Just when Jennifer Aniston thought her relationship with Brad Pitt was back on solid ground, his flirtatious behaviour on the set of his latest film is stirring up old insecurities for the actress.
Now an insider tells New Idea there are reports circulating Hollywood that Brad has been getting close to his current co-star, 23-year-old Margaret Qualley – who was once linked to Jen’s ex, Justin Theroux.
“Jen is absolutely livid that Brad is filming with Margaret, and hit the roof when she saw them getting so chummy on set,” explains a source close to the actress.
“It wasn’t enough that she had to contend with all the rumours of Justin and Margaret’s close friendship on The Leftovers, she now has to contend with more whispers about her and Brad.”
Brad and Margaret – the daughter of Four Weddings and a Funeral actress Andie MacDowell – looked very comfortable in each other’s company when spotted laughing and joking on the set of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
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While their co-star Lena Dunham looked awkward at the obvious chemistry between her colleagues, it appeared Brad only had eyes for the pretty brunette.
Unsurprisingly, Jennifer – who completed shooting Netflix’s Murder Mystery alongside Adam Sandler at the end of August – isn’t impressed with the idea of Brad turning his attention to the young actress.
Complicating matters further, Margaret dated director Cary Fukunaga last year, who in turn dated Emma Stone, another of Justin’s recent girlfriends.
“Margaret is everything that Jen isn’t – so young, so beautiful, at the beginning of her career – and Jen can’t help but feel threatened,” adds the insider.
“Jen really wants it to work with Brad and doesn’t want him to have any distractions. She doesn’t want to be humiliated again by a partner – she’s been through that too many times.”
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It’s especially unfortunate that rumours of former dancer and model Margaret’s alleged relationship with her Leftovers co-star dogged the beginning of Jen and Justin’s marriage.
In September 2015, In Touch magazine reported that Justin and Margaret – who played his daughter on the show – were openly affectionate with each other during a cast party.
“Everyone couldn’t help but notice Qualley dancing and shimmying next to him and Justin was feeding into it and couldn’t get enough of his [then] 19-year-old co-star. Justin was having a great time without Jen,” an onlooker said at the time.
There were frequent allegations made in the press that Justin had other flirtations during their two-and-a-half-year marriage and since their split last February, he’s been linked with a host of actresses including Olivia Munn, Aubrey Plaza, Laura Harrier and Selena Gomez among others.
However, Justin insisted last week during an interview with The New York Times, that his separation from Jennifer wasn’t hostile. “The good news is that was probably the most – I’m choosing my words really carefully – it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity,” he said.
Meanwhile Brad famously fell in love with Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004, prompting his split from Jennifer after five years of marriage. Soon after, Jennifer alluded to being shell-shocked by the well-publicised affair in an interview with Vanity Fair, admitting: “Am I lonely? Yes. Am I upset? Yes. Am I confused? Yes. Do I have my days when I’ve thrown a little pity party for myself ? Absolutely.”
So it would be no surprise if she felt as though history was repeating itself, even though things with Brad – who is still in the midst of a long custody and divorce battle with Angelina – are reportedly stronger than ever.
“She knows that Margaret is everything Brad would find attractive – she’s like a young Angelina. And seeing photos of her and Brad flirting on set just made Jen see red. She doesn’t want to be paranoid but she just can’t help it,” says the source.
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