Rabid fans of "Love is Blind" practically BEGGED the star, Mark Cuevas, to dump his ruthless fiancée on the show ... but he couldn't let her go and his reason kinda makes sense.

BTW ... SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

We got Mark out Thursday in Atlanta and asked him what pretty much every fan of the hit Netflix series has been asking since Jessica Batten dumped him at the altar: why didn't HE dump her way before that after she put him through hell?!?!

Mark tells us the connection he made with Jessica was pretty deep, beyond what fans even saw on the show. The idea of losing that connection, he said, is what made it so hard to kick her to the curb. Heck, he even gave her one of his grandmother's bracelets. Don't worry, he got it back.

For the uninitiated ... the show features singles who get to know each other by talking through a wall inside a pod. If they make a connection, they can only meet face-to-face if they agree to get engaged and they immediately begin planning the wedding.

Mark and Jessica got off to a strong start but Messica -- as fans dubbed her -- became the villain when she two-timed Mark and started talking to Matt Barnett, who hinted he'd propose to Jessica ... but backed out.

Eventually, Mark proposed to Jessica, but the wheels quickly fell off ... capped by Jessica's drunken confession about the other guy, and her jilting Mark.

But watch the vid, Mark tells us why he'll always have love for Jessica -- but he plays it pretty coy when we ask if he's dating anyone else these days.

Lil Scrappy and his wife Bambi Benson are adding to their brood ... with baby No. 2 on the way!!!

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... the "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" stars are ecstatic about expecting their second kid together. We're told Bambi is currently around 18 weeks pregnant but they don't know the gender just yet. It's still a tad bit too early to tell.

But the celebration's most certainly underway. Lil Scrappy and Bambi -- who got married in September 2017 -- are overjoyed and excited to add to the family. They had their first baby together in September 2018 ... 1-year-old son Breland.

This will be Scrappy's third child. He has a daughter, Emani, from a previous relationship.

Wayne Gretzky says fighting in the NHL might not be around much longer ... and tells TMZ Sports he can see a scenario where it's officially banned from the league.

"You've cleaned it out of minor hockey, junior hockey, college hockey," The Great One says. "It's not really part of our game anymore."

Of course, the issue of fighting in the sport is being brought up again after an AHL player was hospitalized after he took a haymaker to the face in an on-ice tilt earlier this week.

When we ran into Gretzky in NYC on Thursday ... he told us despite the terrifying scene, fights are still going to happen in hockey every now and then.

But, he added the league appears to be getting closer and closer to seeing the scraps become extinct.

"There's less and less fights every year," Gretzky says. "Kids grow up now and nobody fights. In the old days, they used to fight at 15, 18, 20, but now they all grow up and nobody fights."

When we asked Gretzky -- who rarely ever threw down in his 20-year NHL career -- if he could see the league inputting a rule prohibiting the knuckle chucking, he told us, "You never know."

Debbie McKee (now Debbie McKee-Fowler) was only 4 years old when her grandparents, O.D. and Ruth McKee, used her image ... combined with artist Pearl Mann's creativity ... to make the now incredibly iconic logo for their booming snack company Little Debbie.

Debbie McKee-Fowler is still in the family biz ... and now sits as the Executive Vice President of McKee Foods Corporation.

Little Debbie has continued to crank out some of the most notable snacks on the shelves for close to a century including ... Swiss Cake Rolls, Honey Buns, Star Crunch, Strawberry Shortcake Rolls, Nutty Bars, Cosmic Brownies, Zebra Cakes, Oatmeal Creme Pies ... and many, many more.

Harvey Weinstein is as happy as can be -- despite the looming possibility of nearly 30 years in prison -- but prison officials need not worry he'll kill himself ... according to his attorney.

Arthur Aidala, one of Weinstein's lawyers for the NYC criminal case, was leaving Michael's Thursday in NYC when we asked about his client's state of mind. Weinstein remains under police guard in a Bellevue Hospital room reserved for prisoners, and Aidala says he's in good spirits.

He told us Weinstein is focused on issues regarding his plan to appeal the guilty verdicts. The disgraced movie mogul also offered a review of the treatment he's been getting from Dept. of Corrections staffers.

As we reported, NY prison officials are worried Weinstein's eventual prison stay will go the way of Jeffrey Epstein, but Aidala says he does NOT share those concerns.

In his words, there's no comparison between the two, because unlike Epstein, Weinstein "has everything to live for." Watch the clip ... he's convinced there are at least TWO major reasons Weinstein would never take his own life behind bars.

Tyler Perry is not convinced his nephew hanged himself in prison, and he's hired a famous medical examiner to determine if he committed suicide or if he was killed in his cell.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyler's nephew, 26-year-old Gavin Porter, was serving 20 years for shooting and killing his dad in front of his mom -- who's Tyler's sister. He was found Tuesday night hanging in his cell from a bedsheet.

One of the reasons Tyler is suspicious ... Gavin got into a fight with another inmate last weekend and was placed in solitary.

Tyler tells TMZ, "Call me naive, but it was my hope that after serving his time, and really reflecting and showing much remorse and asking God for forgiveness, that he would have been able to come to work for me, joining all the other former inmates who work for me and turn his life around just as they have. But that day will never come."

Tyler says he's hired Dr. Michael Baden, a famed pathologist who has been involved in numerous cases, including JFK, O.J. and Jeffrey Epstein. Dr. Baden will perform a second autopsy.

Skai Jackson seems to be taking Bhad Bhabie's death threat seriously ... because she just filed for a restraining order against the rapper.

Bhad Bhabie went on IG this week to call out 17-year-old actress Skai Jackson, whom she's recently started beefing with. The latest salvo ... an apparent death threat, with BB -- AKA Danielle Bregoli -- saying, "Bitch, I'll kill you! I'll really kill you!"

The reason ... BB's mad Skai allegedly made a fake account to talk s**t about Danielle recently being seen hanging out with rapper NBA YoungBoy -- a guy Bhabie seems to think Skai's pretty into herself. As Bhad Bhabie claims in her own words, Skai's moving "sneaky" online.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Skai filed in L.A. on Thursday. Earlier this week on Twitter she seemingly responded to all the drama with a long list of her own accomplishments.

By the end of the post, she writes ... "No time 4 negatives!"

It's unclear if the judge has approved the order.

We reached out to Bregoli's reps who had no comment on the situation with Skai, but say Danielle's focus is on her album.

"The Most Magical Place on Earth" became the wettest place for a group of theme park guests who got caught on a sinking vessel ... the park's famous Jungle Cruise.

One of the boats at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando started taking on water, which meant everyone onboard had to trek through the water, and try to climb to dryer conditions.

As you can see, there wasn't much wiggle room, but it's an amusement park -- no one was in danger of drowning here. Just a soaking inconvenience.

As you can see ... the Jungle Cruise waterways are pretty shallow.

The boat, named the "Bomokandi Bertha," reportedly sank around 12:30 and caused the ride to be shut down for nearly 2 hours. During that time the wet passengers were safely unloaded -- no injuries, besides wet socks -- and the boat was towed away.

Ya gotta hope everyone at least walked away with FastPasses for their troubles. Titanic this ain't. In fact, kinda reminds us of another "dangerous" river crossing.

Offset's officially following the lead of his wife -- he's adding actor to his resume ... along with hip-hop star.

The Migos rapper's set to make his acting debut on "NCIS: Los Angeles" and TMZ got a sneak peek. Offset plays the role of an undercover CIA agent being approached by the show's stars -- Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J -- to save a special agent who's been captured.

Gotta say, it's pretty solid ... much like Cardi B's Hollywood debut last year in "Hustlers."

As an added bonus, Offset's guest spot will feature the world premiere of his new track, "Danger" .... which you can hear in the clip.

According to a behind-the-scenes vid ... LL says Offset hit him up about getting involved with the hit CBS show and he helped him get going, but Offset did the rest.

They say the role is significant because it's not the normal rapper-turned-actor typecast situation ... and it's clear they're pretty stoked about that.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro has won a battle in his domestic violence case but there's still a full war to settle.

Prosecutors dropped 2 charges against the 'Jersey Shore' star in his domestic violence case with Jen Harley. Ronnie was arrested last October after an explosive fight at their Airbnb in L.A., and faced 7 charges. Now, according to docs obtained by TMZ, prosecutors asked the judge to drop 2 of those charges -- brandishing a weapon and criminal threats.

The judge has already signed off on the prosecutor's request.

A rep for the City Attorney's Office tells us they amended the complaint based on the evidence. Ronnie's attorney, Scott Leemon, tells us, "The facts and circumstances relating to the arrest and charging of Ronnie were exaggerated and actually incorrect."

He went on to say, "The City’s Attorney agreed with us and dismissed 2 of the pending charges against Ronnie. They agreed that these allegations were baseless and made up. We are hoping further investigation will yield similar results."

As we reported ... Jen alleged she suffered bruises and scrapes during an altercation with Ronnie that resulted in cops busting through the door and Tasing him before slapping cuffs on him and wheeling him out on a gurney.

He later pled not guilty to 7 misdemeanors -- domestic violence, child endangerment, brandishing a weapon, criminal threats, false imprisonment [of Jen] and 2 counts of resisting arrest. It's now down to 5 misdemeanors.

And here ... we ... go!!!!

Tom Brady might really be on his way outta Foxborough ... 'cause his agents have been busy meeting with potential suitors while in Indy for the NFL Combine, this according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Talks of TB12 leaving the Patriots intensified on Thursday ... with ESPN's Jeff Darlington going as far as to say he'd be very surprised if the 6-time champ returned to New England.

Now, the NFL Network is naming names ... with Rapoport saying the Colts, Raiders and Chargers have met with Brady's longtime agents, Don Yee and Carter Chow, about their superstar client.

In fact, TMZ Sports spoke with Brady's old teammate, Willie McGinest, who also believed the 42-year-old QB could either retire or end up elsewhere ... so don't be shocked if it actually happens.

As for Brady ... he's probably gonna troll the hell outta everybody until he makes his decision -- whether it be Hulu ads or triggering comments on Keenan Allen's IG posts.

Take a deep breath, Pats fans ... and remember the man brought you 6 rings.

Also, if you think Pats owner Robert Kraft is simply going to let Tom walk out the door without making a solid effort to re-sign him, you clearly didn't watch our shaky, hard-to-hear 12-second BOMBSHELL clip from a few weeks ago.

Originally Published -- 1:12 PM PT

Drew Carey is paying his last respects to Amie Harwick, his ex-fiancee who he called "a beautiful person who didn't deserve to die like she did."

"The Price is Right" host looked understandably somber Thursday morning outside the Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home in Pennsylvania. He walked into the wake, along with Amie's family and friends.

Several of her loved ones cried and hugged outside the funeral home.

As we reported ... Carey opened up about Amie's tragic death recently on his SiriusXM show, calling his engagement to her the "best relationship of my life." He says they shared a special connection over music, and he shared a setlist he made specifically for her.

We broke the story ... Harwick was killed after she was allegedly attacked by an ex-boyfriend in her home, which caused her fatal fall from a third-story balcony.

Gareth Pursehouse has been arrested and charged with her murder. Pursehouse had a long, troubling history with Harwick ... beginning when she filed for restraining orders against him nearly a decade ago.

The highly anticipated push-up contest between Dr. Oz and Mark Wahlberg -- all over their breakfast beef -- just went down, and we have a winner ... but it was closer than you think!

After all their trash-talking over whether people should skip breakfast -- the doc thinks you should, Mark says chow down -- they finally met up at an F45 Training gym in L.A. for the showdown.

The gladiators decided on a race to 59 push-ups -- for Dr. Oz's age -- but Wahlberg made it an even 60 ... and won by a few seconds. Pretty close, but take a look -- seems like the buff movie star was toying with the doctor a bit. Looks like Mark edged him out in form too, but keep in mind he IS 11 years younger. If ya need a reminder, check out the abs!

Afterward, Dr. Oz was feeling pretty good about his performance, and even thinks he might have gotten the better of Mark. Debatable, but he also tells us Wahlberg is trying out intermittent fasting and has come to the #cancelbreakfast table.

So, long story short ... the fitness challenge itself went to Mark, but Oz may win in the long run if Mark changes his daily diet. One thing's clear -- both of these guys really care about staying fit and healthy ... after the challenge they ran through an F45 workout.

Cathy Silvers -- best known for playing Jenny Piccalo on "Happy Days" -- had a painful day biking and hiking SoCal mountains ... ending up with broken bones and a helicopter rescue.

The actress tells TMZ ... she and her new BF were mountain biking through the canyons in Santa Clarita, north of L.A., when they decided to do a little rock climbing as well. Pretty adventurous date!

Unfortunately, as they were making their descent on Sunday, Cathy says she heard a loud crack in her leg and was unable to walk. We're told her BF had to carry her downhill for about an hour -- while she was in shock -- before he could finally call 911.

Once search and rescue was notified, we're told it took another couple hours to locate Cathy because they were at altitude, and eventually a helicopter had to be dispatched to find her and transport her to a hospital. She says her pain was almost unbearable during the hours long ordeal.

At the hospital, doctors put her leg in a cast -- turns out she broke 2 bones. Cathy thanks the L.A. County Sheriff Search and Rescue team and Fire Department for saving her ... along with her heroic BF.

By the way ... this was only their second date! Cathy says he's a lock for a third.

Famed tightrope walker Nik Wallenda's not the least bit shaken about his upcoming volcano stunt after another daredevil's recent death -- 'cause he says life or death is just his thing.

We got Nik out Thursday in NYC, and wondered if he's at all concerned about walking over the very active Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua next week. That will come on the heels of daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes' fatally crashing a rocket in California.

Nik, who last summer tightrope walked 25 stories over Times Square, says there's no doubt he's risking his life but this is the business he was literally born into, and risk is just his reality. That being said, Nik admits he has some logistical concerns ... with the volcano itself.

He says the acidic gases it emits add a layer of stress. Nik, who is training with wind machines and an oxygen-deprivation mask, said the volcanic gases could pose a real threat to the wire. Then there's the heat, but oddly he's less worried about that.