They are the new Fab Four – George and Amal, Brad and Ines. The two grandmaster Hollywood heartthrobs and their glamorous partners clearly enjoyed each other's company in Venice, walking the red carpet, at times all four arm-in-arm, on Sunday.
They had actually spent a long weekend as a 'pack' at the Hotel Cipriani in the run-up to the premiere of Brad and George's film, Wolfs, at the Venice Film Festival.
The critics may have found the buddy-caper film a little smug, even tiresome; but the reignited bromance between Brad and George is the real thing. And one of the key reasons why it works again is the beautiful woman at Brad Pitt's side.
It's no accident that 34-year-old jewellery designer Ines de Ramon and Brad, 60, made it official while promoting this film.
Being with Clooney, a friend for more than 30 years, is a safe space for Brad. It was a friendship that cooled during his disastrous marriage to Angelina Jolie.
In fact, Clooney didn't even know that Pitt and Jolie were getting a divorce in 2016, saying: 'Wow… I had no idea', and, 'That's sad' when the news was broken to him by a TV outlet.
Two years previously, in 2014, Brad and Angelina had not attended his wedding to Amal in Venice. The reason given was that the couple were making the movie, By The Sea, in Malta.
Could the Jolie-Pitts not have taken an afternoon off to skip in by private jet? Brad said weeks later that he hadn't even had time to send his old pal a gift, which seemed hurtful.
Not everyone was convinced at the time that the wedding no show was simply down to scheduling, with reports citing 'rivalry' between Angelina and Clooney's bride Amal, an accomplished international human rights lawyer.
After all Angelina, a special envoy for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), had long worn the crown for the 'world's most glamorous humanitarian' and then along came Amal – clever, beautiful, stylish, and doing important human rights work of her own.
No wonder many were left wondering if she'd had her feathers ruffled by the new Mrs Clooney and all the attention she was attracting.
Ines, by contrast, fits in without any friction. Like Amal, she cuts a sophisticated figure at the side of her handsome Hollywood man.
Also like Amal, she is better educated and more academic than her husband: Pitt didn't quite finish a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri, but Ines has a business degree from the University of Geneva.
Clooney went to both Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati but did not graduate from either, while his wife Amal has a law degree from Oxford.
Ines is multilingual (again like Amal) and fluent in French, English, German, Spanish and Italian. She skis like a dream, too – thanks to her upbringing in Geneva, Switzerland. She is knowledgeable about wine, fashion and music.
While Angelina famously says she has very few real friends aside from her children, Ines has a large group of close pals, mostly successful business people and actors, who, like her, are from wealthy backgrounds.
Unlike Angelina who's been estranged from her father, Jon Voight, for most of her life, Ines is a family girl. She is close to her parents, who live in Geneva, and her sister who is thought to live in Ibiza.
And while Brad Pitt is the richest and the most famous man she has dated, he's not out of her orbit by any means.
She was previously pictured with Axel Harari in the society pages of the magazine Cote, which concerns itself with the wealthy set who live on the shores of Lake Geneva.
He comes from one of the richest families in Switzerland – they are big in property – and he now runs an art gallery.
Brad isn't even her first Hollywood partner – her ex is actor Paul Wesley, of The Vampire Diaries. They split up in 2022 after a brief, three-year marriage.
Within six months he was dating a new, younger model, Natalie Kuckenburg.
But for classy Ines their divorce seems to have been the model of civilised decorum, quite unlike the protracted conflagration of the Pitt-Jolie uncoupling, where fights continue to rage on a number of fronts a full eight years after they split.
One source close to Pitt tells me: 'The contrast with Angelina is obvious. Ines gets along great with everyone, all of Brad's friends. She is a really easygoing person.'
The source adds that there's no question of starting a family – yet – and no rush down the aisle either, but says that de Ramon has provided comfort and support as Pitt comes to terms with his sadly fractured relationships with the six children he shared with Angelina Jolie.
It's thought he has no relationship with older, adopted, children Maddox and Pax, and daughter Zahara doesn't use his name. His biological daughter, Shiloh, filed to legally drop the Pitt name the moment she turned 18.
Twins Knox and Vivienne are 16 and Vivienne also recently dropped his name in a theatre programme where she was credited as a production assistant.
It's not clear whether he has any contact with the older children at all, as they are now too old to be subject to a custody agreement which gave him visitation rights.
Recent troubles include fears for son Pax, 20, who Angelina hires as an assistant director on her films. On August 1, he ran into the back of a car while riding his e-bike. He wasn't wearing a helmet and ended up in intensive care with 'complex trauma' including a brain bleed, and head and hip injury.
Eyewitnesses reportedly thought he was dead and first responders saved his life.
Jolie was by his side in hospital and all five siblings visited – but not Pitt, who was kept informed of developments. Pax labelled his father a 'world class a**hole' in an explosive Instagram rant in 2020.
'There has been a lot of heartbreak in the situation,' a source close to Brad says, who adds that Ines has been a great source of comfort. 'Brad and Ines are extremely happy. There is speculation about them starting a family but that is getting way ahead of things. This is a really good time for both of them and they are enjoying each other.'
He adds: 'She is a very chill person which is great for him. Brad has ongoing issues with being separated from his family. It's been a tough summer with that and with filming the Formula One film, F1. He has been dealing with personal issues which are very upsetting, and she is a support through that. She is very positive part of his life.'
So who is Ines de Ramon, and how did she end up with Brad Pitt, who, at 60, remains one of the most desirable men in Hollywood?
Ines Olivia de Ramon was born in New Jersey to a financier father, Tito, and home-maker mother, who were originally from Madrid.
Ines and her sister grew up in the swish suburb of Cologny, Geneva. Ines went to the 16th century Calvin College where she was said to be one of the most popular students. She went on to get a BA in Business at the University of Geneva.
After graduating she worked at Christie's in Geneva and at the Kempinski hotel in client services. In 2014 she made a move over to New York, to work with the jewellers De Grisogono, before being headhunted by the jewellery firm Anita Ko where she is a vice-president and head of wholesale.
Clients of the company, which specialises in 'everyday diamonds' include Michelle Obama, Queen Rania of Jordan and Scarlett Johansson.
Ines is said to have met her first husband Paul Wesley in 2019 when he was holidaying in Ibiza. They appeared devoted and adopted a rescue dog, Gregory, during Covid.
However they announced their separation in September 2022, with Wesley filing for divorce in February 2023 citing irreconcilable difficulties.
The divorce was uncontested. She requested her name back and he waived spousal support. Sources say that she and Brad were in the same social circles and knew each other before they were put together by a mutual friend in 2023.
It's even just about possible that the mutual friend was George Clooney, as they know some of the same luxury PRs who work for Omega watches.
She and Brad were first seen together backstage at the Los Angeles Orpheum theatre after a solo show by Bono in late 2023, and then at an art and film gala in LA in 2023. They spent the end of the year on holiday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
They were spotted together at the 2024 British Grand Prix where Brad was promoting his upcoming film about the sport. They've also been to the Miraval vineyard in France, which he owned with Angelina, and to Paris this summer.
I'm told that although they have been in Europe together he has not yet met her family – that's a hurdle yet to be cleared – but this is a serious romance.
Their shared interests are apparently cooking, hiking and dog walking on the beach. In recent months, she has been wearing a necklace with a 'B' pendant which could be a gift from Brad.
One source told a magazine that Brad would cook candlelit dinners for her at his home in Carmel, California, overlooking the Pacific.
The insider said: 'They go skinny-dipping in the ocean. He hasn't felt this way in years.'
It is surely significant that the couple have spent time together at Miraval, the estate in France which he had dreamed would be a forever home for him, Angelina and the children.
Miraval exerts a great pull for him and he is fighting legal action against the Stoli Group, to whom Angelina sold her stake in the vineyard, with everything he has.
The handsome stone house is where he and Clooney shot a recent interview for GQ magazine – and Clooney and family live only around a 30-minute drive away.
In the background of that interview was Ines – sophisticated, discreet and, unlike his very famous former wives Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie – very happy to stay out of the spotlight. Just what Brad needs.
- Additional reporting Barbara McMahon
