A 27-year-old British bachelor and a Californian actress who got engaged in the finale of a US TV dating show have split up, the couple have said.

Matt Grant, the first Briton to star on ABC's The Bachelor, chose blonde 22-year-old Shayne Lamas in May after six weeks of rigorous dates, but the couple have now ended their troubled relationship.

It marks the end of 10 out of the 11 couples formed in 12 seasons of the series, not including bachelor Brad Womack who chose no-one, saying he was not ready for a relationship.

Mr Grant, of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, said the pair would remain close friends.

In a joint statement to the US showbiz website People.com, the couple said:

"We tried hard to make it work but we realised that we were both heading in different directions. We truly care about each other and will remain close friends."

The separation comes a month after Mr Grant moved out of Miss Lamas's home in Century City, Los Angeles, citing a need for "space".

Talking about the pitfalls of reality TV dating, Delaina Dixon, a celebrity and TV writer with OK magazine in the US, said:

"It's such a fantasy, going on these glamorous dates to shows, to the Bahamas, and all in such a short space of time too."

"It's a passionate, intense and amazing experience. But they're falling in love with the idea of being in love, rather than the person."

"When they come out of the fantasy, and start to ask the pertinent questions they should have been asking all along, they realise they're just not as compatible as they thought."

She added that real-life was "not all champagne and roses", unlike the six weeks the couple spent together filming the series.

People are reporting that Florida Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin ruled Thursday that Richard Milstein, the court-appointed guardian of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn, will get custody of Smith's remains.


Judge Seidlin also said that he'd like Smith to be buried in the Bahamas next to her son, Daniel Smith, who died last year.


A tearful (!!!) Seidlin said when announcing his ruling

"I want her buried with her son. I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas. I want them to be together."

After the hearing ended, Milstein announced that Smith would indeed be buried in the Bahamas.


The judge directed Milstein to consult with Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead and her lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, on the burial plans for Smith. When Seidlin announced the ruling both Stern and Arthur broke down in tears.


"The Broward County medical examiner is ordered to release those remains to Milstein in accordance with Milstein's (direction)," Seidlin said. "Milstein is directed to consult with Arthur, Birkhead and Stern with respect to disposition of Anna Nicole Smith's remains." But he noted that Milstein had final discretion over Smith's interment.


All three parties had been fighting to determine where Smith's body should be buried. Stern said he wanted to carry out Smith's wish to be laid to rest next to her son in the Bahamas. Arthur claimed next-of-kin status and wanted the body to be put in a family plot in Texas. Birkhead, who aligned himself with Arthur, testified that Smith wanted to buried in California near Marilyn Monroe.


I actually think this is the right decision she should be where her son is buried. What do you think should she be in Texas, Bahamas or near Marilyn??

Nicolas Cage has bought a 40-acre-plus island in The Bahamas that had been on the market for $3 million. According to the Wall Street Journal.


The property, located near an island owned by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, is about 85 miles southeast of Nassau and is part of the Exuma archipelago of some 365 islands in the central Bahamas.


He also has a home on Paradise Island in The Bahamas.


He obviously has good taste - Hey Nicolas if you want some tips on where to eat and drink I can let you know - or you could check out The Bahamas Blog.