THE RETURN OF BRANISTON

Jennifer Aniston celebrates the big 5-0 with the Hollywood A-list — including her ex Brad Pitt. Now sources tell Us the former golden couple have been getting close for months

Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt had a very public reunion — and now insiders are wondering what’s next for their relationship.

When the Cadillac Escalade pulled up to the Sunset Tower Hotel (inset below) on West Hollywood’s famed Sunset Strip on Feb. 9, it might have been just another LA mover and shaker inside. Not only was it a busy Grammys weekend in Los Angeles, but Jennifer Aniston was upstairs at one of her favorite haunts, the hotel’s Tower Bar and Restaurant, celebrating her 50th birthday with a slew of A-list pals. Then a handsome man wearing a dark jacket and a flat cap climbed out of the vehicle and casually walked inside — and jaws dropped.

It was Jen’s ex-husband Brad Pitt. Nearly 14 years after their headline-making split — one of the most high-profile breakups in Hollywood history — he was on his way to reunite with his ex in front of loads of her friends and loved ones. “Brad seemed very hesitant [at first] — all eyes were on him,” an eyewitness tells Us.

But soon enough, he got comfortable at the party, which was packed with a who’s who of stars, including George and Amal Clooney, Kate Hudson, Sandra Bullock, Robert Downey Jr., Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow (another Brad ex!), Barbra Streisand, Jon Hamm, Katy Perry, Demi Moore, Jen’s ex John Mayer and more.

Sources tell Us the former power couple have been getting close in the wake of Brad’s 2016 split from Angelina Jolie — with whom he famously fell in love while still wed to Jen — and Jen’s 2017 breakup from second husband Justin Theroux.

“Brad wanted to support and celebrate Jen by attending her birthday party,” explains an insider. “He doesn’t like to dwell on the past, and of course wishes he’d handled the end of their marriage in a more thoughtful manner. He asked for Jen’s forgiveness a long time ago, and she gave it.”

Jen was thrilled to see him. “Brad gave Jen

a card and a hug,” says the eyewitness, adding that the pair spoke for about 10 minutes. By the time Jen turned back to her friends, partygoers were buzzing about what they’d just witnessed. “Guests were surprised to see Brad there and were making a big deal of it. But it didn’t seem like that big of a deal to Jen,” explains a source. “She was happy he was there, but that was it. She was busy making the rounds and excited to see so many people near and dear to her.”

TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS

That’s because they’ve been talking for a while. The May 2016 death of Jen’s mom, former model Nancy Dow — from whom Jen was estranged on and off for years, including during her marriage to Brad, 55 — was the catalyst for a reunion, says the insider: “Brad contacted Jen after her mom died and she was touched that he knew what a difficult time it was.”

Even for her A-list ex, finding Jen wasn’t that simple. “Brad didn’t have Jen’s updated number, so he had to go through some sort of tangled web to get it,” says a second source.

Jen reached out to him months later, after Angelina filed for divorce in September 2016 and kicked off a custody war that’s still not over. “[Jen wanted] to let Brad know she’d be a character witness because of the serious allegations being made against him,” says the insider. “He responded almost immediately, and they’ve been in communication since that time.”

In fact, says the insider, “they communicate with text messages and talk to each other on the phone.” They’re simply, adds the insider, “two people who shared a life together and have mutual respect for each other.”

MOVING FORWARD

That was evident at the party. “Brad seemed to have fun, and everyone loved seeing him,” says the source. “Jen’s friends seem to have put aside any negative feelings. It’s been a long time, and everyone’s moved on.”

Now those pals are wondering what his presence at her milestone birthday could mean, especially as this is the first time since they broke up that Brad and Jen have both been single at the same time. But anyone shipping Brad and Jen 2.0 — and wondering whether Jen left her party with her handsome ex — might be disappointed. Brad ducked out of the party early, though the insider reveals Jen did “call him the day after the party to thank him for coming. She wanted to know if he had a good time.”

After her epic party (see box, right), Jen spent her birthday, Feb. 11, on the set of her series The Morning

Show, the upcoming Apple TV drama, costarring Reese and Steve Carell, that marks her first return to TV since Friends.

“Jen’s in a good place and happy,” says the source. “A new decade is always a chance to turn over a new leaf and see what’s next.” •

“Angelina won’t like it, but there’s nothing she can do,” a source tells Us about Brad and Jen’s renewed bond. “She was incredibly controlling about that. She kept Brad from old friends, and they lived a very insulated life.”

“There were a lot of Jen’s friends [at the party] who Brad hadn’t seen in years,” says an insider, “so it was also a great night for him to reconnect with those people.” “At one point,” says a source, “Jen hugged Brad and thanked himfor coming.”

Jen (here with Brad in 2004) famously confessed a decade ago, “I will love Brad for the rest of my life — you can’t take awaygood memories.”