Tom’s perspective:

Public obsession with celebrity relationships is one thing. I kinda get it. I think it’s lame and weird, but I understand the vicarious thrill in knowing with whom Cameron Diaz is hooking up this week (side note: am I the only one who sees how much Cameron Diaz has the face of an ugly dude? How she ever became anything approaching a sex symbol is a total mystery to me).

You can argue that the magazines peddling gossip are the ones who create the demand, but I think some responsibility has to lay at the door of the people who buy People and Us Weekly and the people who watch all those awful shows on Bravo (even if they only do so when on JetBlue flights, Mrs. D…).

In one particular case though, the obsession of the tabloids – and of the public as reflected in the tabloid headlines – is beyond any reasonable level.

I’m talking about Brangelina.

Sure, everyone wants to how Jennifer is coping with it all, but six years on, even that has started to fade.

Now everyone wants to know when Brad and Angelina are going to get married.

And I can’t for the life of me figure out why this is so important to people. The two of them are in a committed relationship, they live together, they have kids together and despite all the difficulties of leading life under such intense scrutiny, they seem to be making a decent go of it (something that can’t be said for their respective previous marriages – hers to Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, and his to “poor Jen”.)

Their only compelling reason to get married is to stop the tabloids speculating about whether they’ll get married.

According to wikipedia, Brad has said that they won’t get married until “everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able”, which is a fine sentiment. But I wonder if they aren’t getting slipped a few bucks by the tabloids to hold off and keep the storyline going?

Melissa’s perspective:

I swore off Bravo, E! and gossip magazines like Us Weekly because I realized they were rotting my brain. What a waste of precious energy (well, unless I’m on a JetBlue flight and then all bets are off, as Mr. Dowler helpfully noted.)

With that said, I can still see the obsession with Brangelina and the endless “will they won’t they marry?” speculation (although it seems to me last year it was all the rage to speculate about them splitting up?). Why are people so obsessed with these two and their potential nuptials?

• They are two of the most attractive, talented and successful people in the world. Tying the knot would confirm our belief that fairy tales come true and handsome princes do marry beautiful princesses. It’s the same reason we were glued to the royal wedding back in April. We like escapism. For Brangelina to be a true fairy tale couple, they need to give us the white wedding.
• Brad and Angelina have been quoted recently (by HIGHLY reliable sources, I’m sure) saying that their kids are begging them to get married. It’s kind of heartwarming to think of this pack of privileged, globe-trotting cuties wanting nothing more than for Mom and Dad to do the old-fashioned thing and tie the knot.
• If there’s one thing that The Long Haul Project has taught us, it’s that there’s something magical about the act of getting married. Standing up and proclaiming your commitment and signing a piece of paper recognizing that promise really does change things. On the face of it, these symbolic acts seem far less significant than having children or owning property together. Yet time and again, we hear from couples that the act of getting married marks the beginning of a transition that takes their relationship somewhere deeper and more complex. When we see celebrities make this commitment, even if they don’t need to for financial or religious reasons, it reminds us why it feels so important.

Ultimately, I hope Brad and Angelina get married so we can start pursuing them for a Long Haul Project interview. I think we’d do a much better job covering it than Us Weekly!