Vanessa Minnillo

Vanessa Lachey leaving Casa Vega in Studio City (11/9)

In case you care, Vanessa Minnillo's new name is Vanessa Lachey. Oh great, looks like I have to make a new Vanessa worship doll (with real human hair!). Anyways, on Friday she tweeted:

So.... I'm making it official, and I LOVE my "new name"! @VanessaLachey.... has a nice ring to it ;-)

It's a great world we live in, is it not? Can anyone but a smoking hot chick get a mention for playing surname scrabble? Of course not. It would be news if Vanessa DIDN'T cause painful erections for men and certain women. Here's a newsflash: Kelly Osbourne changed her name last year, but for obvious reasons nobody gave a shit. It's the way it is because this is what God intended. Don't believe me? Are you a biblical scholar? No. Am I? Oh hell to the yeah, motherfucker. Look it up if you lack faith, heathen. In case you're wondering, Kelly's new name is Chaz Bono.

*27 Vanessa Lachey pictures total in the gallery:

Vanessa Minnillo

Vanessa Minnillo arriving at Belle Gray boutique in Studio City (10/18)

*20 Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery:

Richard Branson's house burns down

Last month Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo were married on Richard Branson's private Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. And it wasn't cheap (for TLC, which aired a two-hour wedding special and probably paid for everything), as exclusive use of the island (for you and 28 friends) costs $54,500/night with a five night minimum. After the wedding, Nick told People:

"We love to travel and we love Necker Island. We've vacationed there multiple times, and when we got engaged, we both immediately thought of the island as the perfect place to have our wedding."

Adds Minnillo, 30: "We were on a boat, on vacation, passing the island and we both looked at each other and he said, 'Yes!' I was so glad he said what I was thinking. Nick saw it in my eyes."

To avoid the paparazzi, Nick and Vanessa's wedding was in Branson's Great House, the first time he's let anyone hold a wedding in it (normally they happen on the beach). Well I hope Nick and Vanessa didn't fall in love with that house, because it burned to the ground this morning -- and almost killed Kate Winslet. The Telegraph says:

Winslet carried [Branson's mom Eve], 90, from the Great House on Necker Island after it was struck by lightning during a tropical storm at 4am. All the guests escaped unharmed, including Sir Richard’s daughter, Holly, 29, Winslet’s children, Mia, 10, and Joe, seven, and the actress’s boyfriend. Sir Richard credited the actress for her actions during the blaze, which Winslet described as like being on a film set waiting for the director to say “cut”.

The businessman said: “My mum is 90 and can walk but it was more just to speed the process up than anything else. But anyway, she was great. She swept her up into her arms and got them out of the house as fast as possible. Talking to her, she said it’s like being in a film set where you’re waiting for the words 'cut’ but they just don’t come. So it was quite surreal for her to be in a real-life situation.”

The most suspicious thing about the fire is, at the time it started, Nick and Vanessa were 2500 MILES AWAY IN BEVERLY HILLS. Hmmmmmm. I know their wedding was last month, but it still seems a bit too "convenient" to me. Isn't that right Nick Lachey? . . .  or should I use your given name: OSAMA BIN LADEN! dun dun dunnnnn!

*10 Necker Island pictures total in the gallery:

Vanessa Minnillo

Vanessa Minnillo [and Nick Lachey] arriving at LAX airport from St. Barts (7/25)

*22 Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery:

Vanessa Minnillo

Vanessa Minnillo celebrating her bachelorette party at Lavo Nightclub inside The Palazzo in Las Vegas (6/17)

*25 Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery:

Paparazzi photos from Wednesday, May 25

Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey arriving on a flight at LAX (pics start here)

Sofia Vergara on the set of The Three Stooges in Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta (pics start here)

Elle Macpherson leaving her son's school in London (pics start here)

Katie Holmes at the 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York (pics start here)

Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill and his wife, Victoria Secret model Lily Aldridge, leaving Scotts restaurant in London (pics start here)

Anna Wintour and Calvin Klein leaving Da Silvano restaurant in New York after having lunch (pics start here)

Chris Noth out and about in New York (pics start here)

Reality star Bethenny Frankel, husband Jason Hoppy, and their daughter Bryn out and about in New York (pics start here)

Jack Black going through security at LAX airport (pics start here)

Emma Roberts leaving Fred Segal in West Hollywood (pics start here)

AnnaLynne McCord out and about in New York (pics start here)

Mischa Barton leaving Mahiki nightclub in London (pics start here)

Jamie Chung arriving for a flight at LAX airport (pics start here)

*116 paparazzi pictures total in the gallery:

Vanessa Minnillo at Starbucks in West Hollywood (4/10)

MY CAPTION: "This reminds me of the first time I blew Nick Lachey."

YOUR CAPTION: Leave it in the comments . . .

*30 Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery:

Vanessa Minnillo

Vanessa Minnillo on her way to Portofino Spa in Beverly Hills (3/11)

*15 Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery:

Vanessa Minnillo

Vanessa Minnillo (and Nick Lachey) leaving Stanley's Restaurant in Sherman Oaks (1/7)

*15 Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery:

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo at LAX airport (10/29)

A few weeks ago, Nick Lachey accidentally ran into his ex-wife Jessica Simpson at Red O restaurant (he was there for dinner and she was there casing it for a planned assault the next night). It's too bad that run-in didn't happen later because Jessica could have offered Nick a congratulations on his new engagement, you know, in between her sobbing. From People:

"We're excited and incredibly happy about our engagement and we look forward to a wonderful future together," the longtime couple announced in a joint statement.

Lachey, 36, popped the question to Minnillo, 29, on Thursday "near a beach" in California, with an Asscher-cut diamond with baguettes from Bader & Garrin, a source tells PEOPLE.

On Thursday afternoon, Lachey took to Twitter to write, "Hey all. If anyone's heard the rumors of my engagement, they are absolutely true! Vanessa and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for all the love."

"They are very happy," the source adds. "They make each other happy."

Obviously Jessica's known about Nick's engagement for the past couple of years and has been pretty upset about it. How else would you explain the fact that she's been sitting around eating gallon upon gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough? No, I don't mean chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream -- I mean actual dough. Hopefully Nick learned his lesson from his last marriage and makes sure that this time his future wife isn't a moron never meets Bam Margera.

*10 Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo pictures total in the gallery: