Pulse: Chatter: Brooke de la Villanova: High Society 0208

Brooke gives her thoughts on romance and the Museum of Art’s gala, to be held in the Great Stair Hall

Hello meine Liebchen! Valentine’s is approaching, and as John Paul Young might say, love is in the air. The romance of glamourpuss news anchor Monica Malpass, who seems to have put all of that David Cutler unpleasantness behind her, and PNC Bank prez Bill Mills appears to have gone from simmer to sizzle. While the couple, three years in, appear no closer to the altar, they certainly seemed under-the-mistletoe cozy this past holiday party season. … Sadly, I cannot say the same for my Edgar, who was downright Grinchy by the time I dragged him by his black tie to the Zoe Schlacter wedding on New Year’s Eve. More on that next column, munchkins. … Valentine’s Day this year is the date of the Museum of Art’s grand gala, to be held in the Great Stair Hall and chaired by the wonderful Veronica Connor, in celebration of the upcoming Frida Kahlo exhibit. In what’s sure to be the Museum’s biggest hoo-ha since its Dali fete in ’05, several hundred of the social smart set will enjoy cocktails, dancers and a live mariachi band amid what I am told will be a to-die-for setting of dramatic lighting, decorations and — yes — five-to-15-foot-tall Frida puppets. Ole! … Alas, sometimes love in the air dissipates, often rather ­odiously. Which socialite is in the midst of nervy divorce negotiations with her soon-to-be-ex, a member of one of the region’s most prominent business families? There’s a story about how before they were dating, he transferred millions into her account just so she’d go out with him. Now her lawyers are busy going over the fine print in the prenup to see what’s left in his checking account. Ahh, romance …