Ex Couple Reunite on Ugly Betty

[Brian Damage]

Reunited, and it feels so...familiar.

In a case of art not quite imitating life, former spouses Vanessa Williams and Rick Fox are set to reteam for the upcoming season of Ugly Betty, when the former basketballer will appear on his ex's TV hit in a guest-starring role.

ABC Studios confirmed the unusual casting coup Monday to E! News, saying Fox will play a bodyguard for at least two episodes to Williams' wicked and in need of protection magazine editor, Wilhelmina Slater.

The role will require a bit more of a stretch than Fox's previous thespian outing. He was typecast on FX's Dirt as a famous basketball player experiencing some rather public marital discord.

The former Los Angeles Laker, who retired from pro sports in 2004, married Williams in a private ceremony in the Caribbean in 1999. A few months later, they pulled a rerun at a New York City church.

The 38-year-old baller filed for divorce from the 44-year-old singer-actress in August 2004, a month before hanging up his jersey. Neither side specified what caused the split, though at the time both stressed that remaining good parents to daughter Sasha, now 7, would remain their top priority.

Williams, meanwhile, is coming off a banner season on the ABC hit, having nabbed an Emmy nod for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The 59th Annual Primetime Emmys airs Sept. 16.

In addition to Fox, Six Feet Under alum Freddy Rodríguez will also be joining the drama's cast this season as a brainy sandwich peddler turned love interest for Betty.

The second season of Ugly Betty is scheduled to kick off Sept. 27.

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/...5-a90553e87e4c