After making their romance official on a yacht holiday last month, Jennifer Aniston and her new beau, Jim Curtis, only appear to be going from strength to strength as they continue their summer of love.
And if the proof wasn’t in their clear confidence to share their blossoming romance with the eyes of the world after Jennifer’s tumultuous past, last week sources revealed that their relationship ‘feels different’ for the This Morning star.
An insider added, ‘Jim's great. Her close friends love him. He's amazing to be around and he has this really calm and secure energy. Jen loves it…He feels very safe for her.’
Sources previously told us that Jennifer’s closest friends had been happy for her but had experienced some reservations when reports about his growing debt on a property in New York were reported.
However, after charming over her best friends, actor Jason Bateman and his wife Amanda Anka during their joint yacht holiday to Mallorca and a further three-hour double date in New York earlier this month, it appears that things are getting serious for Jennifer, 56, and Jim, 49.
Last week, it was the turn of Jennifer’s BFF and fellow Friends alum, Courteney Cox, who met Jim over dinner at Malibu's swanky Nobu restaurant , where they were joined by Courteney’s long term partner, Johnny McDaid.
A source tells us that Courteney is ‘happy’ for Jennifer, adding, ‘She had some reservations about Jim at first but now it’s clear to her that the guy’s heart in the right place and his intentions are honourable.'
And now the real reason behind Jen’s sudden influx of double dates has been revealed, with a US source saying that Jim and Jennifer are so ‘crazy about each other’ that the pair ‘talked about a future together on their first date’ and could now be just weeks away from a whirlwind engagement.
‘They’re excited to be tying the knot, and want to exchange vows on the beach in Cabo, in front of a small group of trusted friends,’ the source continued.
And while Courtney is undoubtedly overjoyed by Jennifer’s newfound happiness after divorces from Brad Pitt in 2005 and Justin Theroux in 2018, our source says the Cougar Town actress can’t help but hope that Johnny will pop The Question first.
‘Jen has let her know she sees a long term future with Jim and that if he pops the question, she’s all in and it won’t be a long engagement,’ the source says.
‘For Courteney that would be bittersweet to say the least because it’s exactly what she’s wanted from Johnny for over a decade now and this is making her take a hard look at her own situation. They’ve agreed to do it several times but he always finds an excuse to back down and Courteney’s sick and tired of all the flip-flopping.
'It’s so demoralising for Courteney because it leaves her feeling like he’s always got a foot out the door. So as you can imagine, hearing her best friend talking about walking down the aisle with this guy she practically just met has brought up a lot of feelings for her.’
Courteney, 61, and Johnny, 49, have been together since 2013 after being introduced by mutual friend Ed Sheeran.
They announced their engagement in a sweet social media a year later but hit headlines when it was revealed in 2015 that they had split after Johnny dumped her one minute into a couple’s therapy session.
‘He just broke up within the first minute. And I was like, ‘What?’ We were engaged and I was so shocked. I was in so much pain,’ Courteney - who was married to David Arquette for 14 years until 2013 - bravely revealed last year.
The couple reconciled the following year but haven’t become engaged again, with the source revealing that Johnny’s unwillingness to tie the knot has become a ‘sore’ point for Courteney.
The insider says, ‘Courteney is very proud, she’d never admit publicly that it’s Johnny that’s holding things up, but her friends all know he’s the one to blame and it’s a very sore topic for her.
'She loves Jen and wants her to be happy, but this really highlights how ridiculous it is that she and Johnny still aren’t married. Courteney really needs to have a conversation with him about this but she’s been putting it off because she hates confrontation and truth is, she’s terrified that if she pushes too hard, she might lose him.’
But the source says Jennifer's ‘quickie’ wedding could be just the impetus Courteney needs to finally put the wheels into motion – or else.
‘A lot of people in her life think she should have chucked him years ago and moved on for someone that can fully commit to her, but she can't seem to do that,’ the insider says.
'She says she doesn’t want to waste another year waiting for Johnny to figure out what he wants but she also can’t imagine walking away after everything they’ve been through together. She’s put in so much time and energy, she says it will kill her if they break up.’
Now for the two friends, real life could be stranger than fiction as they race to make it down the aisle, much like when Jennifer’s Friends character Rachel pipped Courteney’s Monica to the post when she married Ross in Las Vegas.
Now the source says, ‘It’s bound to come to a head soon though because Jen and Jim are getting more serious by the day and make no mistake, Courteney wants to be first!
‘And when he pops the question there’s no way Courteney will be able to stay quiet, she's going to have no choice but to give Johnny an ultimatum.’