Secrets for Sale
Di's ex-beau—a.k.a. the Love Rat—puts her letters up for bid

An undercover operation in England. Sought-after top-secret letters. Plenty of sex. The formula for the next James Bond movie? Nope, just the latest royal pain brought to you by Britain's scandalicious tabloids. (Call it Di Another Day, perhaps.) At a London hotel on Dec. 14, James Hewitt—the ex-cavalry officer who was Princess Diana's secret lover for five years—agreed to sell 64 of Diana's letters to a Swiss tycoon for nearly $16 million. But he wasn't dealing with a tycoon. The man before him was an undercover reporter for the News of the World, which gleefully exposed the episode—along with spicy excerpts from the Gulf War-era letters—in its pages. " 'I'm glad to hear about my friend, let's hope he is okay,' " Hewitt's attorney read from one letter, explaining, "That's a reference to part of James's physique." Diana didn't come off as a jealous type: "No doubt you've looked around all the ladies by now and I wonder what your scorecard looks like," she wrote. "All chicks look good with a tan."

St. James's Palace, unsurprisingly, had no comment. Hewitt, 44, who according to tab reports is facing bankruptcy for unpaid taxes, had reportedly promised Princes William and Harry he wouldn't cash in on the letters. So what's his excuse? Hewitt "was responding to what seemed to be a genuine third-party offer from someone who had no intention of publishing," says his attorney Michael Coleman. And what would happen now, if a sincere buyer approached Hewitt? Would he sell? "If it is a real offer and it is real money, then yes," says Coleman. "He is in receipt of his army pension and doesn't work at the moment. Like anyone, he could do with the money and it would certainly give him financial security." He already has a British tabloid nickname—the Love Rat—and the enmity of his peers. "He doesn't want to leave England; it is his home," says Coleman. "Yet he gets vilified."

Crowe Decides It's Nesting Time

Has Russell Crowe, 38, sown his last wild oat? On Nov. 26 the brawling Aussie took a willing step closer to domesticity when he proposed to his on-again, off-again girlfriend for years, singer-actress Danielle Spencer, 32.

At their usual corner table at Darcy's restaurant in Sydney, Crowe dined on Oysters Kilpatrick while his bride-to-be picked at asparagus and parmesan cheese. He popped the question. "I never saw him go down on one knee or anything like that," says Attilio Marinangeli, the restaurant's owner. And Spencer's father, mother and brother also arrived.

"That's when I knew something special was happening," says Marinangeli. When the restaurant offered the couple champagne, they declined, opting instead for their favorite wine, Shaw & Smith's Sauvignon Blanc, and Peroni, an Italian beer.

A date for the wedding—the first for Crowe—has not been set, but if the engagement is any indication, guests should plan on packing overnight bags. "The party went on to about 4 a.m., and I ended up cooking them scampi when everyone started getting hungry," recalls Marinangeli. "It was a long night, but it was a great night."

Dude, Where's 2002?

When That '70s Show star Ashton Kutcher was growing up in Homestead, Iowa, New Year's meant cornfield keggers around a roaring bonfire. Or at least that's what he thinks. "I would just get hammered," says Kutcher, 24, who'll cohost MTV's New Year's Eve Pajama Party with Brittany Murphy this 31st. Times change.

"Now if you don't make it till midnight, you're the loser." And this year? "I'll be kissing Brittany," says Kutcher, who clicked with Murphy, 25, on the set of their comedy Just Married, due Jan. 10. "I'm spending the holidays with her family, which is cool." So is keeping resolutions. Kutcher, who says he quit "indulging in marijuana" five years ago, plans to smoke his last tobacco cigarette that night. "I'm gonna try," he says. "God loves a trier."

Monica for the Defense
From the if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em department: This month Monica Lewinsky, 29, took the LSAT, the test for admission to law school. (Columbia University and N.Y.U. are among her picks if accepted.) Her proposed field of practice on gaining a degree? "Child advocacy is close to my heart." Not politics? "I don't think so."

Hurley: Nada, Bing!
On Dec. 17 a London High Court ordered movie producer Stephen Bing, 37, to pay a whopping $159,000 a year to Elizabeth Hurley, also 37, until their 8-month-old son Damian Charles Hurley turns 18. Only one problem. "The money is not wanted or welcome," responded Hurley. "Damian and I are managing very well by ourselves." You may remember that when Hurley announced she was pregnant in November 2001, Bing, her former boyfriend, cast doubts as to whether he was the father of the unborn child. A paternity test later proved he was. Animosity ensued. Bing, an heir to a real estate fortune, later asked for a court ruling on paternity payments—even though Hurley has said she didn't want his money. Bing's rep told Reuters that if Hurley refuses to accept his "generous provision for his son," he'll put the payments in trust for Damian.

Peace in Our Time
In troubled times, it's good to know that rapprochement is possible. This week's hopeful sign comes from Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. The pair, who broke up last spring after three years, ran into one another at Suite 16, a Manhattan nightclub, on Dec. 13. "Justin was already there when Britney showed up," says one onlooker. "When she found out [he was in the club], she stayed in the car, primping." Meanwhile Timberlake remained inside, hanging with band-mate JC Chasez, singer Craig David and The Sopranos' Robert Her. When Spears, 21, made her entrance a half hour later, she and Timberlake, also 21, kissed on the cheek and spoke briefly. Later, Spears walked to the DJ booth and played a song from Timberlake's new album. "Justin and Britney had a little interaction from the DJ booth," says the onlooker, who notes that the two left separately.
"It was really pretty sweet."

POP QUIZ

with Sean Penn

Sean Penn spent three days in Baghdad last week at the invitation of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a policy analysis group in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Following a visit to a local hospital and a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, Penn, 42, held a brief press conference. Scoop participated.

Are you concerned about the perceptions raised by an American visiting Iraq today?
I believe it's very shaky ground for me, as an American citizen, to presume expertise I don't have. I came here to learn, and not to teach.

Why Baghdad, why now?
I needed to come here and see a smile, see a street, smell the smells, talk to the people and take that home with me. If we are going to defy the accepted notion that to kill is in man's nature, now is the time.

Do you have any fears of being blacklisted at home?
I don't. I believe in my country. I would hope that would be an irrelevant aspect of a decision to do what I feel is the right thing to do.

Your thoughts about the public responsibilities of Hollywood movie figures?
I believe we've left the talking and the negotiations and the journalism to the experts for a long time and it has left us at the brink of war. We all have a responsibility, whatever we do for a living.

Think you'll be able to tell someone at the White House about your trip?
I have a fairly fertile imagination. The first thing I intend to do is to bring back my experience to my daughter [Dylan, 11], who is in the midst of a school report on Mesopotamia. I'll show her my pictures of the Tigris river.

The Iraqis have seen your movies. Are you recognized on the streets of Baghdad?
Some people knew who I was. Casualties of War came up. Dead Man Walking came up.

What's next?
One day at a time. I hope this war does not happen.

ON THE BLOCK HOUSE OF TOMMY
Former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, 40, now engaged to Mayte Garcia, 29, Prince's ex, is selling the Malibu home he used to share with his famous ex, Pamela Anderson. Bad memories may be one of the reasons for Lee's departure: In June 2001 a 4-year-old boy accidentally drowned in the swimming pool during a birthday party for one of the drummer's two children. The 7,400-sq.-ft. estate, built in 1991, features six bedrooms, a media room, a three-car garage and an elevator. Asking price: $3 million.

 

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