Brad ‘scares off’ Jen’s new man!
Jennifer Aniston turns to Brad Pitt as her latest romance crumbles – amid rumours her ex was ‘intimidated’ by their friendship
Their rekindled friendship was confirmed when Jennifer Aniston invited Brad Pitt to her 50th birthday celebrations two years ago – and now insiders reveal how the pair have been comforting each other through recent difficult times.
In February, friends revealed how – despite fans hoping for a reunion between the Hollywood exes – Jen, 52, had been quietly dating a TV producer she’d met on set of her series, The Morning Show.
She first sparked speculation in November when she shared a snap to Instagram with a mystery man’s legs in the background, with insiders saying the “down-to-earth, handsome” man “makes her laugh and feel safe” .
However, just last month, Jen gushed about her bond with Brad, 57, saying “Brad and I are buddies, we’re friends” after they worked together on a Hollywood reading session, with their friend Matthew McConaughey commenting on their “palpable” sexual chemistry.
And pals say Jen’s newfound friendship with the Fight
Club star has led to her most recent heartbreak.
The source says, “Anyone would understandably feel intimidated by their partner’s close friendship with an ex – let alone with a star like Brad.
“The world has been longing for them to get back together, so that naturally put a strain on them and led to a lot of tension.
“Brad ultimately scared off her new man – he found it hard being in Brad’s shadow and it affected things to the point where Jen felt she had no choice but to call time on the romance.
“Brad and Jen are in regular contact – if they’re not in the same area, they call each other, and after she confessed to the latest split during one of their chats, he genuinely felt sorry for her that it didn’t work out. He told her that she is a great person, that she deserves all the happiness in the world and that’s all he wants for her, which really touched her –she’s pleased they’ve got a bond again.”
SILENT TEARS
Jen was famously heartbroken in 2005 when Brad ended their five-year marriage, amid rumours he’d fallen in love with Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith.
She later said her ex was “missing a sensitivity chip” after snaps emerged of him and Ange frolicking on the beach with her adopted son, Maddox, shortly after their split and she’d sobbed “silent tears” after learning Angelina was pregnant with their first biological child, Shiloh, two months before their divorce was even finalised.
However, the former couple have since renewed their friendship and were seen embracing at the SAG awards in early 2020 – with Brad mouthing “wow!” at his ex who wore a figure-hugging dress.
There was further speculation they were getting back together, with a source telling Closer that he was supporting her plans to adopt a baby from an orphanage in Mexico.
The source continues, “Brad and Jen’s close bond may seem peculiar to some, but for Jen, it’s allowed her to have closure on that painful chapter of Brad leaving her for Angelina.
“It is comforting for her to see how much Brad cares for her, and he tells her she deserves the best, which means a lot to her given he is someone who knows her so well.”
And in return, Jen has also “expressed sympathy” for
Brad as his legal battles with Angelina rumble on.
Next month will mark five years since their shock split in what has become one of the longest, most tumultuous divorces in Hollywood history – stretching over twice as long as their two-year marriage.
And last week, there was no sign of an end to their battle,
with Angelina launching a legal battle to sell her share of Chateau Miraval – the £50m French vineyard she co-owns with Brad.
STICKING POINT
The estate – which they bought in 2008 and which has its own chapel where the couple tied the knot in 2014 – is said to have been one of the main “sticking points” dragging out their bitter settlement which has still yet to be finalised. Legal fees are said to have already set them back a whopping £1.5m.
Angelina, 46, has asked a judge to let her sell her share in the property. Her lawyers are also apparently claiming that Chateau Miraval should be considered her property.
The exes have been at loggerheads since their split in September 2016, which was reportedly sparked after Brad got into a drunken row with Maddox, 19, on a private jet flying from Paris back to their home in LA with their other adopted children, Pax, 17, and Zahara, 16, and their three biological children, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 13.
HE FOUND IT HARD BEING
IN BRAD’S SHADOW
The source adds, “Jen has expressed sympathy that his legal case with Ange is dragging on. Despite feeling hurt, she doesn’t want him having all this stress in his life and she knows how much he misses seeing his children every day. She’s said she will be there if he needs her, even if it’s just to vent to or to offload.
“Even though she is still hurting after her split from her boyfriend – and insisting she and Brad are platonic rather than romantic – it doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a huge amount of love and respect for him. He was the biggest, and best, part of her life, once.”