The magical pairing of former Playboy playmate Shanna Moakler and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, which mercifully ended in 2006, is back on.  We got to know them on their MTV reality show before they were married, when Shanna was just Travis’s babymama—living in his house, sleeping all day, and waking up long enough to spend his money and complain about how tired she was.  He got the pleasure of being on the road with his band most of the time, while we were glued in front of the television, unable to shut our eyes ‘A Clockwork Orange’-style as Shanna went about the business of living off of her former glory as a naked person and pawning off her children on other people.  They somehow got to the same place at the same time to exchange wedding rings on October 30, 2004. 

One Very Classy Couple.

One Very Classy Couple.

Almost immediately, the two began fighting in that most-dignified of Hollywood ways: postings on their MySpace blogs.  They began a war of words (mostly small ones)in front of the world at large.  Travis Barker was seen making out with Paris Hilton, and Shanna was seen making out with a whole bunch of people.  Shanna had the ultimate showdown with Hollywood’s favorite party girl Paris at a nightclub, where Shanna claimed that Paris threw a drink on her.  Videos of her in front of the club calling the police were all over, making her look like, well, a washed-up drama queen.  Somehow in this situation, for the first time in human history, Paris Hilton was the one who maintained her dignity.  What there is of it.

Shanna and Travis would reunite periodically, then split again and blog about it.  Shanna needed Travis, because no one would remember her name if she didn’t marry a rock star.  And Travis needed Shanna, because he was one of those guys who probably got beat up a lot in high school but got to bag a Playboy playmate only after becoming a rock star.  Shanna’s “Dancing with the Stars” run at fame didn’t have the impact she was hoping for, so she was definitely Least Likely to Let Go.  A rock star can always find another blonde.

In September, Travis was involved in a tragic plane crash that took the lives of 4 people and critically injured both Travis and his friend—and Nicole Ritchie’s ex—DJ AM.  Shanna raced to be by her ex-husband’s side as he recuperated in a hospital in Atlanta.  Travis suffered burns on the lower half of his body—a bummer for someone reuniting with a chick who’s been in Playboy, one imagines, even if her Skank Rating has gone up several degrees since the divorce.  Nonetheless, the two seem determined to face the tragedy together.  Travis has a few more surgeries, but he tells US Magazine that “[I’m] here with my babies’ mama, my wife and my kids, and I really can’t be happier.”  Shanna, too, must be ecstatic, as she was seen wearing her wedding ring again at a Grammy Week party. 

As Moakler said so eloquently on her MySpace page: “i don’t want to be known for any of this!! ill keep my small time reality show and my dignity and keep it moving!  my marriage is just not up for entertainment anymore.”  As for her reality show, well, that’s been off the air for a while.  I’m sure Shanna, despite her inability to capitalize or properly use punctuation, will find another way to get on television again. 

Do I smell a “Meet The Barkers II”?

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