Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may be enjoying their “quiet life” in Canada, since stepping down as working members of the royal family—but that doesn’t mean they’re not making moves behind the scenes.
It was recently reported that the Sussexes popped over to Miami for an appearance at a private JP Morgan event, where Harry gave a speech that touched on mental health, as well as their decision to leave the UK for North America, at least part-time. Not to diminish the importance of his speech, but I’m just as interested in a dinner that reportedly took place following the speech between the couple and Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.
Page Six reports the two couples dined at Habitat, a restaurant inside the 1Hotel South Beach, on Thursday night (February 6). “Harry and Meghan got on really well with Jennifer and Alex, and spent some time chatting with them over dinner,” their source said. “J. Lo was overheard inviting the couple and their baby Archie to her and Alex’s house in Miami to spend time with them and their kids.”
While we’ll likely never know exactly what the foursome talked about, here are some topics that I hope came up: J. Lo and Shakira’s Super Bowl halftime performance and the ridiculous sexist backlash; the royals’ trip to a Major League Baseball game in the U.K. last summer and whether or not they’ll raise Archie as Yankees fan; Lopez’s Oscar snub and that “Criminal” dance routine from Hustlers; a personal invite to the Lopez/Rodriguez nuptials; and possible charitable projects they can all work on together.
Seriously, what a power couple dinner. It was also rumored that Markle and Harry stayed with the duchess’s good friend, Serena Williams, at her home in Palm Beach while they were in Florida. So while they Sussexes may have put some distance between themselves and the British royal family, they’re happily spending time with American royalty.
Grey’s Anatomy fans were shocked last week when it was announced that Justin Chambers, who has played Alex Karev since the show debuted in 2005, would be leaving the show—and that his final episode has actually already aired.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” the actor told Deadline. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
Since Karev’s departure happened offscreen, fans are now afraid that he’s going to be killed off, à la Patrick Dempsey‘s Derek Shepherd. Though
I don’t think that’s actually what will happen, you never know with this show. “I swear if Shonda makes Alex Karev die tragically with a version of Chasing Cars or some other depressing song playing in the background… I’m going to lose it,” one person tweeted.
“Bro if this bar car crash episode is Justin Chambers last episode and it’s just gonna be Meredith, did Alex die is the car crash? bro ima fight every writer in the room if this is how y’all end Alex Karev storyyyyy ?,” another wrote.
Seriously, the car crash cliff-hanger from the midseason finale has people concerned. A third fan wrote, “SHONDA YOU BETTER NOT MAKE THAT ALEX KAREV CAR THAT CRASHED INTO THE SIDE OF THAT DAMN BAR WHILE GOING TO VISIT HIS MOM AND HAVE HIM DIE ON IMPACT I WILL FIGHT YOUUUUU WHO WILL MEREDITH HAVE NOW???!!!!”
Karev is, of course, not the first character to leave on Grey’s Anatomy. Along with Derek, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has said goodbye to George, her sister Lexie, Mark Sloane, her mom, and her dad—just to name a few characters who’ve died. Meanwhile, Christina Yang moved to Europe and who the heck knows where Izzie (Katherine Heigl) is these days.
Ugh, the heart can take only so much. Let’s hope Karev is left alive so he can return some day.
The cause of his departure isn’t a [deep breath] train collision, ferryboat accident, shooting, psychiatric episode, homemade bomb, or unaddressed head trauma. No: Chambers, who has devoted the majority of his professional career to Grey’s, explained his decision in an announcement on Friday, January 10.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers toldDeadline. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
Shock number one: Karev, who is arguably the second most central character on Grey’s—next to the eponymous Meredith Grey—will soon disappear from the show. Shock number two: Justin Chambers is 50? He has five kids? What moisturizer does he use?
Kelsey McNeal/ABC via Getty Images
In his announcement Chambers thanked show creator Shonda Rhimes and his fellow remaining original cast-members—Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens—and the rest of the Grey’s team. It’s not clear from his statement whether he’ll be back for the rest of the 16th season, which returns to ABC on January 23. It is clear that we are sad. Very, very sad.
Grey’s Anatomy is a high-class soap opera—a glossy fantasy that delights in making us salivate over abs and weep until we’re nauseous within the same 40-minute block. The character of Alex Karev—the angry, sometimes cruel child of an addict father and schizophrenic mother, who grew up to be an exceptionally compassionate pediatric surgeon—is the best of that. In him, viewers have watched a person be redeemed. Albeit in the form of a conventionally hot, white man, we have joined a character on the odyssey of becoming a better person. We have seen him renounce sexism and violence and isolation.
For all his model looks and talent for making the word “frickin” sound organic, he’s been the ideal male sidekick to protagonist Meredith Grey (Pompeo) for 15 years. Their decades-long friendship, built on their mutual instinct for survival-at-all-costs, made them demand better from one another. Karev moved away from picking on people who were smaller than him and devoted himself to saving children’s lives. He became the ethical heart of the show. He stopped being angry, and started choosing love.
Jennifer Lopez was nominated at the Golden Globes Sunday night (January 5) for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Hustlers. Unfortunately, she didn’t win (Laura Dern did for Marriage Story), but I have a feeling she isn’t sweating it—especially not after the sweet note her fiancé, Alex Rodriguez, posted to Instagram.
Shortly after the Golden Globes wrapped, the baseball veteran wrote this tribute to Lopez:
“Jen, it doesn’t take a trophy, medal, or plaque to identify a true champion. To millions of young women who have watched you and have been inspired and empowered to do amazing things in their lives, you are a champion. For countless musicians, dancers, actresses, and performers who have seen and emulate your passion, drive and work ethic to find their own success, you are a champion. To your children, your family, your coaches, your staff, and your extended family, you are a champion. To everyone whose lives you enrich daily, you are a champion. And don’t you ever forget it.”
Of course, those who follow Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez‘s relationship closely shouldn’t be surprised by this public display of affection. He’s always showing that he’s her number-one fan—whether that’s through being the perfect Instagram fiancé on the red carpet, or just saying the most affectionate words.
“I can’t believe it’s been two years,” he wrote on Instagram in February 2019 in honor of their two-year anniversary. “Only 730 days, which have flown by, but it feels like we have been together forever. We are meant to be, and how much you mean to me cannot be put into words.” He added, “Like you there is none other. Words will never do justice to what the last two years have meant to me. Thank you for always being you, for your unwavering support and unconditional love.”
Where we left off: Abe Weissman announces that he’s going to resign from Columbia, which would mean that he and wife Rose will have to give up their lavish apartment (Columbia owns it). Can Rose talk some sense into her suddenly reactive husband?
Amazon Studios
What’s to come: Surprises, and lots of them. “The curveballs just kept coming,” Hinkle says. “Rose continues to be thrown and has to find a way to right the ship. She’s fierce, though. I never had any idea what her path would be [from episode to episode]. Although I want Rose to be comfortable, I love that everything is completely out of sorts for her.” It’s a sentiment that Sherman-Palladino echoes as well. “Rose is figuring out her new reality,” she says.
Amazon Studios
Sophie Lennon (Jane Lynch)
Where we left off: Sophie pleads with Susie to represent her and fight for her the same way she does for Midge. Will Susie accept? And will Sophie soften her attitude towards Midge?
What’s to come: Lynch is now a series regular, which means that you can expect to see a lot more of Sophie. Still, Lynch isn’t hopeful that Sophie will turn over a new leaf. “She won’t change at all,” she says with a laugh. “And although she wouldn’t admit it, she’s inspired by Midge. She’s abandoning Sophie from Queens for now and is going into a new realm. She wants to try her chops at acting and she wants to break out of where she was. But her insides are pretty much the same throughout the whole season.”
Amazon Studios
The third season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel premieres Friday, December 6 on Amazon Prime.
Jessica Radloff is the* Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram here.
“When Alex and I put together the collection, we talked a lot about making sure we had clothes that didn’t feel over-designed or overcomplicated, that were relevant to today but not trendy—that you could wear forever,” Sikhounmuong tells Glamour.”Very last minute, an idea popped into my head for a jumpsuit. I was actually on a trip [to] L.A., and I went to a vintage store and found an old flight suit.”
Courtesy of Alex Mill
It was a lightbulb moment for the designer, who took the concept and modernized it for the Alex Mill spring collection: “We tapered the leg, gave it a bit of waist definition, added some tabs, and just cleaned it up and made it a little bit more relevant to what people are doing these days,” Sikhounmuong says. The team also used a fabric that was lightweight and stretchy, something you can’t always find in vintage.
The response to the Standard Jumpsuit was strong for the get-go, Sikhounmuong says. “Even with the press appointments [before the collection dropped], we were seeing a lot of editors and people coming through and asking about that piece—when it was going to come out, how it was going to fit… When we finally launched it on the website, it quickly became one of the top styles that people were clicking on and purchasing.”
Every time I wear my jumpsuit, someone makes a comment—and even if unprompted, I’ll share the story of where I got it and who designed it.
Since introducing the Standard Jumpsuit, Alex Mill has also released a few variations on the silhouette, including a collarless one and a cargo-esque version that’s been worn by Tracee Ellis Ross. (And really, could there be a better endorsement?)
I’ve even convinced colleagues to get in on the jumpsuit action. Shanna Shipin, Glamour‘s commerce editor, first came across Alex Mill’s Standard Jumpsuit via Nikki Ogunnaike’s ode to it on Elle.com, and then started noticing it on Instagram.
She didn’t actually add it to her, though, cart until she got confirmation that you could wear it as a petite person. (Hi.) “I’m 5’2” so I lost all hope in finding a jumpsuit that actually fit me—and didn’t have a crotch that hung below my knees,” she says. “Seeing it in person on someone my height was all the proof I needed that the jumpsuit is actually an IRL version of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It looks so good on everyone. Now I’m in the sisterhood and happier than ever.”
Sikhounmuong sees the appeal of the jumpsuit as relating back to Alex Mill’s vission—”of waking up, getting dressed, and not having to overthink it. There’s nothing easier than a jumpsuit. You literally just jump into it.” He says he’ll always try work one in to his collections, “whether it be an old one that we’ve done that people love in a new color or a totally new one,” since he believes it’s important to “be consistent.”
Nikki Ogunnaike, GQ’s deputy fashion director, has written about her love of Alex Mill jumpsuits.
Christian Vierig
Alex Mill’s tagline is “uniforms for individuals,” and the jumpsuit epitomizes it, according to Sikhounmuong. “It’s this idea of it being so versatile that people can put their own spin [on] it. I’ve seen it worn with the top down and tied around the waist, as a pant; I’ve seen it with a blazer over it; I’ve seen it belted, unbelted; I’ve seen it with a turtleneck underneath… It’s just been really cool to see all the options. I think people really appreciate that.”
Join the Alex Mill jumpsuit fan club by shopping some of the brand’s coveralls, below.
