Celebrity Autographs And Celebrity Addresses

Brad and Jen could still be love match
By NICK PAPPS in Los Angeles
16jan05

IS IT really all over for Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston?

Speculation is mounting that Hollywood's former golden couple may not be getting a divorce, at least for now.
Photographs of Pitt still wearing his wedding ring have fanned suggestions he and Aniston may be having only a trial separation.

Pitt was photographed yesterday at the Tokyo premiere of Oceans 12 wearing the band he and Aniston designed for their $1.28 million wedding in 2000.

The Hollywood actor arrived in Japan wearing black leather gloves, but at the film's opening he signed autographs and waved to fans with his ring clearly on display, despite the couple's statement last week that they were separating.

Confusion over the couple's future has also increased with Pitt's grandmother, Betty Russell, breaking the family silence on the break-up, declaring she was heartbroken by the news, but declaring she had "certainly heard nothing about a divorce, just separating".

Sources on the Caribbean island where Aniston and Pitt holidayed only days before their announcement said the couple were planning to return to the island of Anguilla.

Pitt and Aniston have so far refused to comment about the break up. Aniston has spent the week filming her new movie Friends with Money in Los Angeles, while Pitt has been promoting Oceans 12 overseas with George Clooney.

And in an effort to avoid any questions about the relationship, all foreign media were banned from the Oceans 12 press conference in Tokyo.

As Aniston and Pitt continued their silence on the issue, three main reasons have emerged for the break up: Aniston's refusal to have a baby, Pitt's relationship with Angelina Jolie and Aniston's obsession with her career.

Pitt and Aniston's four-and-half-year marriage first started showing signs of problems as early as April during filming of Pitt's film with Jolie, Mr and Mrs Smith. Rumours about Jolie and her on-screen partners are nothing new, but from the moment filming started, there were stories about high-octane chemistry between Jolie and Pitt.

One on-set spy yesterday recalled the filming of one dance scene between the couple.

"Angelina slid down Brad's left leg, did a split on the floor and smiled erotically as she landed at crotch level," the spy said.

"Brad pulled her up roughly, drove her back against a wall and shoved her into a mirror. I don't know how much of that scene was scripted, but it was clear they didn't need much direction. They were in their own little world."

The tension between the two also spilled off screen with Pitt and Jolie being photographed with their lips just centimetres apart -- and when staff at Los Angeles' Standard Hotel said they had seen the pair kissing and holding hands, the stories gained serious credibility.

"Brad was obviously taken by Angelina," a source said.

"Jennifer knew that Angelina got under Brad's skin and it bothered her," another source added.

Other reports of the Jolie connection say Aniston overheard a steamy phone conversation between Pitt and Jolie and went "ballistic". It is not known what they were talking about, but sources from the set of Mr and Mrs Smith said there was a definite bond between Pitt, Jolie and her son Maddox, who became the apple of Pitt's eye.

Pitt and Jolie also connected intellectually. Crew from the film say the real reason for the closeness was Pitt's fondness for Maddox, which fuelled his desire for a child.

Last month, the 41-year-old was asked what his future plans were and said: "God, I'm going to say it -- kids. Family. I'm thinking family. Yeah I got family on the mind."

But Aniston, 35, has been resisting. A friend said: "She wanted to make sure the marriage would last. There was a little doubt that crept in. He was much more interested in having a child. I think it was Jen who broke it off."

Doubts might have surfaced as early as 2003 when the pair reportedly saw a marriage counsellor.

"Jen felt like she had a career on the rise and did not seem to want to take time off to have a baby," an insider said.

Aniston has had her eyes on her career since finishing her 10-year run on the TV comedy Friends last year. She now has six film projects on the go. Pitt has no planned projects after Mr and Mrs Smith.

"Everything for him is not about Hollywood right now," a source said. "In many ways her career is just starting -- the timing is off."

Just before Christmas the true extent of the breakdown became evident when Aniston was photographed without her wedding ring. That suddenly gave substance to all the rumours.

Spin doctors said there was nothing in it and when the couple were photographed kissing over the new year on Anguilla, everyone believed the marriage was fine.

Friends have also suggested it might not be all over yet.

"They need to regroup," one friend said. "If they're not meant to be together, they'll figure it out."