Breakups

Stephen Collins is a lowlife who is deflecting his confessed child molestation by falsely accusing his wife of offering to cover up his misdeeds for a hefty price ... this according to her lawyer.

Faye Grant's attorney, Larry Ginsberg, tells TMZ, Collins' lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, has defamed Grant by accusing her of extortion. Kaplan says Grant held the audio over Collins' head for a price.

Ginsberg says Grant did not peddle the audiotape to the media ... rather she gave it to both the NYPD and the LAPD 2 years ago after he refused to get help for pedophilia.

And contrary to Kaplan's claim Grant wanted to fleece Collins out of his entire fortune ... Ginsberg says, "Faye never asked to receive more than the 50% of the community property to which she is entitled."

As for the extortion claim ... Ginsberg says absolutely not true. He does say Grant requested he create a trust fund for their daughter and make a contribution to a charitable organization benefiting sexually abused kids, but Ginsberg says it's outrageous to call that extortion.

Stephen Collins' lawyer is putting his client's estranged wife Faye Grant on blast, claiming she has been trying to use the audiotape for years to extort money out of the actor.

Collins' lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, tells TMZ, "Over the course of my representation of Stephen in the divorce case, Faye has repeatedly threatened to give this audiotape to the media unless Stephen agreed to pay her millions of dollars more than that to which she was legally entitled."

Kaplan goes on, "When these demands were rebuffed, Faye attempted -- without success -- to peddle the tape in numerous ways to numerous different people. It appears that she has finally found an audience for this tape -- not surprisingly, on the eve of the trial in the divorce case where, again, she is seeking millions of dollars more than that to which she is legally entitled."

Kaplan then says he'd like to address the audio confession but can't, saying, "Though we would like to address the tape itself, the circumstances dictate that we must regrettably refrain from doing so at this time."

And a source close to Collins says the incidents on the audiotape occurred between 20 and 40 years ago.

Michael Strahan punched his ticket Monday night for the SMOKE SHOW ... as in the ridiculously hot chick he was out with in New York City.

Strahan was in full swag mode -- stepping out of his Bentley -- with a brunette AND a blonde, but as the group strolls into the Mercer Hotel, it's pretty obvious the brunette is THE CHICK ... and the blonde is just the friend.

TMZ has learned the brunette is Marianna Hewitt -- an Internet makeup blog host and former beauty queen -- and in the vid you see her start to hold Michael's arm (like a gf would) ... but then quickly stop herself.

We're told it's nothing serious though ... at most just a date. For now. This would be Michael's first public relationship since he and Nicole Murphy broke off their engagement.

On to the next one?

Nick Cannon showed off his new cover-up tattoo Sunday in Studio City ... and it's perplexing.

Cannon hit up the gym ... and on the way out we finally caught a glimpse of his crucifixion back piece -- but what's above Jesus' head has others scratching theirs.

We got 3 guesses ...

1) An angel

2) Some kind of bird

3) a cherub

Got a better guess? We'd love to hear it in the comments. So would Mariah Carey.

Mariah Carey may have just fired her first shot at Nick Cannon ... singing, "I know you cheated, motherf***er."

Mariah was in Tokyo ... singing Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain," a song about a cheating lover.

Listen closely ... right around 7 seconds in, it sounds like she changes the lyrics from "And I know you cheat/Right or wrong, don't matter" to "I know you cheated motherf***er."

So whaddya think?

Turns out Nick Cannon may have been a decoy for Amber Rose ... because it seems the real Nick of her desire is Simmons.

Yep, you heard it right. The son of rock god Gene Simmons has just scored the rebound of the year.

Our spies at Playhouse in Hollywood caught Amber and Nick grinding it out ... leaving the club arm-in-arm.

There were signs ... you may remember last week they went to a restaurant together but there was no overt signs of affection.

So Amber's jam is a 6-foot-7 white dude who probably has a big tongue.

Now we get it.

Nick Cannon will be divorcing Mariah Carey ... yet he's turned her into Jesus Christ.

Cannon was at Playhouse in Hollywood Thursday night to celebrate his birthday. As celebs are known to do, Nick took off his shirt at one point and revealed the massive new ink.

It's hard to make out the details from the photo, but our Nick sources say the tattoo shows Jesus on the cross with angel wings coming off the end the cross.

And in the smoke department ... Amber Rose was there.

French Montana was banging Khloe Kardashian and Trina while he was still married, technically ... so imagine how the dude's gonna go off now that his divorce is final.

Nadeen Kharbouch filed to divorce French more than 2 years ago in NJ -- citing irreconcilable differences -- and a judge just put a fork in it this week ... according to court docs obtained by TMZ.

Sources close to French tell us the divorce dragged on so long because they were battling over custody of their 4-year-old son. We're told they finally hammered out a plan that gives French the ability to see his son whenever he wants -- and the exes are now on good terms.

Our source also says reports FM shelled out $2 mil to Nadeen are over blown.

Jordin Sparks is throwing shade on Jason Derulo for saying he ended their 3-year relationship because she was pressuring him to marry her.

Jordan made it clear to our photog Wednesday ... words come cheap.

She then turned all gracious on us ... telling us she wants nothing but the best for her ex ... despite the fact he trashed her on Ryan Seacrest's radio show.

She talks about break-up comfort food, and of course ... our camera guy wanted to know if she's up for Tinder.

The Orlando Bloom/Justin Bieber/Miranda Kerr/Selena Gomez love square united in significant fashion during Paris Fashion Week and it was nothing but uncomfortable.

Miranda and Selena posed for this pic at the Louis Vuitton show and looked like they'd both rather be in a dentist's chair.

Their common bond is of course Justin Bieber, who is currently banging Selena and was famously and allegedly banging Miranda after a NY fashion show.

As TMZ reported ... earlier in the day Justin was at another show when Miranda suddenly appeared and Justin literally hid behind Kim Kardashian's butt.

Meanwhile ... back at the ranch in L.A. -- our photog got Orlando Bloom out, who famously took a swing at the Biebs in Ibiza, and asked about Justin possibly stepping out on Selena for Kendall Jenner.

So complicated.

The cooking couple that starred in "Down Home With The Neelys" hated each other FOR YEARS ... enduring 11 seasons of mutual contempt before calling it quits.

Sources close to both Pat and Gina Neely tell TMZ ... the marriage was doomed even before the show fired up in 2009 ... and the pressures of TV made things a lot worse.

We're told the Neelys had no idea the show would endure but they rode the fame train when it became a hit ... with each accusing the other of having an unquenchable thirst for the spotlight.

Now that they've thrown in the towel ... he's splintered off by himself and believes Gina will fail without him. The reason ... his family owns the famous recipes and he's the master chef. As for her ... she thinks she can trump him because she's a bigger TV personality.

They will still be tied at the hip in NYC ... where they co-own Neely's Barbecue Parlor. They have no plans to sell it.

Gina filed the divorce papers earlier this month.

Justin Bieber just left a big fashion party in Paris that was filled with celebs ... and we're told the Biebs made sure he didn't cross paths with the modern version of Helen of Troy -- Miranda Kerr!

Justin hit up the CR Fashion Book Party and mingled with Kim Kardashian, Kendall, Kris, Paris Hilton and Selena Gomez. Our spies say Justin was gushing about Selena, telling people how beautiful she is and how they're really tight now. So the whole champagne dinner with Kendall was innocent.

Randy Jackson has 2 things that would be problematic for a lot of guys ... a $40 MILLION fortune, and no prenup.

TMZ broke the story ... Randy's wife filed for divorce Friday, after 18 years of marriage. Sources connected with the couple tell us ... they had no prenup, which means all of Randy's earnings during the marriage are split 50/50.

Short story ... all of Randy's "American Idol" money is on the table. We're told toward the end of Randy's 12-year run as a judge he averaged around $5 mil a year.

We're also told his estimated worth is approximately $40 million. Although some of that is money he brought into the relationship -- meaning it's his separate property -- we're told it's been so commingled over the years it's impossible to unscramble ... so Erika will get half ... subject to any wheeling and dealing between the lawyers.

Wiz Khalifa left Amber Rose weeks before she filed for divorce ... and the trigger that sent Amber's lawyer running to the courthouse was an uninvited 2 AM house call by Amber ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with Wiz tell TMZ ... the rapper is telling friends there's a simple reason why he left ... "I just didn't want to be married to her anymore."

We're told Wiz moved out and got his own place, and the day before Amber filed, she went to his house at 2 AM and found him with another woman ... and went nuts.

As far as Wiz is concerned ... he wasn't cheating. He told friends he made it clear weeks earlier the marriage was over.

It's interesting ... even though Wiz moved out weeks before ... he listed the legal date of separation on his divorce response as Sept. 22 -- last Monday.

Sugar Bear can protest all he wants ... but he was hot to trot the weekend before June sent him packing ... TMZ has learned.

The "Honey Boo Boo" star was riding the bull with a very hot chick who was at the Macon, GA bar celebrating her 21st birthday.

TMZ broke the story ... June pulled the plug after she caught Sugar Bear trolling an online dating website.

We're told S.B. was at the bar with an older woman, but traded up when the birthday girl spotted him and asked him to party with her and her friends.

As far as we know the bar is where it all ended, but one thing's for sure ... Mama June was nowhere near that bull.

The husband-wife chefs from "Down Home With The Neelys" have officially made mince meat of their 19-year marriage -- Gina Neely's filed for divorce.

Gina and her estranged husband Pat Neely became household names with a long-running Food Network show. According to the docs, they've been separated for 2 years ... though you'd never be able to tell from their show ... which they've continued to shoot all along.

Gina cites irreconcilable differences in the papers -- but according to a joint statement ... they're splitting on good terms, and will continue to run their NYC barbecue restaurant together. They also say they'll be focusing on their "individual brands" ... which sounds like the show might be cooked.

They have 2 daughters, but both are over 18 -- so, no child support. The biggest issue for them might be ... who gets the delicious wing recipe!