Heather Mills is planning a seven-day divorce party for her and 25 of her closest friends. The cost? $500,000. Mills plans to fly the group to Necker Island, a private Caribbean spot, to the tune of $49,000 a night.

The interesting bit about this is the fact that Mills was extremely concerned with her public image during the divorce proceedings with ex Paul McCartney. She made a point of rebutting comments that she was only in it for the money, vehemently denying she was a "gold-digger," and emphasizing that she needed proper support to care for their daughter, Beatrice.

But the extravagance of this party seems to speak otherwise.

Don't get me wrong. It's her money now, fair and square. She entitled to do with it what she pleases. Not sure if it's sending the right message, which seems to be a little "in your face, Paul," doesn't it?

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First Wives World productions brought "Hot Flashes," the FWW-exclusive fictional blog by television-alum Mimi Schmir (Grey's Anatomy, Shark, Felicity) to the people on Thursday — and the people raved. A-listers from both coasts mingled at NYC hot-spot Ultra, gathering to listen to film, television, and theater's finest actresses read excerpts of Schmir's take on the rollercoaster that is menopausal life through the eyes of her heroine, Esme. "As we had hoped, Thursday night became a true convergence of emotions, connections, and industries," says FWW partner Jonas Neilson.

Amy Brenneman (Private Practice, Judging Amy), Kim Raver (Lipstick Jungle), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), and Jessica Hecht (Friends) brought Esme to life as they read episodes of the first-person blog. Neilson explained that the second official reading underscored what Business Week described as "Broadway to Broadband" (and now potentially "Broadcast") as never before.

"It was a wonderful event showing what 'Hot Flashes' represents, and it was interpreted wonderfully by the great performances of our actresses," notes First Wives World's Antonio Martinez. "They gave it a new life that just exploded from the page."

Adds Neilson: "It's one thing to set out to build a social network for women to connect with women; it's another to have them connect emotionally with a fictional character and narrative in such a new, innovative way. Seeing the crowd laugh, emote, and join in Esme's journey was a quite a moment for all of us."

Curious? Check out "Hot Flashes" here.

(Photo: Frank Siciliano)

Back by popular demand, "Hot Flashes" is hitting Manhattan!

First Wives World productions is preparing to bring "Esme" to a live audience tonight in a second reading of "Hot Flashes," the FWW-exclusive fictional blog by television-alum Mimi Schmir (Grey's Anatomy, Shark, Felicity). Hollywood's hottest will gather over champagne and hors d'ouevres to read excerpts of Schmir's take on the rollercoaster that is menopausal life through the eyes of her heroine, Esme.

Broadwayworld.com aptly summarized the unique opportunity within "Hot Flashes," explaining that the blog is "venturing into a subject area that has yet to be explored on television: Menopause as mid-life reinvention."

FWW's premiere reading took place in Los Angeles in February, with actresses Amy Brenneman (Private Practice, Judging Amy), Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives), Kathyrn Morris (Cold Case), and Natasha Henstridge (Commander-in-Chief) reading portions of the true-to-life blog to an intimate gathering of television and film professionals.

Amy Brenneman will resume the role of Esme tonight; Kim Raver (Lipstick Jungle), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), and Jessica Hecht (Friends) will join her in bringing FWW's favorite heroine to life.

The reading will take place today, Thursday, April 24th, in Manhattan. Check back tomorrow for full FWW coverage!

A recent CNN article highlighted divorce parties — and made a strong argument for the growing trend. Much like a wedding ceremony, a divorce party celebrates a pivotal transition in life. In fact, L.A.-based Christine Gallagher runs The Divorce Party Planner, a company devoted solely to planning such events.

Gallagher says divorce is a part of life, yet it's the only major milestone for which there is no ritual.

One divorcee that was interviewed agrees, adding that something as simple as a toaster, a common registry gift, means much more after a split than on the wedding day and recently set up a divorce registry for a friend. (Especially after hefty legal bills.)

Another ceremoniously reclaimed her maiden name. Former beauty queen Shanna Moakler held a Vegas bash, complete with a knife-wielding-bride cake topper. The groom? Dead. (The miniature one, of course. The real groom, Travis Barker, is alive and well.)

We're pro-divorce party. What better way to usher in a new perspective on life than with your closest friends and family.... Out with the old, in with the new, right?

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We've written before about wedding ring coffins, a tiny coffin, perfect for giving your ring a proper send off and perhaps for giving some closure to your divorce.

Did you purchase a wedding ring coffin? Do you know someone who's having a divorce party? Are you planning a ring burial? Well, if you do/are, be sure to bring your video camera.

The people at weddingringcoffin.com are now giving you the chance to win $1,000 by demonstrating what the wedding ring coffin is all about.

Here's what you do:

Make a video — less than two minutes — that includes the wedding ring coffin and what it means to you. You can be funny, serious, overjoyed, depressed — whatever, it's all up to you. Then upload your video to YouTube and send it in. For more information and to register click here.

The best part is, you don't actually even have to purchase a wedding ring coffin to participate as the company has made images available on their media page for just that purpose.

So, have an idea to send that ring packing? Could you use an extra $1,000 to boot? Give it a try, you might just get lucky!

There has been some speculation as to whether Hollywood celebrities take marriage as seriously as the rest of us "normal" folk, and not only that, but some also speculate whether they use marriage/divorce to gain publicity.

I think that, like everything else in life, there is probably no black or white here. There are probably some celebrities who do take their marriages seriously. There are probably some celebrities that divorce and go through the same motions and emotions that all of us "normal" people do.
And there are probably those that don't.

Case in point: I think anybody would be hard pressed to say that Britney Spears's first marriage was something that she thought seriously about. And how about the marriages of Angelina Jolie, Pam Anderson, and Renee Zellweger? Probably not something they took too seriously, considering the outcomes.

But then there are those that do or did. Paul Newman, Johnny Cash, Will Smith, amongst others. Get my point?

I don't like judging people, even when those people are celebrities, and if I've learned anything thus far it's that we all have our own set of circumstances that have brought us to where we are.

Not being a celebrity myself, I can only imagine how hard it is to maintain a "real" relationship under such scrutiny. I wonder how I would feel if it were my boyfriend or husband plastered on the cover of US Weekly under a headline that proclaims "Is He Cheating?!" I wonder how I would feel in a relationship having virtually no privacy and knowing full well that — at the very least — the media can't wait for us to break up.

And, if celebrities do use breakups to gain publicity, well then one might say, good for them. I mean, we do buy it.

The husband-and-wife team of Anton and Nataliya Popazov, performers in the Moscow State Circus, have been married for 20 years — and performing their daredevil act for many of those.

Make that "former husband-and-wife team." The two are currently in the throes of a divorce, yet they must fulfill the remaining eight months of their contract with the circus. The result? As part of their performance, Nataliya will continue to shoot an apple off of Anton's head with a crossbow.

As Anton told The Times of London, "I still trust her because Nataliya is very professional. It's not every man's cup of tea to have his ex-partner firing arrows at him every day, but the show must go on."

We can think of more than one divorcee who would love the chance to "perfect" her aim...

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Forget about those Santa Ana winds. Oscar's embers blew directly into Ann Blanchard's house Tuesday night as Hollywood honchos, TV execs, first and second wives, along with various and sundry well-wishers gathered for a reading of Mimi Schmir's fictional and hilarious "Hot Flashes" blog...

The confab, masterminded by the former William Morris überagent who's now with Mosaic Media, drew Hollywood's finest TV and film actresses who read selections from the blog which chronicles the rollercoaster antics of Schmir's heroine, Esme, a late 40s-ish divorced mother of two. While I wasn't in Ann's parlor experiencing the "Hot Flashes," faux and for-real, firstwivesworld.com's intrepid correspondent reports the evening was a scorcher. Yes, HOT or you know, HOT!

Actresses Amy Brenneman ("Private Practice" and "Judging Amy"); Dana Delany ("Desperate Housewives"); Kathyrn Morris ("Cold Case"); and Natasha Henstridge ("Commander-in-Chief") each morphed into Esme as they read portions of the edgy blog that began on firstwivesworld.com. And they say there aren't any good parts for women?? Huh?!

Schmir, a writer for TV hits "Grey's Anatomy" and "Shark," was feted for her fiesty and comedic portrayal of the daily exploits of a pre-menopausal late 40s mom who's trying to move on with her life after a divorce in which her husband leaves her for a younger model (surprise, surprise). "Hot Flashes" just may be the next "Starter Wife" but there's a difference: "Hot Flashes" started on firstwivesworld.com, yes, the Web baby, and is destined for episodic television.

I've read about the spiritual divorce. I've read about divorce-as-catalyst-for-change. Now I'm about to read something a little more pragmatic.

There's a new book out called You Can Keep The Damn China: And 824 Other Great Tips On Dealing With Divorce that's looking pretty good. It's from a series called Hundreds Of Heads, which takes the "two heads are better than one" theory and multiplies it by, well, hundreds. The article I read about the book highlighted some of the tips and anecdotes offered, but I checked out the Amazon listing as well. My favorite so far? "One day, you just wake up and say, ‘I made a big mistake. I'm out of here.' My advice? Do it. Don't overthink it."

The book outlines various stages in the divorce process and offers support for what seems to be every possible obstacle. From deciding to divorce to figuring out how to tell friends and family to making the decision to remain friends with your ex, it's all covered.

Personally, if people got one piece of good advice from the over 800 tips on offer, I think that would be a good deal. Although the title piece, "You Can Keep The Damn China" is probably some great advice in itself. Don't fight over junk. Leave, start a new life and buy your own damn china.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a section on its Web site where they toss out issues for discussion and let readers enter their comments on the topic. They did one this week on dating after divorce, and it got a ton of traffic and a lot of interesting, honest responses.

This is a subject that gets covered an awful lot by newspapers and magazines. But after you read too many “tips on dating after divorce” stories, it’s easy to lose interest. They get stale after a while. The advice is always the same: Don’t rush into something you’re not really ready for, don’t introduce your date to your kids too soon, etc. If you have half a brain in your head, you know these things.

But I was pretty impressed with the depth and variety of the reader responses here. I found them far more interesting than most of the “staff-written” stories I’ve read on the subject. And that stands to reason: The responses are real.

One woman wrote about how she watched her mom go through two divorces, 14 years apart, and how challenging it was to understand and deal with what was happening, the first time at age 3 and again at age 17. Another person said it’s not a good idea to set firm milestones for a post-divorce relationship, such as “I’ll introduce my date to my kids once we get to six months.”

The whole thing is just a refreshing take on the topic, and worth reading.

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