‘Tough Love’ Host Advises Kate Gosselin, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson

VH1’s Tough Love is back for a second season beginning tonight at 9 p.m. I caught up with the show's resident love guru Steve Ward, who pipes up with dating advice for today’s singleton stars.

While divorcing reality mom of eight Kate Gosselin, 34, seems to have her hands full, it’s only a matter of time before she jumps back into the dating pool.

“Focus on your family; focus on yourself and your kids,” Steve tells me. “Make sure they’re OK, and they’re adjusting well. Everybody’s coping. Work things out civilly with your husband, move on, bury the hatchet. And then deal with the emotional baggage that’s going to come from it. Get rid of it; purge yourself; get into a good state of mind emotionally, and then focus on meeting somebody else. She’s got a lot of work to do.”

For Jennifer Aniston, 40, who has been largely single since her divorce from Brad Pitt in 2005, true love may be found in an older man – not a younger one like former flame John Mayer.

“I think Jennifer Aniston is cool, man,” he says. “I think she’s chillin.’ I think her perfect match would be somebody who’s her age or a little bit older. I suggested George Clooney once, but I think maybe because of his relationship with Brad, that might not work if he and Brad Pitt are as close as they seem in the movies. She needs to date somebody who’s close to her own age – somebody who’s got swagger like George. Maybe Gerard Butler would work well for her.”

Hm, Jennifer and Gerard have been linked. What is it about him that’s so right with Miss Aniston?

“He’s really handsome, he’s got a swagger, he’s successful, he’s well-established, he doesn’t need to prove himself,” Steve tells me. “That’s the point. She tends to meet a lot of guys who seem to be up-and-coming. Guys that are on a fast track in their career, and starting to succeed. She needs to be with somebody who picks and chooses his projects. Somebody who isn’t so career-oriented anymore.”

For Jessica Simpson, 29, who has had a string of relationships after her 2006 divorce from Nick Lachey, he suggests weighing fatherly input carefully.

“She shouldn’t let her dad decide who she dates,” Steve says. “Follow your heart. Don’t just try to make your father happy.”

He’s not above mixing business with pleasure.

“If she’s looking for a fun, good time that’s gonna p*** her dad off, give me a call,” the “electively single” host says. “I’d love to take her out. Her father wants her to meet a good old country Christian boy. I’m a northeast Jew. I would throw him for a loop. Her father’s been so integral to her personal and professional life since she was such a little girl that obviously her perfect match, like Tony Romo, has gotta be somebody that the father really likes. I don’t know how to befriend the dad.”

What’s the most common mistake women make when dating?

“They assume because they may have had an experience similar to what they’re going through now that it’s the same. Every experience is different. Just because you were in a relationship once with an engineer who couldn’t communicate doesn’t mean that every engineer you’re going to meet in the future can’t communicate. Women will be afraid to take a risk, they’ll take a risk and suffer a consequence and then they’ll never take that risk again. Don’t be afraid to take risks.”