Six Reasons Katy Perry Is Super Smart for Dating John Mayer

He may have done wrong by Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson, but Katy Perry just may know what she's doing by dating the singer/songwriter

Why is Katy Perry with John Mayer? Does her choice make her really dumb, or is she crazy like a fox?
—Lucy E., via Twitter

Let's take a look at the other ladies who have fallen into John Mayer's lap—ahem, figuratively speaking, of course—over the years. We're talking Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, Minka Kelly and Taylor Swift. Whether those ladies are smart, well, let's be honest: Most of us have no way of knowing, not from our distant vantage points as fans or occasional interviewers.

But we can say this: Katy Perry may very well know what she's doing.

First, we should hear from an expert. Dr. Gilda Carle is just such a person, being a therapist as well as the author of the relationship advice book Don't Bet On the Prince!

"He's been a lady's man with a bad ass rep," says Carle. "The challenge for Katy or for any woman in demand is to break this bronco."

So why bother with such an onerous task? Well, I've got a list of reasons, which just may explain why Perry is doing what she's doing.

1. An instant publicity boost. Every time the two go out, that's another paparazzi photo op. All that equals free coverage by, well, folk like me.

2. Mayer will make Perry look great in the sack. Jessica Simpson may not have liked Mayer's "sexual napalm" remark about her prowess in bed, about her, but, hey, it was a compliment. And from that moment on, you can bet that Simpson's status as a sex symbol went through the roof, at least, for a while.

3. Mayer might write songs about Perry in a favorable manner. After all, "Your Body is a Wonderland" was rumored to be about Hewitt, though she has denied it.

4. He's a great concert date. That is, if you like bands with names like Purity Ring.

5. Instant sympathy for Katy when, er, if, Mayer dumps her. She's still got that wounded-nice-girl halo ever since her breakup with another bad boy, Russell Brand. If Mayer does her wrong, the media will likely lay blame with blabbermouth Mayer, not with her.

6. Perry could write an instant, media-savvy song about Mayer. After Mayer's breakup with Taylor Swift, she wrote the scathing "Dear John," which spurred a whole new flurry of coverage about each of them. Mayer has indicated that he thinks the song is about him. Another fun fact: Katy Perry is a songwriter.