By EMMA POWELL, EXECUTIVE SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR and RUSS WEAKLAND, US SENIOR SHOWBIZ REPORTER and TERRY ZELLER
Published: 00:22 BST, 10 August 2026 | Updated: 13:11 BST, 10 August 2026
For a few glorious minutes in January 2020, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt had the internet convinced Hollywood's most famous breakup might have staged an improbable comeback.
The former golden couple – who divorced in 2005 after seven years together amid rumors Pitt had moved on with his Mr & Mrs Smith co-star Angelina Jolie – hadn't been photographed together in more than a decade when they reunited backstage at the SAG Awards.
There was the warm hug. The megawatt smiles. And then Pitt reached for Aniston's hand as she walked away, providing just enough fuel for hopeless romantics to start dreaming up a sequel.
By then, Pitt, 62, was years past his contentious 2016 split from Jolie, while Aniston, 57, had neatly filed away her 2018 divorce from actor Justin Theroux.
Now, the Daily Mail can reveal that, shortly after the reunion, the pair began quietly slipping back into each other's orbit.
One source said that, during their SAG reunion, 'they both had new numbers, so they swapped and said they'd be in touch. Brad was the first one to text,' while a second insider shared that Pitt soon started popping up on The Morning Show set at least once a week for a 'standing lunch date' in Aniston's trailer.
Insiders say Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's reunion at the 2020 SAG Awards sparked their platonic reconnection, with the pair beginning to hang out again as friends
During the reunion, Pitt reached for Aniston's hand as she walked away, providing fuel for hopeless romantics to start dreaming up a sequel
Now, insiders have told the Daily Mail that, shortly after the SAG Awards reunion, the pair began quietly slipping back into each other's orbit (pictured in 2004)
Indeed, Aniston's The Morning Show location proved to be something of a reunion hotspot.
Our second insider close to the Apple TV series said Pitt's visits became a regular part of the show's second season, giving the former husband and wife plenty of opportunities to reconnect away from prying eyes.
'During season 2 of The Morning Show, Brad was coming to set and having lunch with Jen in her trailer. He would arrive and get dropped directly at her trailer for a private lunch just the two of them and then he would leave once filming for Jen resumed,' the source explained.
'Brad would come to set at least once a week. Some crew knew but had no idea who or how many. It was a standing lunch date and he stuck to it.'