Let’s just assume that’s a euphemism.  How trendy!

After his break up with Denise Richards a few months ago, Richie Sambora news has dwindled.  We hadn’t really missed the beach photos and outdoor cafe smoochy photo ops.  Go figure.

Tongues began wagging after Sambora appeared quite out of it during the taping of an episode of MTV’s Unplugged Tuesday.

Now comes news from People that he’s entered rehab a treatment facility.  Apparently, Sambora hasn’t been doing so well.

"Richie has had a terrible year," a close friend of the musician tells PEOPLE. "I think this was a culmination of all these things and finally he realized he needed to take care of himself. He’d put off everything for so long taking care of everyone else it was just time to stop and deal with his issues."

We really hate to be insensitive at such a trying time, but are we the only ones who saw this coming from a mile away? Look at that picture above.  It’s only about two years old, but Richie looks a decade younger than he has of late.

He has been through a lot; the divorce from the super hot Heather Locklear is just part of it.  Regardless of what the "condition" that led him to treatment turns out to be, let’s hope he gets really good care.

Read more…

Heather Locklear (45) was recently spotted sharing an intimate dinner with Christina Applegate’s ex-husband, actor Johnathan Schaech (37) at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Thousand Oaks, California.

“She really likes him,” says a Locklear pal of the actor (his divorce with Applegate is almost finalized). “It’s still in that fun, getting-to-know-each-other stage.”

But the divorcée should tread carefully. On December 9th, a witness saw Schaech at the Maxim/Skyy Vodka party in L.A. “acting single.”

Richie Sambora (47) is hesitant to go forward with his relationship with Denise Richards (35) until she settled things with Charlie Sheen (41). “Richie is happy, but the only thing holding him back was the drama between Denise and Charlie,” says a source. “He expressed this to Denise.”

A second source adds, Sambora has “a surprisingly good relationship” these days with his ex, Heather Locklear (45). “They stay in touch for the sake of their daughter Ava (9),” adds the insider. “She’s the most important thing to the both of them.”

Hopefully Richards next boyfriend will stop her from taking all of Sambora’s money if they get married then divorced. The fact that Richards was so vicious in the first place, should be a giant red flag telling Samora to stay away from Richards (a.k.a trouble).

Denise Richards and Richie Sambora are now engaged to be married, which makes Richie Sambora an official gullible dumbass loser. If Richie doesn’t know it now, he will in a few years when Richards divorces him, takes a large chunk of his cash in the divorce, and makes him another Charlie Sheen. Next Richards will report she’s pregnant with her next meal ticket. This also makes something else official, the fact that Denise Richards left Charlie Sheen for Richie Sambora. Does Richards think this will help patch things up with former best friend Heather Locklear. Richards engaged, and is not yet divorced. Here’s more:

Life and Style mag reporta that Denise Richards and Richie Sambora are planning to be married in Positano, Italy, in May 2007, exactly one year after they spent a romantic vacation there – and she’s already wearing his ring!

While Denise’s rep denies the couple is engaged, these exclusive photos show Denise wearing a $100,000, 9.5 carat ring, which, according to an insider, Richie presented to her on Sept. 2. “They were on their way to the Staples Center [in LA] to see the fights,” says the insider. “He got down on one knee in the back of the limo.”

Afterwards they celebrated their upcoming nuptials with close friends at the Palm Restaurant in LA. LifeandStylemag.com snapped the photos of Denise wearing the ring on Sept. 7, in NYC, where she and Richie checked into the Trump International Hotel and Tower. He performed with his band Bon Jovi that night at the Fashion Rocks event at Radio City Music Hall.

Earlier that day, Richie and Denise visited with Richie’s father at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where the elder Sambora is undergoing treatment for lung cancer. “Richie’s mother was there, too,” says the insider. “They were like, ‘You’re engaged!’ They are as happy as can be.” But Richie corrected his parents, saying that he and Denise are not formally engaged – yet.

“He’s a very traditional guy,” says the insider. “He wants to wait until they are both officially divorced. Then they can make the engagement real.” Richie and Denise broke the news to Denise’s mom as well, who is also battling cancer. “Denise’s mom is not doing that great,” says the insider. “It’s very important to Richie to let her family know that he’s going to be there for Denise in the long run.” The insider describes the happy couple as “ecstatic,” and adds: “They are buddies, these two. They’ve spent the past few weeks really bonding and talking about their future together. They’re going to make a great husband and wife.”

This quote really cracks me up, “He’s a very traditional guy,” says the insider. “He wants to wait until they are both officially divorced. Does he have any choice but to wait until they are both divorced? Well, maybe in Utah.

Here’s what TMZ is saying:

As reports swirl that Denise Richards and Richie Sambora are engaged, TMZ has
the real deal– it just ain’t true.

Richards, who filed for divorce from estranged hubby Charlie Sheen in March, and
rocker boyfriend Sambora, who is divorcing Denise’s BFF Heather Locklear, have
NO wedding plans.
Richards’ attorney Neal Hersh tells TMZ "There is no truth to any rumors that
Denise and Richie are engaged. They are not."

TMZ’s cameras were at Fashion Rocks on Thursday night when the two showed up
hand in hand.

The power couple, who have have been dating for months, have been spotted
together many times by paparazzi but this is this first time the duo has
attended a public event as a couple.

Just a few weeks ago, Heather Locklear told friends she was in love with David Spade and even planned to marry him by the end of the year. But all that changed recently when the friends turned lovers called it quits. “They had a lot of blowups and fights,” explains a friend. “They decided that they weren’t a good fit romantically,” adds an insider.

It didn’t take long for Heather, 44, to get right back in the saddle – this time with TV producer Jonathan Prince, whose work includes American Dreams. “She’s known Jonathan for a very long time, and he’s been on her radar,” says the insider. “They’ve always been friends, but now it’s something much more.”

Over Labor Day weekend, the new couple had dinner together twice, including a night at Heather’s favorite local restaurant, Rustico. And on Sept. 4, Jonathan, 58, had plans to meet Heather’s relatives at a Locklear family picnic, the friend says.

But David, 42, isn’t sitting home alone. On Sept. 3, he dined with former flame Teri Hatcher at LA restaurant Il Sole, says a witness. Teri slipped in the back door not long after David arrived, and after an evening of drinks, they left together via the front door.

In the end, says a friend of Heather’s, she and David will still be good friends. “They’ve patched things up on a platonic level, but they’re definitely not dating anymore.”

We’ll see.