Another Cougar Gets the Axe

Rumor has it that singer and actor Usher Raymond has filed for divorce from his wife of two years, Tameka Foster. Usher's divorce is among the list of high profile cougar breakups this year, the other being the split between guitarist John Mayer and Jennifer Anniston. According to the Urban Dictionary, a cougar is an older woman who frequents clubs in order to score with a much younger man. The cougar can be anyone from an overly surgically altered wind tunnel victim, to an absolutely sad and bloated old horn meister to a real hottie. These prowlers are aggressive and stop at nothing until they snag young men off the market. I've always wondered what the attraction is in dating someone who looks like your son or nephew. Anniston looked the role of chaperon, while Foster looked like Usher's aunt. Young men have cited all sorts of reasons for choosing older women that run the gamut from older women being better lovers to having motherly instincts that these men so badly crave. They want to have it all though it seems. Lover, cook, aunt, mother and cougar all in one. So, when the first old lady winks at them, they assume they've found love.

It's quite understandable that Usher's marriage to Tameka was the source of so much consternation. At the time of the wedding, Usher was only 28 while Foster was 37. This was not the first time Usher had wandered into cougar territory though. He had previously dated Chili a former member of the girl group TLC and he was rumored to have dated super model Naomi Campbell. It seems as though the anger might have been because Foster had three sons from a previous relationship. Further, she had a pending felony charge. Importantly many people viewed Foster as an opportunist who was looking to make Usher her next cash cow. The trick is so simple. Cougar falls in love with sexy boy toy, gets pregnant and secures her future through child support payments.

The marriage between the two started off on the wrong note. Usher allegedly tripped and fell as he made his way to the altar to await his heavily pregnant bride. In wedding pictures, his mother was noticeably absent, signifying that she hadn't given her blessings. In spite of these, Usher continued to tell fans that all was well and his family had embraced Tameka Foster. I remember him ranting on MTV's TRL sometime last May, telling fans he was the happiest he had ever been and Tameka was his personal choice. But neither his MTV tirade nor a cover spread in Essence was enough to quash the disturbing rumors about his marriage.

Tameka was older and she was insecure. Earlier this year, Usher had to pull out of the Grammy Awards to fly to be with his wife in Brazil. She had secretly left the country to seek cosmetic surgery in Brazil. The surgery went awry when she went into cardiac failure and had to be resuscitated. What lessons from Donda West didn't she learn? She had only had a baby about three months before she left the country for the surgery. Even though Usher went to Brazil after the incidence, the duo returned separately and it seemed that the marriage finally was a wrap. Sources close to the couple are now reporting that it was indeed so because the duo had not lived together for several months despite welcoming a son late last year.

It almost seems so convenient that Usher is calling it quits with his wife now. He is set to release an album titled "Monster" this fall and this just might be a publicity stunt. His last studio album, "Here I Stand" did very poorly and failed to become popular. "Confessions," which was his last best selling album, was released shortly after his public break up with Chili. If "Monster" is a confessional like his last break up album was, then fans might expect him to snitch on Foster making for a juicy album. Truth is, the album needs to be juicy and he needs to sell records. He has two young children to support for the next 18 years. Giving his earnings, Usher will probably be dealt the same blow as Russell Simmons and Sean Combs, who are doling out thousands to support their children monthly.

Usher needs his freedom. The poor kid has visible scratch marks and needs to become relevant again. His popularity and desirability plummeted sharply after his marriage to Tameka. It's quite unfortunate because marriage need not always ruin a sex symbol's career. David Beckham, Jay-Z (so not a sex symbol), Hugh Jackman, and Will Smith all managed to remain relevant despite tying the knot. Usher however just picked the wrong woman it seems. So now, he's a free agent again and already he's been rumored to be hanging from the tail of yet another cougar. Either way, it's one more cougar down and in the words of another blogger, bring out the Goose. And please, tell Demi Moore to dig those claws deeper.