Anne Hathaway knows the good, bad and ugly sides of being a Hollywood actress. 

“I’ve had a 20-year career and I’ve had some really, really bad experiences, but I’ve had a lot of great ones too ― with members of both genders,” the actress said in a recent interview with Glamour.

Hathaway, 35, spoke to Glamour for the magazine’s June/July 2018 issue before the release of the much-anticipated “Ocean’s 8,” in which she stars alongside a host of well-known women. The veteran actress also discussed that infamous 2013 hate-storm that enveloped her after she won her first Oscar and, more recently, her involvement with the Time’s Up movement against sexual violence.

“While they do not begin to approach the atrocious, galling stories others have shared in recent months, I have had negative on-set experiences, some of a sexual nature,” Hathaway said. “Some are from the beginning of my career, some are more recent ― all are unacceptable.”

Hathaway said she joined the Time’s Up movement to ensure that other actresses won’t have to endure what she has. 

“Being a 35-year-old cisgendered woman who has experienced the everyday, abusive imbalance of the world also made me want to be a part of a movement for change. ... I know the world can be far worse for others than it has been to me, but I suppose, like most everyone who has been hurt, I want to protect others from going through the worst of what I experienced,” she said.

Announced on New Year’s Day, the Time’s Up movement consists of more than 300 women in television, film and theater, including big names like Kerry Washington, Reese Witherspoon and America Ferrera. The project was inspired by the recent Me Too movement and hopes to combat sexual misconduct in all workplaces by creating a legal defense fund to help less-privileged women come forward with their stories. 

“I want to help make what I consider the best of my experiences to be the norm, as it always should have been,” Hathaway continued. “I think that there’s got to be some guys who get high off the power. But in a lot of cases, it’s an echo chamber. Most guys have never seen anything different.” 

Hathaway added that for there to be progress, everyone has to put in the work: “If change is going to happen, we have to get uncomfortable.” 

Read the full profile at Glamour. 

Size matters. You can’t get a sexually transmitted infection if you use a condom. Men have higher sex drives than women. Have you heard these common sexual assertions tossed about? Guess how many are actually true?

It’s harmful to believe generalizations, stereotypes and hearsay about sex and sexual health, and researchers are learning new information about it every single day. Remember there are so many different kinds of sexual experiences, preferences and desires, as well as human biology to consider when it comes to weighing myth versus fact.

Don’t worry if you aren’t yet an expert on orgasms and intercourse. Below, experts clear up the most common sex-related myths they hear perpetuated:

Myth: You can get pregnant on your period.

It’s rare to get pregnant on your period ― but that being said, there’s a caveat, according to Dr. Christine Greves, an OB-GYN at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

“If the bleeding you’re having is because of a true period, meaning you ovulated 14 days ago, then there is no egg available to fertilize at that time,” she explained. “The problem with saying that you ‘cannot get pregnant on your period’ as a general statement? Sometimes women have bleeding not associated with a true period, and they may think they are getting a period, but that’s not actually the cause of bleeding.”

Infections, fibroids and hormone shifts can also cause you to spot or bleed at odd times in your menstrual cycle. It’s best to be on the safe side and use protection no matter what if you’re not trying to get pregnant.

Myth: You can’t get an STI if you use a condom.

You’ve likely heard that you should always use a condom to protect against sexually transmitted infections ― and yes, that is true. But you should still exercise caution: While condoms are highly effective in preventing STIs passed through bodily fluids, like gonorrhea or HIV, condoms are less effective in preventing infections contracted through skin-to-skin contact, like HPV or herpes, according to the American Sexual Health Association.

That being said, safe sex is still very possible with protection and communication. Condoms do offer some protection from skin-contact conditions, and should be used to prevent an array of STIs and unintended pregnancy. Also, although you’ve been hearing this suggestion repeated since sex ed, it still holds: Talk to your partner about condom use and STIs — or get tested before sex if that route makes you feel comfortable and safest. 

Myth: It’s OK to fake an orgasm.

Faking orgasms is never a good idea, even if you’re trying to kindly preserve someone’s ego, said Sarah Hunter Murray, a sex researcher and relationship therapist.

“Orgasms and other signs that we are experiencing pleasure during sexual activity, like words of affirmation or moaning, are cues to our partner that they are doing something we like,” she said. “If sex isn’t feeling so good, but we pretend that we are enjoying ourselves, our partner is understandably going to keep doing the stuff we’re not that into.”

What to do instead? Be vocal. “Positively encourage behaviors that are actually satisfying ― or talk honestly about what’s not working as well,” Murray added.

Myth: You can’t get pregnant unless a man ejaculates during intercourse.

There are lots of urban legends out there about how exactly you can and cannot get pregnant when it comes to male-female sex, but let’s clear those up.

“One of the most widely believed myths is you won’t get pregnant if you pull out in time, but that isn’t the case,” said Dr. Mache Seibel, a health education expert. “Many times, the precum or pre-ejaculation spurts out ahead of the larger volume of semen,” but still contains some sperm, Seibel explained. “It’s why the rhythm method of birth control sometimes fails.”

Also, anytime sperm enters the vagina, “pregnancy is possible,” Seibel added, though “not nearly as likely” in the cases of indirect delivery, like say on a finger or vibrator. Concerned? Don’t rely on pulling out and be safe with birth control.

Myth: Women usually orgasm from penetration.

A 2015 study published in the Journal of Sex shows that just 18 percent of women report that intercourse alone is enough to orgasm.

“These findings show that the majority of women cannot orgasm through penetration,” said Sunny Rodgers, a clinical sexologist and certified sex coach. “Most women need specific clitoral stimulation to bring them to actual orgasm.”

You might like stimulation on its own or with intercourse. Murray suggested “woman on top” or “using an extra hand” during penetration to make sure both parties are getting what they need to get off.

Myth: You’ll “just know” when you orgasm.

Those who claim climaxes are unmistakable aren’t exactly correct. “I’ve met many women who do not know if they’ve actually had an orgasm or not,” Rodgers said. “This is common.”

Why the myth? Rodgers said women fake a lot of orgasms, whether to preserve their partner’s ego or get sex over with faster. Women have different kinds of orgasms, as well ― clitoral, vaginal, g-spot ― that men simply don’t have, so it can be hard to know exactly what you’re feeling.

“They also believe that sex will always bring them to orgasm, which just isn’t true,” Rodgers said.

There are ways that a person can determine if what they’re experiencing is indeed an orgasm. Expect your heart rate and blood pressure to increase, your skin to flush and your muscles to tense while stimulated. “This is followed by the release of tension and a feeling of deep relaxation,” Rodgers explained. Yes, it should feel amazing.

Myth: Size is everything.

“That old saying is true: It’s not the size of your boat, it’s the motion of your ocean,” Rodgers said. Penises are “a varied bunch,” she explained, with size and shape are unique to each guy.

“What is perfect for one person can be too large or too small for another,” Rodgers said. “On top of that, there are so many techniques, positions and enhancement products available now that size is not the only relevant factor for sexual satisfaction.” Explore, experiment, enjoy ― and forget this myth.

Myth: Men want more sex than women.

This stereotype might be damaging sex lives everywhere. According to a series of 2016 studies, men typically underestimate how often their long-term girlfriends or wives want sex. A survey conducted that same year also revealed 71 percent of female respondents said they’d like to have more sex in the coming year.

“The brain is a more powerful sexual organ than genitalia, because it’s where sex drive stems from,” Rodgers said. “It may seem like men have a higher sex drive just because men do tend to think about sex more often ... but there is no single measurement of sex drive, so it is an interesting assumption.” And not always true. Don’t assume!

Myth: Orgasm is the goal of sex.

Everybody loves to orgasm, but make sure you’re aware of each other’s sex goals. “Wanting to experience pleasure from sex is a good thing,” Murray said. “But while orgasms are often perceived as the main event or the star of the show, focusing too much on orgasms can set couples up for frustrating sex.”

You know what they say: It’s about the journey, not the destination. Focusing on getting to orgasm can cause you to miss other positive elements of your sexual experience like “sensations and pleasures along the way, making out, gentle touches and caresses and feeling close to our partner,” Murray said. (And bonus: All of those things can boost your mood, according to research.)

Not to mention, sometimes an orgasm just doesn’t happen for variety of reasons, like stress or alcohol, so try to enjoy your intimate experience regardless.

If you had once told me that someday I would not only agree to have someone else’s poop put inside my body, but would enthusiastically welcome it, I never would have believed you. I, like most people, would have been repulsed by the very idea. But when you’re fighting for your life, the ick factor just doesn’t matter.

My unexpected encounter with a fecal transplant began in May 2011, when I developed a tooth infection that required an antibiotic. I was on an immunosuppressant drug for my multiple sclerosis, which made me more susceptible to infections. I’d never heard of Clostridium difficile, a potentially life-threatening bacterium more commonly known as C. diff, and so I didn’t know I was even more vulnerable to developing it while taking a strong antibiotic. In my mind, I felt safe from infections because of the antibiotic. Little did I know what was awaiting me.

A couple of weeks after taking a seven-day course of Clindamycin for the tooth infection, I began having odd intestinal symptoms. The first and most alarming was waking up at 4:00 one morning and feeling what I thought was a need to have a bowel movement. When I sat on the toilet, I felt like I was going to have diarrhea and be sick, but nothing came out. I also had excruciating pain in my rectum and the surrounding area that I’d never felt before, even when I’d had fissures and hemorrhoids. It felt like someone had beaten me on my backside with a baseball bat. The next day, the pain subsided until midday, when I felt like I needed to relieve myself again. When I finally went, all that came out was a glob of thick, tan mucous with a small amount of blood in it. I had never seen or heard of anything like it. It looked like something out of a horror movie or medical drama and I was absolutely horrified.

I called my primary doctor and was told to go to an urgent care clinic, as she wasn’t able to see me that day. The doctor at the clinic couldn’t figure out what I was experiencing, so she gave me the number of a specialist. The specialist turned out to be a surgeon, not a gastroenterologist, and I found myself at a dead end. I was frustrated and terrified and had no idea what to do next.

I didn’t have diarrhea, the most common symptom of C. diff, so it made it even more difficult to determine what was happening to me. After a couple of weeks, my symptoms ― which now included nausea, cramping, mucous in my stools, a lack of appetite and pain in my entire pelvic region ― remained and I found myself getting even sicker. At this point I was spending so many hours curled up on the bathroom floor that I finally headed to the emergency room. It was there that the doctors first raised the possibility of C. diff and asked me to provide them, as best I could, with a stool sample for testing. Before the results came back, I was sent home with a prescription for Flagyl (metronidazole), the first antibiotic doctors turn to in order to treat C. diff. At this point, I still had no idea how serious C. diff is or how difficult it can be to cure.

The next morning the hospital called with the test results. They were positive for C. diff. OK, no big deal, I thought. I’ll take this medication for a couple of weeks and then I’ll be fine. Because of my aforementioned immunosuppression, I was told to take my prescription for four weeks instead of the usual two. Soon I began to feel better and I was able to resume my monthly infusions of MS medication, which I had postponed because I was dealing with the C. diff.

A few days after my first infusion post-C. diff, I began having symptoms again. My doctor asked me to collect another stool sample and bring it in to be tested. I was now getting pretty good at collecting samples and taking them to the hospital lab in a small butter container I’d washed out and, once filled, tucked into a brown paper bag, all while trying to act like it was no big deal. The results came back the next day — positive. Again. I started another monthlong round of Flagyl. This time my symptoms were worse, and the medication’s side effects ― nausea, stomach pain, cramping, headache, dry mouth, metallic taste, and dizziness ― were less tolerable. At this point, I had been dealing with my stomach and bowel issues for approximately 22 weeks. I was exhausted from both the C. diff and trying to treat it. Unfortunately, I was only off the Flagyl for a couple of days before the C. diff came back with a vengeance. 

This time, my doctor put me on a compounded oral version of IV Vancomycin, another antibiotic used to treat C. diff when Flagyl fails. I took that for two weeks, was off for a week before I relapsed, and was then prescribed it again for another two weeks. The C. diff wasn’t going away. Worse, with each relapse it seemed to get stronger and more resistant. We were running out of options. My body wasn’t fighting the infection and my organs were going to start shutting down. I was losing my hair and losing weight from my already underweight frame, and I continued to be the sickest I’d ever been. 

Terrified that I could literally die from my infection, I began to research how others had fought and eventually beat C. diff. What I found took me completely by surprise. I learned about fecal transplants — the literal transferring of feces from one person’s gastrointestinal tract to another, via a colonoscopy-like procedure. Basically, a donor’s stool sample is blended with a saline solution to make a slurry. Then, using a tube, the concoction is inserted into the patient via the anus. The premise is that the healthy bacteria in the donor’s stool will hopefully take hold inside the patient’s infected colon and begin to replicate. It’s actually a brilliant idea, when you think about it: What better way to encourage the replenishing of the millions of healthy bacteria that a body needs than to use the real thing? 

After yet another relapse, while I was taking a second round of Vancomycin, I asked my doctor if we could try a fecal transplant. He had never heard of the procedure, which surprised me, since he was a gastroenterologist. He said he would do some research and get back to me. A few weeks later, and six months after the first symptoms of my C. diff infection began, my doctor asked me if I was still willing to try a transplant. I didn’t even have to think about it: I was on board immediately. 

For the next few months, I was put on a combination of Flagyl and Vancomycin, just to keep me somewhat stable while my doctor went to work setting up the protocol for the transplant. He consulted doctors in other states who had experience doing fecal transplants to educate himself about the procedure and to prepare me for what would take place.

My donor was my husband. I mean, we agreed to “for better or for worse,” right? At one point, the doctor looked at me seriously and said, “You can’t ever tell your husband ‘Don’t give me any more crap!’” We laughed about that for months.

With the preparation complete, and after my husband underwent some blood tests to make sure he didn’t have anything he could pass to me through his stool, I was scheduled to have the transplant on March 2, 2012. We were instructed to purchase a new blender to bring with us to make the slurry, and my husband was told to collect his stool the morning of the procedure and bring that too. I prepared the same way you would for a colonoscopy, to ensure my gastrointestinal tract was as clean as possible to create the optimum environment for the healthy bacteria to move in and set up house.

I was the first patient to have a fecal transplant at that hospital, and possibly one of the first in Utah. I remember my doctor coming into my room whistling and smiling that morning. “This is a very auspicious day for us!” he said. He was so eager to do the procedure and for it to be successful — not just for me, but also because he had a growing list of patients who could benefit from a fecal transplant if it worked. I’ve honestly never seen someone so excited about poop, except maybe when one of my kids was constipated and then finally was able to go! I was just excited for the possibility of feeling better — not to mention not dying.

The procedure went incredibly well. I woke from the anesthesia feeling immediately better. The cramping and pain were gone and I was hungry. It was an instant cure! The goal was for me to hold the “medication” inside my body for as long as possible, and everyone was ecstatic when I was able to wait until the next day to relieve myself. I have to admit I was unprepared for the smell that accompanied that first bowel movement: My stool and gas smelled exactly like my husband’s! If he farts, I can walk away, but I couldn’t walk away from myself! It was bad. We still laugh about that. But it was a small price to pay to be healed, and as unsettling and admittedly gross as it was, his bacteria were doing their job and that’s all that mattered.

Later, my doctor told me that if the transplant hadn’t worked, my colon would have become entirely overrun by the C. diff. Not only would it have been unable to absorb the nutrients my body needs, but eventually my organs would have begun to shut down one by one until I finally died.

I’m so thankful I was able to receive a fecal transplant, and grateful that my doctor listened to me and took the necessary steps to make it happen. Even though they’re still considered highly experimental and many doctors ― even specialists ― aren’t familiar with them, fecal transplants have a dramatic success rate and can work when nothing else has. If I hadn’t lived through it, I never would have believed it. But now that I have, I want as many people as possible to know about them, because it could mean the difference between life and death for someone else. As disgusting as the idea was of having feces injected into my body, my husband’s poop literally saved my life.

HuffPost does not endorse or make any claims about the efficacy of any treatments discussed in this article. If you’re having a medical issue, please contact your health care professional.

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Two gay men were holding hands while walking home from a nightclub early Sunday morning in Denver when a man attacked the couple, stabbing them multiple times. 

“We were just walking and I guess he didn’t like what he saw ... that we were holding hands,” Chris Huizar, 19, told local outlet 9News on Sunday. 

Huizar and his boyfriend, Gabriel Roman, 23, were walking home from a dance club called The Church just after midnight when the two said they heard a man yell “fuckin’ faggots” before he attacked the couple with a folding knife. Huizar was stabbed in the neck and Roman was stabbed in the hand and back before they were able to escape.

The couple called the police and were taken to the hospital immediately where, according to Gay Star News, Roman received 30 internal stitches and 52 stitches on his hand. The wounds were not life-threatening, Denver police spokesman Sgt. John White told The Denver Post.

“Just seeing him in my arms bleeding, I don’t know, I just didn’t want him to die,” Huizar told 9News while fighting back tears.

Police arrested 24-year-old Dylan Payne on Sunday on suspicion of first-degree assault, according to The Denver Post. Detectives are currently investigating the attack as a hate crime. 

“We are not letting this define us. We love each other and wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone [else],” Huizar told Gay Star News. “I’m just thankful we’re alive.” 

Roman told 9News: “We just know that we can get through anything now and that’s just going to make us that much stronger.”

You’ve no doubt heard insect protein being touted as a future food trend, well now researchers believe we could all be drinking cockroach milk in years to come.

The milk, which is a ‘post-natal fluid’ secreted by a mother cockroach to nourish her 50-something strong army of baby cockroaches, has been touted as an excellent source of nutrition and amino acids by researchers from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in India.

So should we be drinking it?

Researcher Sanchari Banerjee told the Times of India: “The crystals are like a complete food – they have proteins, fats and sugars. If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids.”

It seems we might not be glugging the stuff anytime soon though as the process of extracting the ‘milk’ actually kills the cockroaches. You’d also need a hell of a lot of insects to get a glass full of milk.

According to science site Inverse, scientists carve out the cockroach’s gut with a scalpel to harvest the milk, which looks like crystals. It’s thought it takes one person half a day to process the milk of two to three roaches. So a very slow and not-so-lucrative process.

Cockroaches could still be coming to a diet near you in other forms, however. Scientists from the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil created flour made from cockroaches, which contains 40% more protein than standard plain flour. Like cockroach milk, the flour contained a large amount of amino acids and some lipids and fatty acids as well.

Looking to change things up with your hair, but not sure where to start? 

We compiled 50 of our favorite celebrity hairstyles for both men and women to try right now. With summer approaching, it’s a prime time to chop off all that fall and winter hair damage and try out a new ’do.

Maybe you’re looking for something long and sleek, like Sandra Bullock, or you want to embrace your natural curls, like Kerry Washington, or perhaps you want to channel your inner Tan France and let your salt-and-pepper mane become your signature.

Whatever your style, surely you’ll find some inspiration in the hairstyles below:

Arkady Babchenko, the Russian journalist and Kremlin critic reported to have been shot dead in Kiev on Tuesday, has turned up alive in Ukraine.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said the death had been staged in order to catch those who were trying to kill him.

Gritsak said the authorities had received information about a Russian plot to kill Babchenko and had managed to prevent it by faking the journalist’s death.

“I’m still alive,” Babchenko declared at the press conference after her took to the floor to applause and gasps.

“I know that sickening feeling when you bury a colleague. I’m sorry you had to go through this, but there was no other way.”

His wife, who reportedly found his body in a pool of blood in their flat, was unaware of the operation and thought he had been killed.

“Olechka, I am sorry, but there were no options here. I would like to apologise for what you have all had to go through,” Babchenko, who looked on the verge of tears, told reporters.

Babchenko thanked the Ukrainian security service for saving his life. The Ukrainian Security Services said the plan to thwart the attack was “normal” because “Sherlock Holmes did it”.

This appears to be a reference to the short story “The Final Problem”.

It’s not yet clear, however, how staging his death allowed the Ukraine authorities to avoid his murder or catch his would-be assassins.

His reported murder had triggered a war of words between Ukraine and Russia and sent shivers through the journalistic communities in both countries.

Babchenko sparked a backlash in Russia for his comments in a 2016 Facebook post on a Russian military plane crash. He said his comments had resulted in thousands of threats, his home address being published online and calls for him to be deported.

The plane, carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, dancers and orchestra members, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria in December 2016, killing everyone on board.

Babchenko’s colleagues at Ukraine’s ATR channel reacted with relief. 

But once the shock dissipated, some journalists questioned how healthy the sting operation was.

The remains of a man trying to escape the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago were found in Pompeii, Italy, this week, and the photographs have become a meme.

Why would people do this? Because the internet is a bad place.

Archaeologists believe the man was fleeing to safety, having managed to escape the first volcanic eruption, but was subsequently crushed by a large stone in the process. They believe the stone was a door jamb, according to USA Today.

Additionally, archaeologists believe the man was around 35-years-old and suffering from a bone infection. His head has not yet been found.

As for what people are saying about this ancient marvel on Twitter, well, we’ll let you read for yourself: 

If the poor guy hadn’t already been dead, we’d have said these memes would’ve surely done the job.

Yer a wizard, Ari. 

Ariana Grande and “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson have made their romance official with a photo of the duo essentially dressed up in “Harry Potter” cosplay. 

Davidson shared an Instagram on Wednesday of himself and the pop star sporting their Hogwarts finest complete with sweatshirts repping two different houses. The comedian is a self-identifying Gryffindor, while Grande opted for the Slytherin house. 

Davidson captioned the photo, “the chamber of secrets has been opened.”

Grande seemingly has no qualms about Davidson making their relationship public ― they’ve been consistently flirting on social media the past week ― commenting multiple times below the photo.

“u tryna slytherin (i’m deleting my account now),” the “No Tears Left To Cry” singer wrote. 

The day before she posted a “Harry Potter”-themed photo of her own featuring the Slytherin sweatshirt, writing “in case you forgot” in the caption. 

Rumors about their romance swirled earlier this month after both stars split from their respective partners. Grande broke it off with rapper Mac Miller after two years together, while Davidson recently announced that he and comedian Cazzie David had gone their separate ways.

According to multiple outlets, Davidson and Grande’s relationship has “just started” and is “very casual.”

 And for those who just jumped aboard the Grande train, she’s been a longtime “Harry Potter” fan. Apart from boasting about how many times she’s read the series, the 24-year-old has also posed for pictures with a handful of cast members from the movies, as well as naming her dog after the character Sirius Black. 

Marriages don’t deteriorate overnight. There’s often a gradual decline, sometimes over years or decades, that leads to an eventual breaking point and makes divorce inevitable. 

We asked now-divorced men to reveal the moment that signaled their marriages were finally over for good. Here’s what they said:

1. When my son mentioned ‘mommy’s new friend.’

“I should have known it was over when she said at dinner that she didn’t know whether she loved me anymore. I should have known it after 18 months of sleeping in separate bedrooms. I should have known it when she stopped demonstrating any positive or negative emotions toward me. I should have known it after spending a holiday weekend with our young son on a road trip that she declined to take with us. I should have known it after I saw her missing wedding ring upon returning home from that trip. I should have known it when she moved out the next day, driving away with our little boy in the back seat. But I didn’t. Still, I hoped. And then, two weeks later, my son innocently mentioned a dog and some little girls he had been playing with. They belonged to ‘mommy’s new friend.’

‘Did you have a sleepover at mommy’s new friend’s house?’

‘Yes.’

I never knew a one-word answer from a child could be so lethal and life-changing. I thought I might die, right then. That’s when I knew.” ― Matthew

2. When she said ‘I hate you’ and meant it.

“Like the end of most marriages, mine included a lot of dominoes tipping into the next, but there always seems to be that first domino that starts the process. My ex-wife made arguing an Olympic sport. During one fight over something I can’t even recall, she looked at me red-faced and yelled, ’I hate you,’ and I knew she meant it. There is no coming back from that four-letter word.” ― Bill

3.  When I realized sleeping in the guest room was better than sleeping next to my wife.

“One typical winter day I came down with some horrible sickness and quarantined myself in the guest bedroom to avoid spreading my plague to my wife. After I recovered, I realized I preferred staying in the guest room. I am still a strong believer in the fact that most people sleep better alone, but it does create a literal separation between the couple. Then I started noticing other differences and changes in us as individuals and in our marriage. But if I had to pinpoint one moment, it’s the moment I quarantined our marriage. We both survived and are thriving; however, our marriage stayed in quarantine and didn’t make it out.” ― Adam 

4. When her dream house was more like a nightmare to me. 

“After we sold our first home, we were looking for new houses. I had a couple that I really liked, but she was stuck on this one house and kept coming back to it. I hated that house. It was hideous inside, untouched since 1978 (ugh, that wallpaper!), not in the town I wanted to live in and nothing about it tempted me. When we walked in the front door for a showing, I watched her face light up like I hadn’t seen in years. She walked around wide-eyed from room to room, and in the face of all the horrible decor and issues with disrepair she told me it felt like her ‘forever home.’ I put aside my own wants and we made an offer the same day.

Now, I had always been a subscriber to the ‘happy wife, happy life’ mantra, but this was different. In some sad and serene part of me, I knew I wasn’t going to be in that house forever ― but I wanted her to have it. For her. It was at that moment that I knew that I still loved her but that it was done. I spent the next year remodeling that house on nights and weekends, and roughly about when it was done we split. She still has the house, and I’m happy for that.” ― Billy

5. When I refused to deal with my own underlying anxieties about commitment. 

“When I look back at my marriage a dozen years after divorce, trying to define what exactly went wrong, my hindsight doesn’t stop anywhere within the previous dozen years that I was married. It inevitably goes back further, to all those years of early adulthood when I realized my anxiety about forming deep relationships with anyone, let alone potential spouses. Instead of examining that and getting help to deal with the issues that kept me from forming real connections with people, I blame them instead.

As a result, when it came to forge a real commitment, I just didn’t have the tools to ultimately be successful at it. If divorce has taught me anything, it’s that the seeds for it are growing within us long before we ever meet our potential life partner. And it’s up to us to eliminate that crop before even trying to cultivate a relationship.” ― Craig 

6.  When my wife’s divorced friends convinced her we were doomed. 

“When my wife spent most of her free time with other divorced women. She had already moved into the guest bedroom and was disengaged at counseling, but the real force pulling her away was her ‘friends’ telling her it was ‘her turn.’ There’s an old saying: ‘Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.’” ― Bill

7.  When I didn’t care enough to try anymore. 

“While it didn’t feel altogether different that time, the weeks leading up to my divorce were more strained and frustrating than in times we had fought before. As I look back on it now, however, I realize that even I had given up. I was no longer trying. What had once been a challenge for us to overcome together became a battle for us to fight independent of one another. That realization hit me pretty hard that night, as I lay in bed just a few hours after she asked to take a break. By the time she revealed she wanted a divorce, just a day and a half later, I had already recognized that this was it, we were done. I was done. It hurt, but I didn’t care anymore.” ― Derick 

8. When we realized we hadn’t liked each other in years. 

“I was a complete mess. I cannot speak for my ex-wife. But for me, I was simply not in a good place in my life and had long since lost my identity. I was so spent from trying to figure things out in a career that doesn’t tolerate mistakes. Slowly, trapped in an isolating mindset, failures became my only confidants. Failures and self-loathing became my past time and closest friends. And over time, a person as messed up as I was simply cannot love anyone correctly.

I’ve made my peace with the fact that when we internally dislike ourselves at such deep levels, we are in no place to love anyone else. We simply keep trying to fill the hole in our souls in the hopes we won’t feel as damaged as we know we are. In the end, my ex and I simply stopped trying to love or even hate each other. All emotions were simply no longer accessible. We began to realize that the last time we liked each other was well before marriage and even dating. Long before all that, we were just really good friends.” ― Michael 

9. When I justified her bad behavior. 

“The first time I brought up the fact that our relationship wasn’t going to work, she broke my headphones. I think, deep down inside, I knew the relationship wouldn’t last early on. She would lose her temper quickly, become increasingly paranoid and jealous and yell a lot. I kept justifying anything bad that happened. I had no escape, at least that’s how it felt at the time. I was afraid to leave for fear of being hurt or stalked or humiliated in front of peers.” ― Tom

10. When I realized we weren’t even fighting, we were just avoiding each other. 

“It was a long series of events, and decisions that slowly led to the final demise: when we stopped holding hands in public, when we no longer did date nights together, when we started to confide in others rather than our spouse, when we started to feel like the other person was an obstacle to our happiness rather than an advocate for it. Unlike a lot of couples, we never fought. We just gradually learned to avoid each other, and little by little, it led to a decision to end it. By the time I really saw the signs, and understood what they meant, it felt like it was already too late.” ― Gerald

Note: Respondents’ last names were withheld to protect their privacy and the privacy of their families. Some responses have been lightly edited or condensed for clarity. 

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline.

Serena Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis on Tuesday after maternity leave, turning heads at the French Open in what she called a “Wakanda-inspired catsuit.”

Williams said the outfit was designed to help prevent blood clots ― she faced near-deadly complications after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia on Sept. 1 and says she has had several clots in the last year. But the Nike sportswear also had a whimsical side.

It made her feel “like a warrior princess kind of, [a] queen from Wakanda,” she said, referring to the setting of the hit movie “Black Panther.”

“I always wanted to be a superhero, and it’s kind of my way of being a superhero,” said Williams, who defeated Kristyna Pliskova in straight sets in the first round.

The 23-time Grand Slam title winner added that the ensemble ― which actually was designed before “Black Panther” emerged ― was dedicated to “all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce.”

She gave a similar shoutout on Twitter:

Williams is on the board of advisers to Oath, HuffPost’s parent company.

Don’t let the lavish, destination bachelorette parties you see on social media get to you: Celebrating your bestie doesn’t have to cost you and the rest of your bridal party a small fortune.

Hosting an affordable bachelorette partyand having a damn good time can absolutely go hand-in-hand, whether you’re throwing a next-level, grownup sleepover for the bride-to-be or hosting a luxe backyard movie screening with all the accouterments.

Below, we’ve rounded up 11 relatively cheap bachelorette party ideas for money-savvy bridal parties. 

1. Host a sleepover.

Imagine how Instagramable the slumber parties of your youth would have been if only you had the app back then. To recapture those glory days of your teen years ― and Instagram the whole thing in true millennial fashion ― load up on sheet masks and Syrah, cue up your favorite movies and stay up all night to celebrate your friend’s upcoming nuptials. In the AM, pool your talents in the kitchen and whip up some breakfast or head out to your favorite brunch spot. (You’re adults now. You can totally splurge on ricotta-stuffed French toast and mimosas.)

2. Volunteer as a group.

A good time and do-gooding aren’t mutually exclusive: Use an app like GiveGab to find volunteering opportunities nearby that you know the bridal party will be interested in. One suggestion? Celebrate with The Birthday Party Project, a nonprofit organization that hosts monthly birthday bashes for kids at homeless and transitional living facilities across the country.

3. Book a cooking class.

Into eating and getting a lot of bang for your buck? Grab your girls and sign up for a cooking class. Not only will you collectively improve your culinary skills, you’ll also get to eat whatever you make at the end of the class ― plus, many culinary classes serve wine or allow you to bring your favorite bottle.  

4. Have Glamsquad prep you for a GNO.

Elevate a standard girls’ night out by having a team of professionals come do your hair and makeup before your night on the town. Services like Glamsquad offer blowouts, makeup services and on-demand manicures at your home. An added bonus? Your bride can use the glam sesh as an opportunity to test out hair and makeup ideas for the wedding. 

5. Head to the roller rink or bowling alley.

Want to exercise and get a little friendly competition going with your besties? Trek to the nearest roller rink for a skating party or bowl by the hour at your local bowling alley. (If you go bowling, purchase some matchy-matchy bowling shirts with the bride’s name emblazoned on them.)

6. Swing by a local winery or brewery.

You don’t have to live near Napa to enjoy some seriously good Cab or be Portland-based to indulge your love of craft beer: These days, wineries and breweries can be found nearby in just about any state. Ride-share over for drinks and, before you leave, shower the bridal party with a bottle of wine or a beer growler as a party favor. 

7. Create a scavenger hunt.

Before there were escape rooms, there were scavenger hunts. Creating a scavenger hunt of your own in a mall or another heavily populated area will give you the chance to get hyper-personal about the riddles and objects you’re searching for. Case in point? “Find and take a picture of a pasta maker to remind us of how Jen got deathly sick and vomited fettucini Alfredo all over Mike’s car on their second date.”

8. Pack a picnic.

If your bride is more of a wine-and-cheese kind of gal, corral all your friends for a picnic in the park or at the beach with a charcuterie or cheese board. Make it extra special by packing some lawn games, like giant tumbling blocks or an oversized Connect Four game.

9. Host a backyard movie screening.

For a movie night under the stars, rent a movie screen, a home movie theater projector and order the bride’s favorite takeout for dinner. Take the experience to the next level by renting a popcorn machine and hiring a professional bartender.

10. Hire a private chef to cook you dinner.

To avoid bridal party burnout before the big day ― and cater to your BFF bride’s palate ― hire a professional chef to work culinary magic in the kitchen. Use an easy-to-navigate (and free!) graphic design site like Canva to create some personalized menus with punny names for each dish (Got the Rock Guac, anyone?) 

11. Host a karaoke night.

Shower your bride with some killer duets at a karaoke night either at a local karaoke bar ― in major cities, you can usually rent out a whole room, complete with bottle service and small bites ― or in your home. Bubble machines and a group rendition of “Single Ladies” are totally optional but definitely recommended.