Being a pregnant celebrity not easy these days

Sometimes I think celebrities have it rough. And I don't mean the jet-setting around the world, living in multi-million dollar houses and driving fancy cars part. I'm referring to the part where they are constantly being judged in the public eye — the gossip, the rumors, secrets leaking out. It's like reliving high school over and over again.

But that's the price you pay when you're a star — unfortunately. The more private you try to be, the more people think you have something to hide. It also makes the joyous time of having a baby a little cumbersome when the whole world knows about it — or at least thinks they do — and is watching your every move.

Angelina Jolie seemed bent on keeping the news of twins a secret for as long as she could — until "Kung Fu Panda" co-star Jack Black accidentally blurted it out at the Cannes Film Festival.

Then there's Ashlee Simpson's baby. The news leaked out before the wedding vows did. The couple did their best to skirt the issue, to the point of denial, until they successfully got through the first trimester.

That brings us to Clay Aiken, who will be a dad in August. The guy is already been dealing with rumors on his sexuality, to the point that he doesn't bother to confirm or deny anything anymore. People are going to believe what they want, he told the media. Though I think Aiken is a fairly good singer, he creeps me out a little. I think it's his hair more than anything. It keeps getting blonder. News surrounding the 29-year-old's baby is that he artificially inseminated his "best friend," Jaymes Foster Levy, a record producer in her 50s. Both really wanted to be parents, they said. The whole thing is very unconventional, and strange.

The only reason I can kind of sympathize is that I have a friend who married someone older. She just had a baby and they are quite happy. Of course, they had their baby the natural way. While Clayhaters wince over the whole issue, others in the blogsphere seem pretty happy for the guy.

I just hope the kid has a normal life in the celebrity spotlight.

—January Holmes