Natasha Hamilton of Atomic Kitten fame got engaged for the 5th time recently.
I tweeted a rather ill-advised joke upon reading her happy news. I didn't think anything more of this tweet until it ended up on the Mail Online later that day, complete with my mug shot. It involved my Mum which is why the tweet was ill-advised. She'd go fucking ballistic if she knew.
Anyway, who am I to judge how many engagement rings Natasha Hamilton wants to collect? It's not for me to cast aspersions; walk a mile in my shoes, I always say.
However, I am going to get all Judgey McJudgerson about something regarding Miss Hamilton and I don't think I'm out of order for doing so. Actually, I don't even care if I am.
Apparently, according to Natasha, she received a raft of criticism upon announcing her latest engagement. 'Twitter Trolls' (I am not a troll before anyone accuses me of being one) hit out at Natasha for moving on so swiftly from Ritchie from 5ive and shacking up with her latest fella. Some even upgraded her from being a 4×4 (she has 4 children by 4 different fathers) to a 5×5. Harsh some might say.
I honestly could not give a flying fig if Natasha wants to go and get knocked up by every single member of One Direction, Take That or even Calvin Harris (I'd be jealous) for that matter.
What I do take umbrage with is her justification that it's her business and her business only whose marriage proposal she accepts and how many times she does it and then sells her story to the highest bidder; who this week comes in the form of OK Magazine.
The go to publication for many a Z Lister, OK Magazine love a good engagement tale. In fact they appear to love Natasha's many engagement stories so much they've featured her almost (and actual) nuptials more than once.
Emblazoned with the words "Exclusive Interview" Natasha opens up to the low rent mag regarding her whirlwind romance, how her new fiancé proposed in New York (nice) and how they're planning on moving in together in 2017.
Without so much as a hint of irony, Natasha told the equally low rent publication Mail Online last week that her new relationship status was no one else's business. Fair enough love. Can't argue with that.
The problem with the aforementioned declaration is that it has now become EVERYONE'S business. Well everyone who chooses to part with the 2 English pounds it costs to procure an OK magazine of course.
Let's look at it this way.
I choose to write very personal articles about my life, I invite you the reader to have a gander much like Miss Hamilton has invited OK readers to learn all about her 19th proposal (slight exaggeration I know). So, how rich would it be if I then suddenly announced my life is no one else's business but my own? I've made my business your business. Through my own choice. Just like Natasha had a choice as to whether or not she took OK magazine up on their offer of a presumably paid interview.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Money talks. Celebrities be it A-listers or Z-listers need to take a long hard look at the way they live their lives if they want the privacy and respect they repeatedly bleat on about. Selling your story to the magazine that will pay you the most dough is not the way to command privacy. Be it right or wrong it's an open invitation to be harangued by the general public.
You can't just suddenly decide you don't like the response you're receiving if every time you so much as sneeze you're announcing it to every single glossy mag and tabloid newspaper the country over. Privacy just doesn't work like that I'm afraid.