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In a surprise move that turned just about every head in Hollywood, Brad Pitt stopped by his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston‘s 50th birthday party in Los Angeles Saturday evening.
The actor was photographed wearing a newsboy cap as he entered the Sunset Tower on Saturday evening to mingle with his former leading lady’s nearest and dearest.
“Jen was the first guest to arrive around 8 p.m. wearing a black jumpsuit with her hair down,” a source tells E! News. “Soon after Jen arrived, guests started pouring in including Reese Witherspoon, Ellen DeGeneres, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cindy Crawford, Robert Downey Jr., Jason Bateman, Jennifer Meyer, Brad Pitt, John Mayer, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, who arrived on a motorcycle.”
“Jen arrived alone but was excited to get inside,” the insider shares. “Brad also arrived alone in a baseball cap. He ducked inside with his longtime security detail by his side.”
“Guests mingled out by the pool and back bar drinking cocktails and toasting Jen. They had a DJ, white flowers and lots of candles glowing,” the source continues. “Everyone was coming up to Jen and hugging her and screaming Happy Birthday. She had some family there and seemed very happy to be with so many good friends.”
And while E! News previously reported that exes Aniston and Pitt are on “friendly” terms, this marks the very first time that we’ve seen them together since their now-infamous split over a decade ago. In fact, back in 2015 the Friends actress opened up about her evolved relationship with her first husband, saying, “We’re not in daily communication. But we wish nothing but wonderful things for each other. Nobody did anything wrong. You know what I mean? It was just like, sometimes things [happen].”
She continued, “If the world only could just stop with the stupid, soap-opera bulls–t. There’s no story. I mean, at this point it’s starting to become—please, give more credit to these human beings.”
Pitt, however, seemed to have more, well, candid things to say on the state of their highly publicized relationship in a 2011 interview where he gave some insight into what eventually caused their marriage to fall apart.
“It became very clear to me that I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn’t living an interesting life myself.
He added, “I think that my marriage had something to do with it, trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t.”
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Pitt and Aniston were first linked in 1998 after they were setup on a blind date by their agents. Then, in 1999, the two stepped out at the Emmy Awards and made their red carpet debut as Hollywood’s bonafide golden couple.
Months later, the two showed off Aniston’s engagement ring during a Stingconcert in New York City. And on July 29th of the following year, the two became husband and wife in a lavish ceremony on the coast in Malibu while surrounded by friends, family and fellow A-listers.
In January 2005, after months of rumors surrounding Pitt’s relationship with Angelina Jolie while on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the married duo announced that they were splitting with the following statement:
“We would like to announce that after seven years together we have decided to formally separate. For those who follow these sorts of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any of the speculation reported by the tabloid media. This decision is the result of much thoughtful consideration. We happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another. We ask in advance for your kindness and sensitivity in the coming months.”
Both Aniston and Pitt would later go on to remarry—with Pitt wedding Jolie in 2014 and Aniston tying the knot to Justin Theroux in 2015—however both of those marriages have since ended.
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And while there’s no telling where the exes stand these days, it’s clear that they’re on good terms. As for the rest? Well, we’ll just leave you with an excerpt from a 2003 interview Aniston did with W magazine right here:
“Is he the love of my life? I think you’re always sort of wondering, ‘Are you the love of my life?’ I mean, I don’t know, I’ve never been someone who says, ‘He’s the love of my life.’ He’s certainly a big love in my life…And I know that we have something special, especially in all this chaos. In this nutty, brilliant, wonderful, hard business that we have, it’s nice to have somebody who’s anchored and knows you, really knows all of you.”