Reality TV

Tamar Braxton says the triggers that led her estranged husband Vincent Herbert to a jail cell on Christmas day were alcohol and a case of jealousy.

Tamar tells TMZ, "Co-parenting while going through a divorce is not an easy task. While celebrating the Christmas holiday as a family, after a few drinks and some jealousy, things got a bit out of hand, which is common for most families during the holidays. In the midst of everything our family is going through things got heated and a bit exaggerated."

Tamar makes it clear ... "There was no physical interaction between Vince and I on Christmas. While I do not appreciate his lack of respect for our family and him allegedly impregnating another woman, I cannot paint him as a vicious abuser that Vince is not."

TMZ broke the story ... Herbert was arrested for spousal assault and taken to jail, where he bailed out after posting $20k.

Tamar says, "I'm deeply hurt and saddened that this will be how we remember Christmas 2017, but, my motto is and maintains to be 'Bluebird of Happiness' and nobody will stop my joy and blessings going into the New Year! God Bless!"

Tamar went ham a few hours ago on the woman claiming Herbert got her pregnant ... calling her a "whore."

Mel B's ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte, hasn't moved on to 'Love & Hip Hop' star Nikki Baby -- even though they grabbed Xmas dinner together ... TMZ has learned.

A source close to Nikki tell us she and Stephen's dinner at Mastro's on Christmas day was just a business meeting to discuss a shoe line he's developing with her.

While they left in the same SUV ... we're told they were simply following behind another group that had joined them inside. Stephen brought some of his associates, and Nikki brought hers ... in other words, they didn't dine alone.

Former 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Carlton Gebbia says she and her family were very good to their housekeeper for 6 years, but the lady stopped showing up for work after a dispute over missing jewelry ... and now she's suing and trumping up a phony battery claim out of spite.

Carlton tells TMZ she had no idea she was being sued by her former housekeeper/nanny until she saw our story ... and while she's hurt by it, she says she's not necessarily surprised. Here's why ...

Carlton claims she recently noticed some expensive jewelry her husband David bought her over the years was disappearing ... and the housekeeper had access. Gebbia says she reluctantly asked her if she'd taken the jewelry after several pieces went missing ... she denied it.

Carlton says she asked her housekeeper to take a lie detector test to prove it and she agreed ... but then didn't show up for work the next day or the following 2 weeks.

Gebbia tells us the housekeeper returned after the 2 weeks away and asked for her job back, but the family decided to let her go.

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' alum Carlton Gebbia mopped the floor with her housekeeper, and the maid's now taking her to court ... and she says Gebbia even tried to kill herself.

The housekeeper -- referred to in the lawsuit as Jane Doe -- claims she was hired by Gebbia back in 2011 and toiled for 6 years as a housekeeper/nanny/chauffeur/grocery shopper/assistant.

Jane Doe claims Gebbia was often under the influence of alcohol and repeated physically, verbally and emotionally abusing her, including slapping her. She says 4 months ago, without provocation, a drunken Gebbia attacked her at her Bev Hills home.

She says the trigger was when Jane Doe texted Carlton's husband, David, and said Carlton had broken the TV in the movie room with a baseball bat. Jane Doe says when she tried to calm Carlton down, she became enraged, yelled at her and pushed her so hard, she fell against the door.

She says she was badly injured and was given 2 weeks off. She says the following month, she was fired.

Even more interesting ... the maid says over the last 6 years, Gebbia attempted to harm herself ... she mentions one incident in which she allegedly threw herself off the second story of her home.

The Kardashians have come out swinging in Blac Chyna's lawsuit against them in which she claims the fam sabotaged her reality show with Rob, saying it was all her doing.

As we reported, Chyna is suing Rob, Kim and Kris claiming they orchestrated a plot to torpedo "Rob & Chyna" after the couple broke up, and that's why E! canceled the show.

The Kardashians have just filed legal docs, courtesy of their attorney Shawn Holley, asking the judge to toss Chyna's case, claiming the real reason the show was canceled is that Chyna went to court and got a domestic violence restraining order against Rob, making it impossible to shoot a show with interactions between the 2.

It's important to note ... Chyna got a settlement in which she now gets $20k a month in child support and in return dropped the domestic violence allegations.

The Kardashians are also calling BS on Chyna's defamation claim, saying their allegations were true, including that she left Dream at home while she went out to party.

Lala Kent's new guy is free to date her or whoever the hell he wants -- because he's officially single in the eyes of the law.

Hollywood producer Randall Emmett just finalized his divorce from his actress wife of eight years, Ambyr Childers. It looks to be nice and neat ... everything has been settled privately, and all the terms are confidential -- including spousal and child support.

Randall and Ambyr got hitched in 2009, got separated in 2016 and filed for divorced in January of this year. They have two minor children -- 7 and 4 years old. Ambyr's had roles on "Ray Donovan" and "All My Children" ... Randall's got an EP credit on "Power" and helped produce Scorsese's flick "Silence."

As for Lala ... the "Vanderpump Rules" star was seen kissing Randall at the beginning of December at an event in Bev Hills ... before he was formally divorced.

It's open season now.

Luann de Lesseps played it cool for Christmas -- hanging with family, and keeping a low profile ... which was probably a good idea after her arrest this weekend.

The 'Real Housewives of New York City' star was seen hanging with her fam Monday at a barbecue, where her brother, Michael Nadeau, was firing up the grill. You see Luann here, too, but she's definitely not jumping to be in front of the camera.

As we reported ... Luann was arrested in Palm Beach Sunday for being drunk, disorderly and for allegedly attacking a cop. She was ultimately charged with 5 crimes, 4 of which were felonies.

The Countess did end up apologizing, saying Palm Beach brought back bad memories ... and aspired for a "transformative and hopeful" new year. Good start on the day after.

Kim Zolciak-Biermann says renewing your wedding vows isn't the spark for a fizzled out relationship -- but if that's what you're aiming for ... she's got a suggestion.

We got Kim and her hubby, Kroy, at LAX and asked if they recommend married couples renew their vows -- like they did this past spring -- to reignite romance.

"RuPaul's Drag Race" contestant Andrew Bryson won't spend time behind bars in his DUI case, but there are strings attached.

Andrew -- whose drag name is Blair St. Clair -- pled guilty to 1 count of DUI for his March arrest in Indiana. His 365-day jail sentence is suspended, so long as he keeps his nose clean.

A clerk at Allen County Superior Court tells TMZ ... Andrew has to complete an alcohol treatment program and is banned from boozing or taking any drugs unless prescribed.

Pamela Anderson wants no blood on her hands by association ... and that's why she's telling the Kardashian sisters -- if you want me on your show, ditch the fur for good.

Sources close to Pamela tell TMZ ... "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" wants to use footage it recently shot of Pamela and Kim in NYC at the posh Vivienne Westwood store.

We're told a rep from the company that produces the show -- Bunim-Murray -- sent Pamela's team a release form to get the all-clear. Pamela and the Kardashians are friends, so it seemed like no big deal. Well, not so fast.

Sources tell us her team responded that Pamela won't sign UNLESS the Kardashians give up fur. We're told Pamela and Kim have no beef but if pressed to choose, Pam's siding with the animals.

It's not the first time Pamela's launched a stop-wearing-fur campaign on the family. The former "Baywatch" star recently gifted Kim a faux fur coat to get her on board.

Kim and the Klan love their fur and wear it often, so unclear if Pam will prevail.

We've reached out to Bunim-Murray ... so far, no word back.

1:10 PM PT -- Law enforcement tells us Mellie allegedly pulled off a massive coupon scam at Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us. Authorities say Mellie and her husband used counterfeit coupons to purchase $18,000 worth of gear at both stores.

Both of them were hit with the same charges and are being held on $13,000 bail.

"Gypsy Sisters" star Mellie Stanley revived her old role as the family's black sheep ... after running afoul of the law again.

Mellie was arrested Thursday morning in Lexington, Kentucky on a warrant. She was booked for theft by deception, criminal possession of forged instrument and unlawful access to a computer ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ.

It's unclear exactly what Mellie was doing, but we're told she allegedly committed the crime a couple weeks ago when the warrant was issued. She'll be arraigned later today.

It's not her first time running into trouble. In 2014 she and her sister were reportedly busted for running a coupon scam at a Target in North Carolina. Mellie's then-husband was also arrested back in 2015 after a heated argument between the couple sadly led to Mellie's puppy being killed.

Ex-'Basketball Wives' star Jennifer Williams is firing back at her ex who just got a temporary restraining order against her, claiming he's stalking and harassing her ... and she's scared for her life.

Jennifer filed for her own restraining order Wednesday on the heels of her ex-BF James "Tim" Norman being granted one himself after he claimed she slashed his tires and worse.

In her own petition for protection -- which was ultimately denied until a judge can talk to 'em both in court -- she says Tim has been leaking info that she says was stolen from her phone in an attempt to embarrass her, while also claiming he's been stalking her.

Jennifer says she wants a judge to throw down the hammer on Tim and force him to leave her alone so she can move on. She also says he's got at least 4 guns, and she's fearful for her own safety.

New "Survivor" champ Ben Driebergen gathered his inner circle of pals from the Marines and raised several tiny glasses to his $1 million victory. Oorah!!!

We got these pics of the retired Marine doing shots Wednesday night in Hollywood ... right after he won the 35th season of "Survivor." Ben and co. were celebrating at The Parlor where he was definitely the center of attention.

He posed for selfies with every fan who walked up to him -- including past players Bret and Hannah -- and by all accounts was totally humbled by his victory. While he was rightfully basking in the glory, some fans didn't dig the show's surprise ending -- Ben dodged elimination at final tribal council by winning a fire-making challenge.

Tristan Thompson's Kardashian spawn ain't just gonna make him more famous ... it could damn well make him a better basketball player -- so says NBA vet Jim Jackson.

We got J-Jax at Cafe Gratitude in L.A. ... and he told us why knockin' up Khloe might translate to a fiercer Tristan on the hardwood.

"Having a child always settles you down a little bit," Jackson told TMZ Sports. "Maybe a kid settles him down and gives him more focus."

Seems like Jim isn't buying into the Kardashian curse -- basically saying TT should be good as long as he keeps handling business for the Cavs.

12/20 10:30 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Williams went to the station and accused Norman of stalking her, claiming she spotted him driving past her house a few times last week and he was even parked in front of it one day. However, we're told there's no investigation into Norman at this time.

Ex-"Basketball Wives" star Jennifer Williams allegedly has it out for her ex-boyfriend, who claims she tried to run him down with her car once.

James "Tim" Norman filed for a restraining order against Jennifer, and in the docs says she's taken rage out on his car. James says he was driving around Sunday afternoon in L.A. when he spotted Jennifer tailing him.

According to the docs, James parked at home and an hour later went outside to find 2 of his tires slashed. He reported it to cops, and says this was just the latest incident. In the docs, he says last summer -- when they were still dating, mind you -- Jennifer got behind the wheel of HIS car, and tried to run him down. James -- who's on the reality show "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" -- says he had to dive out of the way or die.

He also claims she's broken into his pad, sent him harassing texts and threatened he's "playing with the wrong one." James says they broke up in September, and Jen's just angry he's moved on with a new gf.

Kim Richards is 1 step closer to shutting the book on her Beverly Hills rampage case, 'cause she just checked off the last thing a judge wanted from her ... 450 hours of her time.

Kim's lawyer was in court Tuesday and presented proof that the ex-'Real Housewife' completed her required 450 hours of community service for allegedly kicking a cop during a drunken episode at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2015.

As we reported ... Kim was originally sentenced to 30 days of labor, but prosecutors cut her break and pushed for a softer sentence ... AA classes and community service.

Her team had already provided proof of enrollment for AA, but she still had about 270 hours of community service hanging over her head this past September. Looks like she picked up the pace since then.