobson herself and a group of hand-picked and oh-so-talented comedians got to regale a group of strangers in the sky. Jacobson even got to document part of her experience on social media with funny Instagram posts to keep those of us with our feet on the ground entertained and in the loop. If that's not the best way to fly, we don't know what is.
Jacobson opened up with SheKnows in an exclusive email interview about a number of topics, including the aforementioned exciting #LiveWithVirgin event she participated in shortly before the premiere of the animated film she lent her voice to this summer, TheLego Ninjago Movie. The one thing we were most curious to know about was Broad City. After three seasons and with a fourth on the air, this show has become a massive piece of pop culture. That said, with Jacobson and co-star Ilana Glazer's respective careers taking off in a number of different ways, it's only fair to wonder if this comedic duo has an end date in sight. When asked whether she and Glazer had ever discussed the timeline of Broad City, Jacobson said, "It's something Ilana and I talk about, but I don't think it's a specific thing or event. It's more us discussing the show's quality control. There's a point where a show just shouldn't keep going, and I think that's when we'd end it. It would always be a creative decision and not be about our careers — our other projects revolve around the show, and not the other way around."
We also learned what Jacobson's feelings were about airing Broad City during a Trump presidency, an outcome that was poked fun at during the 2016 election and then was heavily discussed in one of Glazer and Jacobson's darker Broad City moments. Here's what she had to say: "The characters are living in a world that is existing within ours, and to write how they are feeling and their frustrations has only amplified ours. There's so much to say right now and so much to consume and learn. It's hard to pinpoint what to look at to either ease the pain of the current climate or to stand up to it. We tried to do both with this season, and it was definitely harder because it is actually personal."
These were just some of the many illuminating, hilarious and exciting answers Jacobson gave during her exclusive interview with us. Check out the other things we learned after speaking to her.
SheKnows: What joke got the most laughs during #LiveFromVirgin?
Abbi Jacobson: To be honest, I'm not sure. Laughs are hard to quantify via social media!
SK: What is the biggest difference between Broad City Abbi and IRL Abbi when it comes to traveling? Who’s the nervous flyer? Who’s checking in for their flight early? Who’s smuggling liquid in a travel-safe-size bottle from outside the terminal onto the plane?
AJ: I would say probably Broad CityAbbi is more nervous and anxious. I fly a lot these days, so I'm getting more used to the ins and outs of feeling comfortable. I try to plan as much as I can, but I think the core of who I am can't help but get in the situation where I am sprinting for a flight. It's the Jacobson curse.
SK: What is the most beautiful thing about comedy?
AJ: Comedy can simultaneously allow you to dive headfirst into the world's pain and escape it.
SK: What's it like corralling a bunch of comedians for one common goal?
AJ: Pretty wonderful. I've had the opportunity to do this in a bunch of different ways, whether it be for Virgin or Broad City or other projects. Collaboration is so essential and satisfying to me. I love when individual voices can make up something bigger and still maintain their originality.
AJ: I think you mean in Disenchantment? I don't know how much I can say about this show, but the experience thus far (I've been recording since about February) has been absolutely incredible. It's just a dream job with the best of the best in animation and comedy. It's such a collaborative environment and I've gotten to bring a lot to the character. I can't wait for it to come out!
SK: What characteristics of your zodiac sign do you embody or relate to the most?
AJ: Oh boy, I should know more about this. I'm an Aquarius. I think we tend to be very creative, free-thinking and emotional? I think I'm a bit of those things.
SK: What's a typical daily routine look like for you?
AJ: A typical day for me changes a lot over the course of the year, depending on what phase we're in on Broad City and then if I'm working on something else, so I have a hard time forming routines. But no matter what, I always start with coffee. I'm pretty addicted, and I listen to the podcast The Daily as I'm getting ready. I feel like I can begin after that. Then I work, again, either writing, shooting or editing the show, or we'll be in press mode. Then I either hang out with friends or make the most basic [food] (I'm not a great cook... yet) and I'll watch something. Then I try to read right before I go to bed.
SK: What's is nonnegotiable when it comes to friendships?
AJ: I think being compassionate of each other's lives and issues. We're all going through different stages and issues, and as I get older, I'm trying to lean into that.
SK: Who are you still dying to work with?
AJ: Frances McDormand.
SK: What personal goals do you have for yourself now that you have such a solid platform and following?
AJ: I made a little pact with myself to only do projects I believe in for one reason or another. Something has to really stand out to me, big or small. I want to be more thoughtful and put things out into the world that say something.
We can't wait to see what's next for Jacobson on the rest of the fourth season of Broad City as well as in the future. With so many exciting projects, including her new show Disenchantment, her podcast A Piece of Work and her artistic endeavors, there's plenty more to get hyped about when it comes to Abbi Jacobson.
Paris Jackson is posing naked again, once more with the intention of making a specific point about body positivity. The 19-year-old posted a nearly nude Instagram photo on Monday, captioning the pic, "Comfortable in my rolls. F*** wit me."
Of course, you'll have to squint your eyes really hard to imagine the rolls Jackson refers to, but still — the message comes through. Jackson feels good about her body regardless of any perceived "flaws" and, in sharing that, she likely hopes to encourage others to embrace their bodies as well.
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Paris Jackson Body Pos
This isn't the first time Jackson has opened up about body image.
When internet trolls attacked her for sporting unshaven arm pits at the VMAs, Jackson simply retweeted the criticism and followed up with a photo of her unshaven legs. When another hater came at her in the spring by saying Jackson had put on weight, Jackson simply responded, "F*** yeah I have."
In an August interview with i-D magazine, Jackson spoke at length about struggling with her own insecurities and learning what it means to be body positive.
"As much as I champion diversity and love seeing beautiful women of all shapes and sizes, I sometimes find it hard to reconcile that with my own body image," she said. "I think all women struggle with it to a certain extent."
Jackson went on to explain that she feels pressure to be perfect like the rest of us.
"Unfortunately in the world we live in, it's almost impossible to feel comfortable in your skin 24/7. Especially with what the media is constantly feeding us. I still have countless insecurities and fears, like everyone else I know. But we're getting there, slowly but surely. Which is a big reason I want to change this fashion/beauty stigma, so it's not as difficult for people around the world to feel beautiful just the way they are," Jackson shared.
If Jackson's latest Insta post is any indication, she's starting to feel more comfortable in her own skin and is just as committed as ever to helping other women feel the same way.
It's a sad day in the fashion world, indeed — former Project Runway finalist Mychael Knight died at 7:25 am EST on Tuesday morning in a hospital outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
The news comes by way of Obvious magazine, which the family has reportedly chosen as their media source to communicate through during this difficult time.
"We are still processing the untimely death of our son, brother, friend, and uncle," the family told the outlet. "Mychael meant everything to us and we loved him dearly. He was generous and so full of life. This is how we choose to remember his legacy."
Although the cause of Knight's death has yet to be released, it is being reported that Knight was surrounded by his friends and family when he passed.
TMZ is reporting that Knight died shortly after checking into the hospital to get treatment for intestinal issues.
Over the last few years, Knight has openly shared his struggles with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. In now deleted Facebook posts, he described having chronic abdominal pain, extreme fatigue and a "leaky gut."
Knight first rose to prominence on Season 3 of the fashion-based reality competition Project Runway. Although he ultimately came in fourth place, Knight earned the "fan favorite" award during his season. He also went on to compete on Project Runway All Stars.
In 2007, Knight launched his own label, Mychael Knight. Other recent accomplishments include a line of custom t-shirts for Starbucks, a male and female lingerie label called Kitty & Dick, and his MajK unisex fragrance. In mid-September 2017, he walked his final runway at New York Fashion Week.
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Mychael Knight 1
Rest in peace, Mychael Knight. The world will surely miss your beautiful designs and sunny outlook.
As more stories continue to emerge in the wake of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein coming to light, another A-list actress is speaking up: Reese Witherspoon. And while Witherspoon did not have any such encounter with Weinstein himself, the Big Little Lies star revealed that another [unnamed] director sexually assaulted her when she was only 16.
It was the first time Witherspoon was sexually abused by someone in the industry but would not be the last, she confessed while speaking at the Elle Women in Hollywood event on Monday night.
"This has been a really hard week for women in Hollywood, for women all over the world, and a lot of situations and a lot of industries are forced to remember and relive a lot of ugly truths. I have my own experiences that have come back to me very vividly and I find it really hard to sleep, hard to think, hard to communicate a lot of the feelings that I've been having about anxiety, honesty, the guilt for not speaking up earlier," she said.
Opening up about her first exposure to sexual harassment in Hollywood, Witherspoon elaborated, "[I feel] true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16-years-old and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment."
Witherspoon hit on an important part of the ongoing conversation surrounding sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood, and that is the system of complicity that has enabled predators like Harvey Weinstein to continue preying on women.
Sadly, like so many women who've come forward, Witherspoon also revealed that the assault she suffered at 16 was not the only assault she has endured during her career.
"I wish that I could tell you that was an isolated incident in my career, but sadly it wasn't. I've had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault, and I don't speak about them very often," she said, adding, "But after hearing all the stories these past few days and hearing these brave women speak up tonight about things that we're kind of told to sweep under the rug and not to talk about, it's made me want to speak up and speak up loudly, because I actually felt less alone this week than I have ever felt in my entire career."
Such is the silver lining of the shocking expose on Harvey Weinstein that brought the horrible allegations against the movie mogul out into the open —women are finally telling their stories, forcefully and unapologetic.
So far, dozens of women (among them Gwyneth Paltrow and Angeline Jolie) have come forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Many other women in the industry, like Witherspoon, are opening up about sexual harassment and assault they've experienced at the hands of other high-profile men in Hollywood.
There you are trying to relax and enjoy your favorite TV show when you hear it: the distinctive sound of licking. And not just any licking — the indescribably scratchy sound made when your dog's tongue runs repeatedly across his paw pad. What gives? It can't taste very good, so why do dogs lick their paws?
And more pointedly, is it something you should be concerned about?
In a word, yes. Any change in your dog's behavior or habit that seems excessive and/or compulsive is worth mentioning to your veterinarian to rule out any serious underlying condition. They will also want to pinpoint whether your dog is dealing with a behavioral or medical condition.
If you're curious in the meantime as to some of the common causes of paw-licking in pups, the culprit could be any number of things. However, according to veterinarian Doug Metzler, the most common cause is allergies.
"Atopy is the term which refers to an allergy to common environmental allergens such as grass, tree and weed pollens, mold spores, dust and dust mites," Metzler told VetLive. "The allergy is initiated by inhaling or skin contact with these allergens. An allergic reaction triggers the release of a cascade of chemicals that are very irritating to the skin, resulting in inflammation and intense pruritus, or itching. Unfortunately, the paws happen to have an abundance of the types of cells that are more than happy to release these irritating chemicals into the skin of your dog's paws."
Metzler notes that the only truly effective way to deal with atopy is to avoid allergens, but then you'd basically have to force your dog to live in a bubble. Instead, Metzler recommends bathing your dog at least once a week, using hypoallergenic baby wipes and even considering an Epsom salt soak.
If the itching doesn't respond or seems to get worse, it's definitely time for a vet visit to determine the best course of treatment.
Other possible medical reasons for paw licking include a bacterial or fungal infection, interdigital cysts, cancers and an injury to the area. Look for any changes to the texture or color of your dog's paw pad. Notice redness? What about flakiness? These things could be indicators of a medical condition. (Of course, they could also be irritation from the constant licking, but either way, it's best to keep an eye out.)
If none of these conditions seem to apply, it's possible your pup has taken up this slobbery pastime for behavioral reasons — think anxiety, boredom or OCD.
Just as there are treatment options available for dealing with medical issues, behavioral modification can help with those that are nonmedical. Yes, it takes time, it takes money, and it takes patience. But it can dramatically improve your dog's mental and physical well-being when their paw-licking has gotten out of control. So, all in all, worth the effort and investment, right?
The first time I went to a consultation with a fertility doctor, I was somewhat unprepared for the litany of questions that would follow. Everything from my menstrual cycle to my exercise routine to my lifestyle (Smoking? Nope. Alcohol? Yep. Too many Diet Cokes? Check.) was fair game. One of the areas the doctor seemed to focus on most was my family's medical history — particularly, my mother's background.
Turns out that maternal age of menopause can be "pretty predictive" of whether one might experience early menopause oneself, says Dr. Spencer Richlin of Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut. "Whenever we see a new patient, one of the questions we always ask is when her mom went into menopause," says Richlin. "The average age of menopause is about 51, so if someone's mom went into menopause in her 40s, that does pose a risk for that patient to go into menopause earlier."
Certain reproductive issues such as endometriosis can also be hereditary. Richlin says that whenever he sees a patient present with classic endo symptoms (such as painful intercourse, painful periods or ultrasounds that show endometriomas), he always asks them to find out whether their mother or sister(s) struggled with endometriosis. "There is definitely a relationship with someone having endo and a family member having it also," says Richlin.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is another possible hereditary disease, but the relationship isn't quite as clear-cut. Irregular cycles and excessive hair growth are the most common signs, and if one's mother struggled with PCOS, Richlin says she "probably has a disposition to it."
Though knowing your mom's medical history may not help with prevention, it can provide crucial answers when dealing with unexplained infertility. Being in the know can also help women in the pre- or early trying to conceive stages keep what Richlin calls "an eye to the future." And he's right — instead of waiting until I was sitting in a fertility doctor's office, it would have served me a lot better to sit down with my mom and learn about her reproductive past as soon as my husband and I got married (which had been over two years before).
"When thinking about reproduction, most people either don't know or are embarrassed or uncomfortable to ask about their family medical history," says Richlin. "I always advise that patients ask the following questions: When did you start trying? How long did it take to become pregnant? When did you go into menopause? Did you have regular cycles? Take all that information, and when you go see your OB-GYN or RE, bring it to the table. Be proactive so that you don't risk missing your window of reproduction."
Thanks to a new test on the market, women may also be able to get an even deeper window into what Richlin calls their "reproductive potential" as it pertains to genetics. Via a simple blood test, Fertilome screens for genetic markers associated with common reproductive conditions (such as diminished ovarian reserve, PCOS and recurrent pregnancy loss).
For those who do uncover potential issues when navigating one's family medical history, Richlin encourages them to remember that a lot has changed in the field of reproduction since our mothers were trying to conceive. Though maternal medical history can provide a lot of helpful information, Richlin says, "Even if it took someone's mom a while [to get pregnant] or they had miscarriages, we don't dwell on it that much because we have the technology to help people get pregnant. We can do so much more now."
