When American Pie star Jason Biggs arrived home one evening to discover that his wife had ordered the couple a prostitute, it might have come as a shock.
Despite its odd nature, actress Jenny Mollen’s gesture has got people thinking. Not least because her former Angel co-star, David Boreanaz, said recently that being unfaithful to his wife of 10 years with “Tiger Woods’s No 1”, Rachel Uchitel, had ultimately made for a “bonding experience”.
The actor, 42, whose former Playboy Playmate wife Jamie Bergman, 36, was pregnant with their second child at the time of the affair, was exposed through a string of lurid SMSes and damning photographs.
He says of the episode: “In a sacred ground like marriage, you find yourself out of it at certain times for reasons unknown that can be destructive.
“There could be a demon that kind of comes out and overtakes you. Do I believe in giving up? No, I don’t. I’m a fighter. I’m a lover.”
By realising a potential fantasy, is Jason’s wife Mollen, 32, making it less appealing to her husband? And if so, does the placing of a sexual rival in the middle of two happily married people mean that partners are less likely to stray?
When Jenny’s intimate account of her search for the perfect one-night girl appeared on website The Smoking Jacket, this was not the reason she gave for her decision.
Instead, amid many crude revelations, she admitted that the whole thing came about because she had “wanted to do something special for his birthday”.
Might Ashton Kutcher have been less tempted to stray if he and his wife had followed Jason and Jenny’s example?
Ashton and Demi Moore have, in the last few days, been pictured at a Kabbalah camping retreat in California, a spiritual haven they are hoping will cleanse them of their recent woes. But many would agree that it will take a lot more than melting marshmallows to solve their issues.
Instead, if we are to believe reports over the last few weeks, it was Kutcher’s “debauched” alcohol-fuelled evening spent in a hot tub, in the company of four naked women, ensconced in a $3 500 suite in a San Diego hotel, that stands as their major hurdle.
Might Ashton have been less tempted to test how green the grass was on the other side if he and his wife had followed the Biggs/Mollen example?
If someone like Sarah Leal - the girl with whom he was said to have spent the night - had already been presentin their marriage somehow, might he have been less attracted to what he didn’t have?
Of course, Jason, 33, and David are certainly not the first to dabble with the world of prostitution - whether intended for selfish indulgence or to share for two.
Charlie Sheen has doggedly pursued this route. In the lead-up to both his divorces from Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller, he was constantly unfaithful and linked to escorts.
Then came the two “goddess girlfriends”, who Charlie hand-picked earlier this year out of a bawdy set of porn stars and exotic dancers (though they insist they’ve never worked as vice girls).
His new living arrangements, saw one, Bree Olson, take one bedroom, while Charlie’s other playmate, Natalie Kenly, slept in another. When he felt bored, he’d get them all together “to create a spark”.
Olson also admitted to a consensual threesome with the actor and Brooke while they were still together. She said: “I didn’t mind it at the time. She’s hot.”
There are revelations, too, by Jane Fonda, who once divulged in her memoirs that her former husband Roger Vadim actively involved other women in their bed at night - despite it not being a universally-enjoyable activity.
“It seems shocking that I did that, but I managed to convince myself that it was fine, that I wanted to, even though it was killing my heart,” Jane says of the late director.
Brangelina, never far from tales involving relationship strife and scandal, also have a part to play. Supermodel Karolina Kurkova was once said to have served as the “filling in a Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie cannoli”, though the reports have never been confirmed.
And who could forget Tiger? Just when it seemed that prostitutes belonged to a sordid world in which high-powered individuals would never dare to tread in fear of humiliating kiss-and-tells, it emerged that the golfer had been helping himself to a healthy dose on a regular basis.
In her open account, Jenny admits that the prostitute, Keisha, did not in fact have much effect on the adventurous couple. “I think it was pretty obvious that my husband and I were both bored,” she reveals.
“But the thing that struck me the most significant was how casual and seemingly well-adjusted Keisha seemed. She was articulate, gregarious, and were it not for the torpedo boobs, the type of girl you could see being your cousin.”
Funnily enough, Jenny’s revelations shock a lot less than the endless string of details that transpired from Ashton’s misdeed. Surprising, given that the former is a rarely-discussed taboo and the latter an exercise of misconduct and shame that we hear all too often nowadays.
Jenny adds: “Whatever it was she had done, worked. I was instantly more aroused by my husband. He seemed so mysterious to me. Even though the actual act was relatively boring and a financial bust, something was rekindled between us.”
Through Ashton’s alleged infidelity, it’s clear that time and again, illicit amusement and frivolity appeals. Even when there would be no need to look for something new or better, humans cave to the irresistible pull of temptation.
Cynically, comedienne Rita Rudner might have had it just right when she said: “In Hollywood, marriage is a success if it outlasts milk.”
But one thing is for certain: stationery and leather goods are no longer suitable as birthday presents in the Hollywood Hills. - Daily Mail