It's difficult to peg exactly when the merry tide turned, but at some point in the past two weeks the Hollywood bump watch went from cooing and congratulatory to downright agitated.
First actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, she of midriff-baring fame, suddenly adopted an uncharacteristic fondness for loose and flowing caftans. Giddy speculation kicked into high gear that Lopez and husband Marc Anthony were finally expecting the family she had long talked of wanting.
Then, said caftan went windswept during Lopez's concert performance this month at Mohegan Sun, revealing an unmistakable bulge. Sweet curiosity turned into genuine irritation - the same now directed at Christina Aguilera. In the past few weeks, paparazzi have snapped the tight-lipped singer shopping with her husband at baby stores, protruding belly leading the way.
Fans, celebrity gawkers and the press at large have demanded to know: Why - just why! - are these women refusing to confirm their obvious pregnancies?
The hoopla has some mothers wondering in return: When did our pregnant bellies become public property?
"Everyone gets excited about people getting pregnant in general. With celebrities, the obsession just goes way beyond," says Carley Roney, editor in chief of TheNestBaby .com, a new Web site for expecting mothers spun off from the popular wedding-planning site TheKnot.com. "But for a lot of women, there's just something nice about having this big, fat secret that's only yours and your spouse's.
"There are such few things that we have that are really private these days. So sometimes, you just want the time to indulge in this personal secret."
Apparently, even if the curve of your belly belies the flimsy secret.
Of the excitement, speculation and growing frustration over Lopez and Aguilera, Joey Bartolomeo, senior writer at Us Weekly magazine, explains that pregnancy stories, like marriage stories, are a way for the general public to relate to the otherwise unrelatable starlets.
"It puts a celebrity on the same level as everyone else. It's just one of these natural things that happens in life that everyone can understand," says Bartolomeo, who has been bump-watching for the magazine. "And for Jennifer Lopez, I think this is someone who had talked about wanting to have a baby so much in the past, so it's something that everyone really wants to happen for her.
"I think people would like to celebrate for her and be excited for her. And the fact that she's not giving people that opportunity makes them almost frustrated."
But as Whoopi Goldberg quipped recently on "The View," what exactly are these fans and celebrity watchers planning to do once the news is confirmed? Send a baby gift?
source:
Are they pregnant? Some celebrities won't say -- Newsday.com
I know they're preggers, just thought this was an interesting read.
Are they or aren't they? The fascination with celebrity baby bump watch
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