DOUGS PERSONAL MESSAGE FOR 2012

2011 happened to be one of the most miraculous, transformational, extraordinary, and blessed years of my entire life to date. I fell in love, became married on May 20th, and then, well, as they say ... the proverbial sh*t hit the fan! I suppose by now -unless youve been living under a rock for the past 12 months or so -- youve most likely caught wind of my marriage and how my wife, Courtney, and I became an unwitting international media sensation almost overnight. For those of you still completely in the dark, scratching your heads, and wondering what the heck Im referring to, well here it is point blank: I was 50 when we were married and Courtney was 16 [cue collective in-take of astonished breath, dramatic musical score, and provocative headlines like JailBait Bride!]. As soon as it became public, our unconventional marriage [and glaring age difference] went globally viral and -- like it or not -- Court and I became the center of a controversial international media storm ... that doesnt appear to be dying down anytime soon. I mean, Courtney and I knew that our marriage would, with no doubt, ruffle a few feathers and raise some eyebrows, but we couldve never anticipated the worldwide TSUNAMI wed cause and the repercussions wed face in the aftermath of that tsunami. In life, we make our beds, ideally assuming that -as long as were not intentionally hurting others -theyre our beds to lie in and people will be accepting, void of judgement, wishing you well as they lie in their respective beds, making their unique choices, and dreaming their particular dreams. But thats not the world we live in. And as per life, with the choices we make, the paths we decide to walk down, theres always sacrifice to gain ... and not everyone is going to approve of your choices. Theres no way around it. In marrying Courtney, Ive become the happiest Ive ever been in my life, but also -in so doing -- Ive endured the loss of my entire family because of their collective disapproval. My brother, Erik, for example -- with whom Ive always been close -- completely excommunicated me ... as did my mother.

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My other relatives, too, became chilly and have distanced themselves from me and Courtney [none of them having even met my wife in person, yet!]. Their preconceptions and judgements seem to have eclipsed any residual desire they may have harbored in their hearts for my [and Courts] ultimate joy ... because they just cant get past our vast age difference and the fact that Courtneys still a minor. It didnt just stop with family, though. Many of my professional relations jumped ship as well. My agent dropped me like a hot potato. My manager, too, bailed on me, with a fair warning that -- by marrying Courtney -- I was committing career suicide. My marriage appears tove black-balled me from certain factions of the entertainment industry at large ... which is kindve funny if you think about it; that in Hollywood -- of all places -- Land of the LiberalMinded, Home of the Unconventional, Society of The Scandalous ... one can still manage to turn it on its head and create such an impact by merely falling in love, becoming married, and doing nothing immoral, illegal, nor criminal. By our most fiercely embittered and outspoken critics, my and Courtneys union has been called everything from salacious, to perverted, creepy, prurient, disgusting, gross, indecent, and a gazillion other juicy derogatory adjectives I couldnt possibly post in a PG-13 essay! Weve even received death threats. No lie. Ive been accused of being a cradle-robbing pedophile [which is a head-scratcher because a pedophile is someone with an exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children and anyone whos ever seen my wife can attest to the fact that shes waaaaay past puberty!]. Courts been called a little gold-digging fame whore. And Courts mom and dad; the worst parents on the face of the planet because they gave permission for their 16-year old daughter to marry me in Nevada [where its legal to do so, but only with parental consent]. Some have even speculated that our marriage is a sham, a shameless spectacle, a ridiculous publicity stunt to propel us into the limelight for a stab at our proverbial 15 minutes of fame [never mind that Im already a veteran of fame with over 25 years in the movie biz!].

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I can only marvel at how much time certain people have on their hands to spew so much hate, outrage, and malice; to judge so harshly something they know nothing about and that happens to rub them the wrong way. My wife and I shake our heads in sheer amazement, humor, and awe ... because those same hatemongers are the ones who are continuing to keep us in the headlines despite their claims of wanting us to just go away; thus inspiring one of my favorite Courtney mantras: Haters are my motivators! I have to wonder if our haters have extended that same judgemental outrage to the unconventional love stories of others like Celine Dion and Rene Angelil or John and Bo Derek, for example. I mean, my goodness: Court and I arent the only celebrity May/December romance to surface in Hollywood. Do those naysayers know that Celine Dion was only 12 years old when she met her then-manager, Rene Angelil, who was 38 at the time? Do they know that Celene and Rene began a romantic relationship seven years later [when Celine was only 19] and became married in 1994? Do they care that Celine and Rene are still happily married with children after 18 years of marriage together? Theoretically, if Court and I had waited until she was 18 to become husband and wife, would our critics be less enraged? Would those mere 15 months really have made that significant of a difference? And what of John and Bo Derek? Do our critics know that John [at 46] began an intimate relationship with Bo when she was only 16, they moved to Germany to avoid John being charged with statutory rape, returned to America soon after Bos 18th birthday, became married and remained together for 22 years until Johns death in 1998, Bo lovingly at her husbands side when he passed? The fact is: Court and I were wedded in a chapel; our union legally and morally sanctioned by church and state. We waited for marriage before engaging in anything physically intimate and there was nothing inappropriate about our union ... yet we remain the brunt of hostility and scorn by those who disapprove.

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But I ask you: Wouldnt it make more sense for the finger-waggers to take up their grievances with our government and God -- not with Celene and Rene, Bo and John, Court and me ... those of us who simply fell in love and desired to honor that love by becoming husband and wife? With all of the unspeakable atrocities happening in our world on a daily basis, this is the focus of outrage: love? That said, Id like to mention for the record that -by our unique union -- Courtney and I are not sanctioning, condoning, nor encouraging adult/teen relationships/marriages across the board. This is our Love Story ... exclusive only to us. Period. Just as Celene/Renes and John/Bos Love Stories are exclusive to them. I suppose -- like everything else -- Father Time will eventually put an end to the controversy. In May of 2021, when Courtney and I celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, perhaps then [just maybe, ya think?] our critics might be less harsh with their attacks (o: In the meantime, Court and I are very much in love and -- quite frankly -- having the time of our lives on this never-ending Roller-Coaster Ride of Life in LaLaLand. Along with our critics comes a host of endless support, a plethora of worldwide fans, and loads of fun. In just 10 short months, my wife has garnered 90, 000 Twitter followers to date and millions of hits on her You-Tube vids. Weve turned down Reality-TV offers and are considering others. We did a hilarious stint with Jason Alexander on Funny or Die and Courts now a celebrity spokesperson for the animal rights group, P.E.T.A. Im in the midst of pounding out yet another screenplay and were writing a book together called Forbidden Love encapsulating our story in a series of e-mail exchanges my wife and I composed at the beginning of our courtship. Courts new dance/club/pop song, Reality, is about to be released and its amazing. When you have a chance, if you like, feel free to check out her new website: WWW.COURTNEYSTODDEN.COM for all the latest news, updates, and events.

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When were not busy working on our creative endeavors or goofing around in front of the cameras and finding ourselves splashed all over the entertainment mags for stirring up the pot with one whacky scandalous shenanigan or another [like getting kicked out of pumpkin patches for inappropriate behavior ... ahem!], were at home up in the Hollywood Hills cuddled up on the couch with our adorable pups -Bazaar and Tuna -- and watching American Idol or episodes of I Love Lucy ... ordering a pizza now and again ... attending church on Sundays ... laughing a lot and, at times, yes, working through our conflicts/differences ... just like any other normal average married couple in America ... albeit with a 34 year age gap between them (o: My friends, heres the bottom line: life is unpredictable ... life is a Divine gift ... its an awe-inspiring journey filled with wonderful adventures. Capture them while you can. Fall in love. Stir up a little controversy if you like. Grab your bull by the horns! Be fearless. Do it your way. Make your unconventional unique bed and lie in it without regret. Let your dreams unfold. Thank God for each and every day that your heart is still beating in your chest and that youre blessedly ALIVE ... because its fleeting, isnt it? This gift of life. And fragile. And in the end ... what does it honestly matter except for one classic four-lettered word: love. So, Ill end with this for now: If the Mayans happen to be right and the worlds about to end somewhere around 12/12/12, well, I for one am going to go out with my hand firmly entwined in my precious wifes ... and with a huge grateful smile on my face ... and absolutely no regrets ... God bless you and yours (o: -- Doug Hutchison