MARQUETTE, Mich. - Actor John Stamos testified Tuesday that he was "heartbroken" over the separation from his wife six years ago when he first met a woman now charged with conspiring to extort US$680,000 from him.

The "Full House" and "ER" star took the stand during the federal trial of Allison Coss and Scott Sippola, who are accused of demanding money from Stamos, saying they had photos of him with cocaine and strippers they could sell to a magazine.

Under questioning by prosecutors, Stamos said he met Coss in Orlando, Florida, in 2004 when he was taken there by friends trying to cheer him up after separating from his wife, actress and supermodel Rebecca Romijn.

"I was very heartbroken at the time," he said.

You’re not going to believe this, Bachelor fans, but Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi have called off their engagement for good.

I know, I know; you probably never saw it coming. But it’s true.

“Jake and Vienna have split,” the couple’s rep, Janice Lee told People magazine Tuesday.

Pavelka himself also told TMZ “we’re split” and the website is reporting that Girardi packed up her stuff — minus the $50,000 princess-cut diamond ring he gave her — and moved out of Pavelka’s house on Saturday.

In the much-anticipated return of HBO’s hit series True Blood on Sunday night, Deborah Ann Woll is back for Season 3 as bloodthirsty teenage vampire Jessica Hamby, a bratty, virgin-for-eternity who happens to be sleeping the daylight hours away with a corpse, which she has doused in Lysol to cover the stench. For fans of the second-biggest series in HBO’s history (after The Sopranos), the bizarre sleeping arrangement is a classic touch of True Blood, a campy, brilliantly written series from Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) that promises to suck us, its fans, in once again.

This week was full of surprises. Temptations singer Ali-Ollie Woodson succumbed to cancer, Paul McCartney serenaded the First Lady, and Bret Michaels continued to beat the odds. And as for the latest, Mariah Carey's abrupt withdrawal from Tyler Perry's forthcoming film has prompted a response from the Precious producer.

Rue McClanahan's death from a massive stroke this week may have shocked Golden Girls andMaude fans around the globe, but nobody was more stunned at losing such a fighter than the actress's manager, Barbara Lawrence. 

"She was doing absolutely, incredibly well," Lawrence tells PEOPLE. "This blindsided us, just blindsided us."

Golden Girl Rue McClanahan has died at the age of 76. 

"She passed away at 1 a.m. this morning," her manager, Barbara Lawrence, tells PEOPLE. "She had a massive stroke." 

McClanahan, who played man-happy Blanche Devereaux on the still-popular '80s sitcom Golden Girls, had suffered a minor stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery. Lawrence adds that at the time of her death Thursday, McClanahan "had her family with her. She went in peace." 

All season long, Nicole Scherzinger and her partner, Derek Hough, out-tangoed, out-quick stepped and out paso dobled the competition. During theDancing With the Stars finale Tuesday night, the two earned the distinction of unanimous praise from all three of the judges, who called the pop singer the best dancer in the show’s history.

“I’m totally emotional,” Hough told PEOPLE moments after the show ended. “Nicole and I burst out into tears backstage after our Argentine tango. We were so overwhelmed with how happy we were with what was going on tonight. Win, lose, draw we were going to be happy. But to win is phenomenal.”

Bret Michaels' life is anything but boring.

The rocker still tours with his band Poison, he's re-invented his career by plunging into the world of reality TV -- and he has a new tell-all book set for 2010.

Oh yeah, he also made headlines recently for getting clocked at the Tony Awards by a piece of runaway scenery.

Michaels just rolls with the punches -- and he's laughing all the way to the bank.

"I am just naturally driven," Michaels told the Colorado Daily. "My biggest blessing has been being able to play music in a very jaded business.

"I just built my career brick by brick. I kept all the publishing, and, in the end, it didn't suck and it paid off. I wanted a long career, but it has been a roller coaster ride."

Michaels is touring this summer with his hitmaking band Poison. The glam rockers debuted in the big-haired, MTV days of the '80s and cranked out hits such as "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

Poison sold more than 25 million records and the band still draws fans to its arena shows. This summer, the group's touring with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick. The show hits Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre in Greenwood Village on Monday.

"We've been trying to do this tour for awhile," Michaels said. "We finally found a summer where we could all do it and it's been great. Def Leppard's a seriously good band, and it's been awesome being on the road with them and Cheap Trick."

Poison's classic tunes also are gaining new life in the Tony-nominated musical "Rock of Ages."

The show became a Broadway success, so the band was asked to perform its hit "Nothing But a Good Time" on the 2009 Tony Awards.

That's when all hell broke loose,

Michaels had just finished his number when he was knocked out by a piece of descending scenery. The musician suffered a broken nose and it was the YouTube moment seen around the world.
IF YOU GO

"During the Tonys, I got knocked out by a wall that was coming down," Michaels said "It just hit my thick skull. The next thing I knew, these flying monkeys from 'Wicked' were picking me up me and Liza Minnelli was giving me advice!"

When he's not dodging scenery, Michaels has a solid solo music career. His 2008 CD, Rock My World, featured tunes from his hit reality show "Rock of Love."

The "Rock of Love" franchise has become must-see TV on VH1, and it's the highest rated reality program in the music channel's history.

"VH1 had approached me about doing a show," Michaels said. "The show was going to be a little bit scripted and novelty-ish, so I said I'd love to be on. I wanted the show to be about the way I would date -- I'm 40 years old, but mentally I feel like I'm 20.

"We were going to start with six episodes, but once they filmed the first night, they wanted more. We had this amazingly ridiculous time on the show and the girls were crazy enough to keep coming back.

"There was a lot of footage we couldn't show on VH1." 

Rock of Love" became a popular TV entity, so it morphed into "Rock of Love 2" and "Rock of Love Bus."

The reality shows flashed a spotlight on Michaels, his music and his dating habits -- and now VH1 wants more.

"'Rock of Love' became one of VH1's most popular shows -- even in the conservative states," Michaels said. "There was this big cultural trickle-down and we had fans of all ages. The show worked because I had a 20-year career, I'm self-depreciating -- and it was a ridiculously crazy dating show.

"Now they want me to come back for a fourth 'Rock of Love.' I feel that it should be something that changes up, but I still want that fun element. What you see is what you get with me."

Michaels will tell all about "Rock of Love" in his upcoming biography "Roses & Thorns." 

Three publishing houses went into a bidding war over the bio, but Michaels settled on Simon & Schuster. The book will be published in 2010.

"This book is very candid and people will get the raw truth about my life," Michaels said. "I also have some great pictures -- like my prom picture with me in my parachute pants. That's worth the price of the book."

Pump your fists, Jersey Shore fans!

The cast of MTV’s reality hit is on the loose in South Beach — and filming is underway on their follow-up season.

After arriving in town Saturday, stars of the show have worked out in a local gym, hung at the beach and mixed with locals on Miami’s famed Ocean Drive.

Dressed in their Jersey Shore finest, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Jenni “JWOWW” Farleyand their costars partied at Ocean’s 10, an American-style sports bar that stretches between two hotels, the Edison and the Breakwater. There, they ate and drank colorful frozen drinks, laughing up a storm, according to an onlooker.

“They were here twice yesterday, for lunch and dinner, while shooting a segment of their reality show,” a source at the restaurant tells PEOPLE. “They loved the venue and all had a great time.”

Still, they may be only warming up in Miami, according to another source, who said they so far seemed to keep to themselves.

“They sat at a rectangle table and seemed to be in a bubble all of their own,” the source says. “They were nice and chatty but definitely did not get out of their own comfort zone. They need to get used to South Beach where people of all different backgrounds converge and chill. Time will tell.” –Linda Marx

Charlie Sheen will plead no contest to misdemeanor assault and serve 30 days in jail ... TMZ has learned.

Charlie had a choice to either serve jail time or get straight probation -- but probation was just too risky.  Charlie will go to Aspen next Monday, enter a no contest plea to 3rd degree assault and immediately begin serving time.  The felony menacing charge against Charlie will be dismissed.

Charlie will be sentenced to 30 days but with good time credit it will be whittled down to 17 days, and two of the 17 days will be minimal.  Once he completes his jail stint, he'll be a free man -- no probation.

Charlie will also be required to complete 36 hours of anger management before Monday's hearing.  He's already completed all but 10 hours, sources say.