gavin rossdaleUh-oh, photos of Gwen Stefani's husband, Gavin Rossdale, cavorting with their hot, young, blond nanny have surfaced on the web. He was photographed with his hand upon the nanny's spandex-clad bottom! SCANDAL-- oh wait. If you look at the rest of the pictures, you'll see that they're just on a hike and they brought all the kids along with them. And the reason Gavin's hand is on his nanny's bottom is because he's kind of guiding her up a hillside. And they're in the middle of Los Angeles, not out in some private spot.

Poor Gavin and Gwen! Now there's this salacious story making it out like Gavin's hitting on this young lady behind a working mom's back. Should they have tried to get a less fetching person to watch their kids? Is it ever a good idea to hire a hot, young nanny?

My first thought when I saw the picture was "big deal." I have friends who've hired young women from Scandinavia as au pairs, and it's not what it seems. First of all, these girls are there to take care of the kids. It's a job. Sometimes that nanny-employer relationship is more awkward than anything else. The parents are more concerned about having someone in their home who is -- but isn't exactly -- a member of the family. I remember the Facebook status update from a dad who also lives in LA: "At the beach with the au pair. Not as much fun as it sounds, actually." And that pretty much says it all.

I think we kind of assume that if you throw a pretty young woman in close, regular contact with a middle-aged man, hanky panky will ensue. And it's not like Gavin isn't still working it. But he's 47! As far as his young nanny is concerned, that's, like, so old -- EW. Sure, there's Jude Law (he was younger than Gavin is now) and Ethan Hawke (also younger). But contrary to popular myth, very few women are into much-older men. That's not why you sign up to be an au pair, for the middle-aged men.

I hope there's nothing going on. There's even some speculation that the woman is actually Gavin's younger sister, Soraya. But at any rate, if you've got a cute nanny in the home, dads can almost never get it right. People will always wonder -- every time the dad helps carry in the bags, talks to her, makes any kind of physical contact, however innocent. People just assume. And maybe for that reason, it's a bad idea, especially for families already in the public eye. Next time maybe they'll go for someone a little more Mrs. Doubtfire.

Do you think hiring an attractive, young nanny is asking for trouble?

 

Image via Splash News