When Friends star Jennifer Aniston whisked Brad Pitt away on a surprise Valentine's break to Acapulco earlier this year, she knew she could not keep their love affair a secret any longer.
The tearful actress held the biggest bouquet of flowers she'd ever seen and read the note Brad had written: "Without you I am nothing, love is wonderful."
For the past year, Hollywood's hottest couple had tried to keep their romance to themselves, insisting they were "just good friends". But they couldn't fool the press or fans any longer.
"We were hoping the rumours would die down," says Jennifer, "but the gossip kept growing and growing until, finally it was starting to get out of hand. The one about our impending marriage is the biggest. We haven't even discussed it. What else can you do but laugh?"
A match made in movie heaven, their unlikely pairing surprised many people. They w first in May 1998 and were snapped together several times. So obviously in love so why deny it?
"When you become a public figure you have to learn to be very discreet." explains Jennifer. "It's not my work after all, but my private life. Talking about a relationship has nothing to do with business. My problem is that I tend to talk very easily in interviews, and maybe sometimes I say too much. Now I'm holding a little bit back. I'm not trying to avoid the subject, but preserve something that's personal."
Jennifer, who's just turned 30, admits she's like to get married one day, but says she's not "itching for it"
"Of course I want to do it eventually. Marriage is great, don't get me wrong. But I'm not desperate. It something that will only happen once, at least I hope so."
She already endured one bitter marriage break-up - the divorce or her parents, actor John Aniston and model Nancy, when Jennifer was a child. To this day she retains painful memories of the past.
"When you're young, you don't really understand what's going on so you blank bad things out. It's only when you grow up, you realise that your parents were only human. There was another woman; the old story. I did everything I could not to add more pressure to their problems."
"I understood that life isn't rosy and it gave me a realistic view of a couple. I may dive into the deepest romanticism but deep down there will be a little voice that warns me every time I go too far. That may sound sad and cynical, but that's the way I am. I can't forget the infidelity of my father."
Jennifer's previous relationship with little known actor Tate Donavan ended because he couldn't handle living in the shadow of her stardom. However, Brad more than matches Jennifer's success and is just as happy to take a back seat.
Recently, she was embroiled in a top level meeting with studio bosses when a series of "emergency" phone calls interrupted it. Seemingly Brad couldn't get the recipe right for a moussaka he was cooking for the two of them and needed Jennifer's advice as her family are from Greece, home of the savoury dish.
Since Friends turned her into a star, Jennifer has learned to take the stories about her personal life with a pinch of salt. "The most horrible thing the press have said about me is that I've had breast implants - it's so untrue. Another rumour going round is that I've slept with all the stars in Hollywood. I'm very old fashioned when it comes to love. I like men who act like gentlemen. The first time a boyfriend brought me breakfast in bed, I nearly cried."
She's no one-night-stand either.
"I can't be with man just for sex. If I sleep with man it's because I'm romantically involved. There have to be feelings. I'm convinced that the more sincere the love is, the better the sex."
Jennifer recently turned down 4million to pose nude and refuses to film raunchy sex scenes. She reportedly turned down the Playboy offer because she'd be embarrassed facing the boys on Friends afterwards. But Jennifer does reveal all to the girls on the show.
"Sometimes Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and myself compare the cellulite on our thighs and butt. We're not that different from other girls. Women are obsessed about their hips; mine are really wide, as if they were made for having children. The day I become pregnant the baby will have all the room it wants inside of me."
After five years of Friends, is Jennifer hoping the series will end soon? "I'd go crazy if I thought I wouldn't be taking part in it any more. Realistically, I know the show will end one day. But we'll all remain on Friends until the end. If any of us wants to leave, we would all leave. But none of us wants to."
 

 Much thanks to Clare!