Reality bites into Breckenridge

Summit and Eagle counties aren’t typically inhabited by budding reality stars, but ABC might as well move the filming location for “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” from L.A. to the Rockies because we’ve got a lot of heavy-duty contenders up here. Former bachelor, Travis Stork, lives among us in Breckenridge and who can forget reigning king and queen of reality, Trista and Ryan Sutter, of Avon? The fame-hungry couple met on “The Bachelorette” and later married in a sea of pink on national television. Well, the Sutters are apparently giving reality TV another whirl. They realized their 15 minutes were well up and had to do something to keep their images alive. Maybe Breckenridge’s pro snowboarder Jesse, who is currently wooing the new bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas, is threatening their territory? (Don’t miss the likeable local on “The Bachelorette” which airs Mondays at 6 p.m. on ABC.) It’s been five years since Trista’s days as the “The Bachelorette” in the show’s first installment and now she’s back for more reality. According to Life and Style magazine, the Sutter family is in talks to do a new show in collaboration with Martha Stewart that will focus on fixing houses. That’s all we know as of now, but you have been warned.

Tour de Lance

Lance Armstrong’s reputation as a world-class athlete, cancer survivor and family man has been replaced with “Hollywood womanizer.” The divorced father of three has dated a string of Hollywood beauties, including ex-fiancée Sheryl Crow. Armstrong and Crow started dating right around the time Armstrong filed for divorce from his wife, Kristin. After their quick engagement ended in early 2006, Armstrong moved on to date fashion designer Tory Burch in 2007, followed by barely legal Ashley Olsen and now Kate Hudson. Hudson, who just recently broke up with Owen Wilson (also a former boyfriend of Sheryl Crow’s), and Armstrong have been spotted everywhere from dining in Austin, Texas, where he owns a home, to making out and dancing in Cannes. The two serial daters seem perfect for each other, well at least until next week ...

Yo-Yo Oprah

Oprah is as famous for her obsessive dieting as she is for her talk show. While Oprah reigns as a media powerhouse, as well as an inspiring and model citizen, she definitely lacks in self-confidence. America has witnessed the self-proclaimed emotional eater go on countless diets, bringing numerous diet and fitness experts on her show in a quest for the perfect weight. It’s hard to forget when Oprah went on that crazy liquid diet for four months in 1988, getting down to her lowest weight of 145. That diet backfired when she started eating solid food again, and her weight eventually crept back up to 237 pounds. Obviously, Oprah is hugely successful, especially to middle-aged women. And women do love to talk about dieting, which is perfect since Oprah’s fitness guru, Bob Greene, might as well be her co-host. It seems that every month Oprah and Bob are praising a new diet trend or exercise technique and this month is no exception. Oprah just recently decided to go vegan for a 21-day cleanse as a way to become a more conscious eater. She’s even blogging about it on her website. In addition to giving up animal products, she is ridding her diet of other favorites including alcohol, caffeine, sugar and gluten. On her blog, Oprah credits Kathy Frestin’s book “Quantum Wellness,” as inspiration and hopes that this cleanse will provide “a chance to think about eating differently and see what (my) attachments are to certain kinds of foods-and what (I’m) willing to do to change.” If you’re endlessly intrigued by Oprah’s persistent dieting, go to www.Oprah.com to read her blog. Maybe this diet will be the last, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Rumor has it ...

Hollywood is working on “Playboy,” the movie, which will focus on Hugh Hefner’s life. Robert Downey Jr., who just hit it big with “Ironman,” is in the lead to play Hef ... Lindsay Lohan is engaged to her girlfriend, DJ Samantha Ronson. Although the two have played coy about their relationship, Lindsay’s father, Michael, told US Weekly in an e-mail that “their relationship is evident to anyone with half a brain.”

Deirdre Shattuck resides in Breckenridge and maintains her enthusiasm for celebrity gossip even while living in the mountains.