Yesterday we posted a less than believable story about Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal supposedly going to church together, but taking care to enter and leave separately. The unlikely pair were said to be attending a Catholic church, and at least two commentors noted that Reese usually attends an Episcopalian church, with reader UrbanRube saying that she goes to Reese’s Episcopalian church and it’s not the Catholic one mentioned in the original In Touch article that we quoted.

Now there’s news that the loved-up maybe-religious couple actually took a romantic mini-vacation together in California’s Napa Valley. They are said to have spent the evening in a private home at a luxury resort:

As PEOPLE reports in its latest issue, Witherspoon, 31, and Gyllenhaal, 26, checked into the Carneros Inn in the Napa Valley last Sunday, and went on to spend a cozy 24-hours in one of the resort’s private homes.

“They were very affectionate with one another,” says an onlooker. “They were cuddling, and he kept giving her little kisses.”

The two even bailed on a couples massage in favor of an evening in, the source says, adding, “It was clear they wanted to be left alone.”

[From People.com]

Maybe it is the real thing. There were stories in the spring before their supposed breakup that Jake was acting fatherly toward Reese’s children and that Reese was going slow with the relationship because she didn’t want the changes in her love life to affect her kids. I was pretty skeptical about these two, but it’s possible there is a real relationship there and that they truly did try to hide it until it was convenient for them to go public.

The tabloids were all analyzing the body language in those too-good-to-be true Rome photos of them, and body language experts declared they were the real deal. Add that to a night away in a romantic hotel and I’m semi-sold. Their film Renditionwas out nearly a month ago and can’t really benefit much from their romance at this point, but there is the DVD release. Like Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, we might hear more about these two once their film is available for home viewing. It’s slated for release in February so stay tuned.

Here are pictures of the resort where they are said to have spent the night, because there certainly aren’t any more pictures of Reese and Jake together. Pictures from Expedia and VacationIdea.com.

Update: There are photos of the two from their romantic weekend on US Weekly. Now that I see the pictures, I’m not so sure they’re legitimate. These seem a little too staged to me.

I’m not sure if any definitive gossip has ever come out about Ryan Phillippe’s split with Reese Witherspoon. A lot of people said he’d been having an affair with his co-star at the time, Abbie Cornish. But there were also reports that Reese was incredibly controlling and Ryan’s family was relieved when the two split. I’m still going with the whole, “Her career was going a lot better than his and it ruined their relationship” bit. Despite all that, Ryan’s given an interview to Man About Town magazine in which he says the breakup was so hard from him he was physically ill and wanted to kill himself.

The debut issue of Man About Town grabbed my attention the other day at the newsstand. Specifically, it was the cover blurb, “Ryan Phillippe: A 44-Page Portfolio.” Considering Phillippe is a rather private celeb, I just had to see what this new British magazine—which I had never heard of—had on Reese Witherspoon’s ex-husband. Lemme tell you, it’s Phillippe like never before. There are dozens of photos and what I think is probably Phillippe’s most revealing interview.

“After the divorce I was a physical wreck,” says Phillippe. “I wanted to die. I was ready to kill myself. I was not taking care of myself at all. I would wake up and cry and vomit.”

But now, Phillippe says, he uses the pain in his work. “Now, it’s f–king easy,” he says, when asked how he gets himself to cry in a film. “When I was younger, I didn’t have enough to cry about. But since I’ve had kids, I feel my work has become better, because my life is fuller and more complicated, and I’ve experienced so many highs and lows.”

[From E! News]

That’s really sad. I guess I am a little surprised, I thought Phillippe came off as kind of a jerk. Probably because I assumed all the rumors about him not being happy for Reese’s success were true. If there were any truth to it, it was probably more that he wished his career were doing as well, not that he wanted her to do poorly. Vomiting seems to be the way that Ryan has traditionally dealt with breakups. I read a story years ago that after he and Reese filmed their breakup scene in “Cruel Intentions” that Ryan threw up several times. At the time it was all romantic, because just the thought of breaking up with her made him sick. But apparently it was a sad indication of things to come. Whoever thought vomiting could be romantic?

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Ryan and Reese at the “Walk the Line” premiere at the AFI festival on November 3rd, 2005. Header image at the New York premiere on November 13th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Jake Gyllenhaal supposedly went to Catholic church with his maybe-girlfriend Reese Witherspoon. The paparazzi have photographed Reese outside of church before, so it’s suspicious that there are no photos or other details. These two are said to have entered separately and to have “prayed together.” This is worded ambiguously and it’s hard to figure out if they regularly going to church together or if it was just a one-time thing. I doubt it’s even true.

Episcopalian-raised Reese is a regular at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills and now Jake, reportedly a Buddhist, has been joining her. In fact, Reese, 31, and Jake, 26, helped to keep their romance quiet for months by avoiding most public places - except church. A fellow church-goer confirms the couple has been spotted there while an insider explains their secrecy. “They didn’t go in together because they didn’t want to draw attention,” says the pal. “They’d meet at church and pray together.”

[From In Touch, print edition, November 19, 2007]

It probably never happened. There was a huge hoopla over the fact that they left the same office building 45 minutes apart, so if it was true that they were going to church together there would either be separate pictures of them entering and/or leaving the church or In Touch would add the actual date of the supposed church attendance to backup this story. As it is, there are only vague blurbs from a “fellow churchgoer” and an “insider” and In Touch is the only tabloid to cover this.

These two were photographed holding hands all over Rome after their movie came out - and bombed - at the box office. But apart from those all-too-perfect photos there’s nothing. They supposedly went to Kate Hudson’s Halloween party together, but there are only photos taken outside a car of two people in costumes and masks who are unrecognizable. The paparazzi do follow Reese to church, but maybe they stopped out of respect or boredom or something and didn’t catch her this one week with Jake. I’m sure that’s how it happened, since this report sounds so believable.

How much do you want to bet the story of their “romance” will fade and we’ll have another tabloid breakup in about a month? By that point most people will have forgotten about them.

In related and more amusing Reese Witherspoon news, she recently told Britain’s Daily Express that her four-year old son, Deacon, wanted to be a pizza delivery boy. Pizza Hut was all over that and sent Reese’s son a bunch of pizza vouchers, a little mini uniform, and a mini delivery car. It sounds like an actual small delivery car replica that he can ride around, because the press release from Pizza Hut encourages Deacon to follow his dream of becoming a pizza delivery boy and says the car is “to polish your driving skills.”

Sorry for the same damn header image of Reese and Jake, but apart from these photos at the Rendition photocall there’s nothing of the two of them together in any of the agencies we subscribe to. Thanks to Splash News for this photo from 10/22/07.

I think I’m one of the only people around that isn’t skeptical about Jake Gyllenhaal’s sexuality; but then again I’m adorably naive that way. Just because he hangs out with a lot of men? Don’t most guys have a lot of guy friends? Okay he does have an affinity for bicycle shorts, but it’s not like he wears them to dinner or anything. That I know of. I don’t think their romance is manufactured, but I do find it odd that they appeared to go to great lengths to hide it, and then all of a sudden went public when their movie came out. Massively coincidental, but whatever. From what’s reported about Reese and Jake, they both seem like pretty similar personalities: nice if a bit “Type A.”

Jake supposedly really wants to be a dad and loves Reese’s kids. During those initial rumblings of a relationship several months ago, I remember reading that he was actually being a bit too parental towards Reese’s kids. But they seem to have established some sort of relationship that works: the two of them took her kids trick or treating last night, and seem to have a cute (almost too cute) relationship with her kids.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon had another PDA-packed public date Wednesday, taking Witherspoon’s two children, Ava, 8, and Deacon, 4, trick or treating in L.A.’s Brentwood neighborhood. Witherspoon, 31, dressed as a witch; Gyllenhaal, 26, an ape. “They were holding hands and swinging them in the air as they walked around the neighborhood,” adds a witness, who says Gyllenhaal often lifted up his gorilla mask to smooch his Rendition co-star. “Reese was laughing at everything Jake was saying.”

As Ava (also in witch wardrobe) and Deacon (dressed as a super hero) ran up to every door for treats, “Reese and Jake waited on the sidewalk and flirted,” the onlooker tells Usmagazine.com. They even started to act like a pair of giddy kids themselves. “Jake tapped Reese on the butt and then she hit him back — they began running a circle hitting each other!” the witness says. “Then Jake picked Reese up off her feet and she screamed.”

Gyllenhaal seemed to play it cool during his first public outing with Witherspoon’s children. “Jake ran up to Deacon with the gorilla mask and pretended to scare him!” the onlooker says. “Deacon laughed.” He also had a few scares for Witherspoon. Adds the witness, “Sometimes he came up from behind and nuzzled his big hairy mask into her neck.”

[From US Weekly]

Ahh, I remember the first time a guy came up from behind me and nuzzled his big hairy… wait, no. Never mind. It’ll be interesting to see if this all pans out. The story seems a little contrived, but it’s hard to tell if that’s just due to the “family friendly” writing style, or if it really was a little hackneyed. They do seem a little too perfectly arranged, but people have said that about both of them seperately for years, so it makes sense that it would apply to them as a couple, too.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Reese on “Ellen” last week where she showed a picture of her Halloween costume from last year. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

I’m so confused about Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal. It really seemed to me like their relationship was completely manufactured by the tabloids. All the evidence we’ve had up until now that they were an item consisted of hearsay, a blurry picture of them in a car together, and the fact that they once exited an office building within 45 minutes of each other. The office building exit was hyped by the tabloids and mentioned in several stories, one of which turned it into a medical office and potential pregnancy for Reese.

Now, just as the movie they’re starring in is tanking dismally at the box office, the two were spotted holding hands and canoodling in Rome, and holding hands getting off a plane at LAX.

Yesterday there was news that said pictures existed, which JayBird and many of you were skeptical about, and today the photos are in British paper The Daily Mail. The pictures are quite clear and close up, as if they’re not afraid to go public with the romance they supposedly spent months going to great lengths to hide. OK! Magazine had the holding hands at the airport picture, but has since removed it, probably because they want to make it a big exclusive for next week’s issue. You can still see that picture though at WWTDD.

Reese and Jake are said to have started dating in March and to have broken up by June. Maybe they rekindled their romance while doing press for their thriller that is currently 9th at the box office after last week’s release and could coincidentally really benefit from a high-profile love affair between its costars.

This is just a hypothetical question, but if you stood to gain millions of dollars in increased future earnings from faking a romance with a co-worker, would you do it? I know I would. If this movie tanks it’s bad for both Reese and Jake’s careers, but if they “go public” with their long-secret romance they could generate some interest in the film by getting their faces plastered all over the supermarket checkout aisles next week.

Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have really been messing with my emotions the last few months. Are they really together? Are they just super-supportive friends? If that’s the case, why did they appear to break up and stop speaking to each other? And if that’s the case, why were they photographed holding hands and kissing at LAX yesterday? Really, I’m not sure my heart can take much more of this topsy turvy romance. This is about more than just the two of you! Jerks.

Are they making it official? On today’s Ellen DeGeneres Show, Reese Witherspoon finally spoke out about her on-again beau (and Rendition co-star) Jake Gyllenhaal. When DeGeneres told Witherspoon, 31, Gyllenhaal, 26, was cute, the Oscar winner gushed, “He’s great!” The day before, new photos surfaced of Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal (dressed in matching black T-shirts and jeans) strolling hand-in-hand and smooching at Los Angeles International Airport October 22.

The pair had been returning from Rome, where they were promoting their new film. On October 19, Witherspoon, 31, was spotted resting her head on Gyllenhaal’s shoulder while walking through the streets as they enjoyed some downtime. Looks like the couple may be comforting each other even more from now on: Their buzzed-about CIA thriller bombed at the bomb office, coming in at No. 9 with $4.2 million.

[From Us Magazine]

Well they must be making it a little official… I mean kissing at LAX isn’t exactly like kissing in the men’s room at the Tad’s Steaks in Time’s Square (not that I have ever done that, mind you). People are probably going to see. Especially if you’re famous and have been trying (but not really that hard) to have a secret relationship with your actor/actress boyfriend/girlfriend. I think Reese and Jake make a super cute couple and totally make sense together. I hope they go public so the speculation can stop and the paparazzi can begin. I kid, I kid. But I’d like a few more happy photos please.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Reese and Jake with Gavin Hood at the 2nd Rome Film Festival Photocall for ‘Rendition.’ Header image of Reese and Jake trying to look like they’re not a couple. Or so I think.

People magazine has released their annual best dressed list, ahead of the best dressed issue of their magazine. Then again, with a stylist in tow it’s easy to gain best dressed kudos, so the worst dressed is probably more interesting! I wish that list was longer.

Best Dressed 2007

Beyoncé Knowles – The Showstopper
Cameron Diaz – The Legs
Katie Holmes – The Classic
Penélope Cruz - The Continental
Jessica Biel – The All-American
Drew Barrymore – The Chameleon
Jennifer Lopez – The Glamour Girl
Reese Witherspoon – The Celeb Next Door
Gwen Stefani – The Trendsetter
Ali Larter – The Newcomer

Best Dressed Men

David Beckham
George Clooney
Johnny Depp
Terrence Howard
Brad Pitt

Best Dressed Couples

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
Gabriel Aubry & Halle Berry
Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale
Tony Parker & Eva Longoria

World’s Worst Dresser

Eva Green

Most Shocking Fashion Moments

Britney Spears shaves her head
Sanjaya Malakar’s faux-hawk
Kidnapped British sailors in oversized Iranian suits
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s cleavage
Naomi Campbell’s dress-up for community service
Paris Hilton’s get-out-of-jail get-up

Just Plain Wrong

Sienna Miller in black tights
Avril Lavigne’s combat boots & pink frilly dress

New York Daily News

Why have best dressed men lists? Even the most stylish man just tends to walk around in either a tuxedo or a t-shirt. There’s not much complicated about men’s dressing, why not have best punk rocker style for say, Pete Wentz? Or Best male use of make up, which would probably also be won by Pete Wentz.

I’m also confused about the criteria: Avril Lavinge’s lace dress and combat boots is a style no-no, but Lily Allen’s signature look is a dress and hi-top sneakers (Lily is mentioned in a British best dressed section of the magazine). Aren’t these just different versions of the same look? And none of the women on the best dressed list are cleavage shy, but it’s not okay for Hilary Clinton to show off her assets?

World’s Worst Dresser Eva Green is shown at the Casino Royale world premiere on 11/14/06 and the BAFTA awards on 2/11/07. (PRPhotos)

World’s Best Dressed Woman Beyonce Knowles is shown at the VMAs, at the opening of Jay-Z’s 40-40 club in Vegas on 9/6/07 and at the launch of Emporio Armani Diamonds Fragrance on 8/16/07. (PRPhotos)

Just Plain Wrong Sienna Miller in black tights at the Factory Girl UK premiere on 3/13/07 and at the 2006 Costume Institute Gala on 5/1/06. (PRPhotos)

Just Plain Wrong Avril Lavigne in a pink dress with combat boots at her CD release party in April. (via Faded Youth)

There was a story that Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal were on holiday together in Martha’s Vineyard, and Helen wrote yesterday that the first clear pictures of them together are bound to be worth a lot to paparazzi.

Well paparazzi do have photos of Reese and Jake both in Martha’s Vineyard, but there are no pictures of the two together or even leaving the same place separately. INFDaily has pictures of Reese out with her children at an agricultural fair while there’s another picture of Jake Gyllenhaal out alone in his car buying snacks and bottled water.

So Gyllenhaal didn’t go with Witherspoon on an outing with her kids, and INF says that they were “both in Martha’s Vineyard with their families at the same time but were never photographed together.”

Also in Martha’s Vineyard at this time is Meg Ryan. It could just be a popular vacation spot and an overblown coincidence.

Helen reported yesterday that the director of Reese and Jake’s film together, Rendition, says they were only on set together once and that “to this day, I genuinely don’t know if they had a relationship.”

Note that he phrased it in the past tense. There is a blurry far-away picture of them in a car together that came out a few weeks ago. That will feed gossip stories about these two for weeks.

Thanks to INFDaily for the header image. That’s not Reese’s son Deacon, as he turns four in October and that boy is much older. Her daughter, Ava Elizabeth, will be 8 next month.

Reese Witherspoon looks set to become the highest paid actress – officially. While Reese was for a long time the highest paid actress currently working (Julie Roberts was having babies) she looks set to earn $US29 million. I’m not sure if this fee is for producing as well as acting, but even if it’s for two jobs, it’s not a pay cheque to be sniffed at!

Witherspoon is still making comedies; this winter, she’ll team with Vince Vaughn on Four Christmases, a Meet the Fockers-style farce about a couple trying to spend the holidays at each of their divorced parents’ separate homes. But nowadays she’s also steering her career toward genres — and paychecks — nobody would have imagined before she snagged that statuette for Walk the Line. Next year, for instance, she’s slated to make her first horror movie, Our Family Trouble, for which she’ll reportedly be paid the staggering salary of $29 million. That’s more than even Roberts has ever earned.

Entertainment Weekly

In the same interview with Entertainment Weekly the director, Gavin Hood, of her new movie Rendition speaks out about the romance that was meant to have developed on set between Reese and Jake Gyllenhaal. He says that “to this day, I genuinely don’t know if they had a relationship.”

”But I can promise you that Reese and Jake were never together on the set. All of Jake’s scenes took place in Morocco and all Reese’s in L.A. The only time they crossed paths — when the paparazzi caught them — was on the way into a wardrobe fitting. Maybe some chemistry happened as they passed in the parking lot that day — I don’t know. All I can say is that she was absolutely focused when it came to making the movie.”

Reese is currently rumoured to be on holiday with Jake and her kids in Martha’s Vineyard, but no pictures have emerged. I imagine that the first pictures of the couple would be worth a lot of money to paparazzi, so if the holiday is for real then expect pictures soon. And when those pictures come out, please let Jake Gyllenhaal be at the beach with no shirt. Just for me, okay?

Picture Note by Celebitchy: Witherspoon is shown announcing her “ambassadorship” with Avon at the beginning of this month. Thanks to WENN.

In “duh” news, Us Weekly has a story claiming that Ryan Phillippe doesn’t like ex Reese Witherspoon’s sorta boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal. Is that supposed to be surprising? By most accounts Phillippe cheated on Witherspoon, so it seems like he should keep his opinions to himself. I must be blind or really naive, but what’s not to like about Jake Gyllenhaal, other than the fact that he’s dating your ex-wife? He’s not exactly a rebel; he seems reasonably smart and nice. I’ve heard he can be a bit bossy, but that’s not the end of the world. It’s likely just jealousy crap. See, guys can be bitchy too!

“Ryan Phillippe hasn’t exactly offered a warm welcome to ex Reese Witherspoon’s off-again, on-again guy, Jake Gyllenhaal, 26. ‘Ryan is pissed about Jake,’ a Phillippe insider tells Us Weekly, adding that Phillippe, 32, told Witherspoon, 31, ‘he didn’t want “that guy” around their kids [son Deacon, 3, and daughter Ava, 7] and then made some crude Brokeback Mountain remark.’

“However, a Gyllenspoon source tells Us that ‘Reese doesn’t have Jake spend the night when the kids are around.’ And though the actor may be angry that Witherspoon is moving on, his feelings for Aussie actress Abbie Cornish, 25, are less conflicted. Phillippe was seeing his Stop Loss costar at the time of his split from Witherspoon last October (his rep denied any relationship), and while the twosome seemed to cool after his marriage broke up, a source close to the couple tells Us, ‘They have been hanging out [again] since June.’”

“On August 5, the pair were seen strolling together in L.A.’s Franklin Canyon Park. ‘They were laughing,’ says an onlooker, ‘and obviously enjoying themselves.’”

[From Us Weekly]

A “Brokeback Mountain” joke, really? That’s pretty lame. Reese also seems pretty uptight and proper (I mean that in a good way, you don’t see it a lot in Hollywood) and she and Jake seem like a match that makes sense. Ryan Phillippe never seemed to have a lot of substance, and his supposed jealousy of Reese wasn’t exactly helpful to their relationship. I think the reason everyone got so excited at the prospect of Reese and Jake dating is that they seem like such a cute match. He’s said to love kids, she’s got ‘em, it’s a match made in heaven. Okay really, it’s impossible to know, but let’s hope that Ryan is able to be a little more mature, for the sake of their kids. It’s pretty rare that you have a Bruce Willis/Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher situation where everyone loves each other and they become one giant extended family. I hope this couple sticks around, they’re adorable.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Jake Gyllenhaal at LAX a few months ago. Header image of Reese and Ryan in happier days, at the “Walk the Line” premiere. Image thanks to PR Photos.