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All you "Mad Men" fans, wish the very best to star Christina Hendricks, the latest cover girl of InStyle Weddings. We have to say, her Joan Harris (nee Holloway) know-it-all street smarts may not translate to real life, because now that Christina has appeared on the cover of InStyle Weddings, she's at risk of falling victim to its alleged curse.

In recent years, several brides-to-be who've graced its pages quickly called off their nuptials or filed for divorce. The trend was even explored by The New York Times (the paper of record, people!) after "Gossip Girl's" Kelly Rutherford filed for divorce around the same time the magazine feature on her wedding hit stands.

A Loveless Legacy
The latest victims are Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley, whose against-type princess nuptials were featured in the mag. The two announced their separation earlier this month. Another recent cover girl casualty is "House" star Jennifer Morrison. Soon after a 2007 cover celebrating her betrothal to co-star Jesse Spencer hit newsstands, their engagement was nixed.

Other victims include Courtney Thorne-Smith, Eva LaRue and Shannon Elizabeth, who all appeared on the cover only to watch their weddings get called off or their marriages go bust. Drew Barrymore's ill-fated wedding to Tom Greene was covered in both InStyle Weddings and the main magazine.

Playing the Odds
So are star couplings more likely to rupture due to publicity? Maybe not. "The current divorce rate in America is estimated to be approximately 50 percent," says Meryl Fishbone, a White Plains, N.Y.-based divorce lawyer. The rates are also higher for people on their second or third marriages and those who had divorced parents, so all in all, stars may just have the same sad split rate as the rest of us.

For all the high-profile fiascos, there have just as many romantic success stories: Marcia Cross and Rosalyn Sanchez are two former cover girls who remain happily married (for now).

Joan Walks On
As for Hendricks, she's marrying actor Geoffrey Arend ("500 Days of Summer") next month and spills about all the wedding details in the new issue -- like that she'll be wearing a strapless Carolina Herrera gown and about 70 guests will fit in the reception at the couple's favorite New York City restaurant. We figure Christina may have a fighting chance (or at least a coin-toss chance) at living happily ever after.

And if it's any consolation, Instyle Weddings isn't the only marriage mag with a bad-luck bride -- former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland appeared on the cover of Modern Bride days after calling off her ceremony to wed Dallas Cowboy Roy Williams.
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Victims of the Wedding Mag Curse
Also on Lemondrop: Find out which celeb brides broke their marriages after being featured in a wedding magazine.
daytimeconfidential.com

Victims of the Wedding Mag Curse

    Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley's wedding was featured in the Summer 2007 issue of InStyle Weddings, but the couple announced their separation in September 2009 -- maybe a feature opposed to the cover buys your marriage more time.

    beyondhollywood.com

    Jennifer Morrison, featured in the Summer 2007 issue of InStyle Weddings, called off her wedding to House co-star Jesse Spencer in August 2007 -- soon after the issue hit newsstands.

    beyondhollywood.com

    Shannon Elizabeth, featured in the Summer 2002 issue of InStyle Weddings, stayed married to Joe Reitman for three years. But unfortunately, they couldn't avoid the curse and split in July 2005.

    ebay.com

    Courtney Thorne-Smith, the Spring 2001 InStyle Weddings cover girl, divorced genetic scientist Andrew Conrad in January 2001 -- months before the magazine sold.

    ebay.com

    Eva La Rue's dress on the Winter 2009 issue of InStyle Weddings was similar to the one she'd be wearing on her wedding day. Unfortunately, she never made it down the aisle and split from seafood businessman Joe Cappuccio in February 2009.

    daytimeconfidential.com

    Kely Rowland was happy to be on the cover of Modern Bride's April/May 2005 issue. Unfortunately, her marriage to Dallas Cowboy Roy Williams was called off that same year and a few days before the issue would be sold.

    rosecalligraphy.com

    InStyle has featured Drew many times (Feb. '03 featured here) including features in the February 2002 issue of InStyle and InStyle Weddings about her nuptials to Tom Green. However, the two called it quits in December 2001 after the July ceremony and a few weeks after the magazines went to press.

    ebay.com

    JLo is another InStyle cover vet (Feb. '01 featured here). Deets of her February 1997 wedding to chef and writer Ojani Noa were featured in the June 1997 issue, and in December 1997, JLo filed for divorce.

    ebay.com

    Kelly Rutherford and Venezuelan banker Carlos Tarajano's wedding was featured in InStyle's February 2002 issue but were divorced by the time the article hit the newsstands in January.

    geocities.com/Hollywood/4616/index.html



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