In the women's mags: Pregnancies, politics among stars' plans for next year

The year isn't even over and the stars are all revealing their big plans for next year in the women's magazines this week.

Jennifer Anniston leads off with a big announcement in Woman's Day: she's having a baby. She doesn't know when or who with but it will be sometime in 2006 - probably.

She has hinted in interviews recently that she hopes "to be on the road to having a family in the next year".

One close friend reveals Jen doesn't want to rush anything although her latest squeeze, Vince Vaughan, could be in the running to play Dad.

Or not.

"While she hopes the father will be Vince, Jennifer could just as easily become a single mum. She has enough money and would have guys lining up to father her babies," Day says.

Apparently Jen decided to make babies after hearing ex-husband Brad Pitt was to adopt the children of his replacement woman-of-importance, Angelina Jolie.

Speaking of those two, Day reports of their "cheating" clause in their relationship. An insider tells that Brad and Ange have decided the only way to stay together is "to take lovers along the way", meaning infidelity would not alone be grounds for a divorce should they tie the knot, which incidentally could be their big plans for next year.

Woman's Weekly also features Brad but no mention of open relationships or cheating clauses.

It says Brad is heading for the White House with political aspirations. He's apparently far more likely to be seen in Washington lecturing powerbrokers and politicians on African debt than attending Hollywood A-list parties.

But who would know where a busy boy like Brad is at any given time? Weekly says his home in Canada is strewn with Ange's kids' toys, so he must be there a fair bit. The same page shows a picture of him in Pakistan and a picture of him in Tokyo and a few paragraphs on what he did on his summer holidays, which was spent in England at Ange's secluded cottage.

Poor Brad must be positively exhausted.

Maybe he will find the four-storey mansion he's also spent time looking for in Washington and finally settle down once he's made the tipped transition from acting to politics.

It could well be Brad's big plan for next year.

It's difficult to get hold of a New Idea in Auckland on a Sunday, so we've gone for the more refined Australian Women's Weekly (New Zealand edition) this week. However, it's a bit dull so we won't do that again.

Nevertheless, it does tell all about non-supermum Petra Bagust. She doesn't promote going back to work early after having a baby and gives some no-nonsense advice about being a new mum.

"The hard reality of being a mother is that you have your bad days when you feel like a bad mum. There is no question that I feel like that sometimes, usually when I'm sleep deprived."

Penny Lancaster - that's Mrs Rod Stewart-to-be number five or six - is not on Petra's wavelength however.

Both Day and New Zealand Weekly have her sporting her model figure just nine days after giving birth to Rod's latest child.

It's the exact same story in both mags with the same diner in the same Italian restaurant telling how Penny has no "mummy tummy".

Her big plans for next year are to be back exercising and on the catwalk.

Possibly no such plans for our Rachel Hunter - Mrs Rod Stewart most recent - however. Day reports she has been struck down by a mystery illness and had to go to hospital in London while filming the Christmas television special Strictly Come Dancing.

She is on "very strong painkillers" and is "concerned about what the problem is".

However, she won't let it ruin rehearsals for the show and has "vowed to carry on". Now that's the Glenfield spirit. Go Rach.