Relationships

Will Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston get back together? We asked a body language expert to analyse their interactions

We see the rekindling of a match made in Heaven, but is that what Kiwi body language expert Suzanne Masefield sees?

We know. We felt it too. That surge of excitement when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston looked SUPER-friendly at the Screen Actors Guild Awards this week.

While their backstage encounter on Monday was brief after both receiving awards – Brad for best supporting actor in Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood and Jen for best actress in The Morning Show – it sent the internet into overdrive.

Their warm, affectionate interaction indicated all the makings of a reconnection… hand holding, leaning in to whisper to one another and lots of smiles and eye contact.

But while we saw sparks, Kiwi body language expert Suzanne Masefield saw differently.

“I saw very mixed messages,” she says. “Brad definitely fancies Jen but I get the feeling Jen has moved on.”

That’s not what we wanted to hear, so we asked Suzanne to run through some photos and videos with us to explain exactly what it was that was telling her Brad and Jen are not likely to go for a rematch:

“Jen is touching Brad in what’s called the ‘intimate zone’, which is between the shoulder and elbow and in line with the heart… So it’s an intimate connection but her hands are flat , she’s not actually gripping him. So there’s a tentativeness about it. There’s affection there, there’s a connection, but it’s more formal than it would be if you were with a lover.

And what I see with the way her legs are positioned, she’s got her left leg back. The left side is the emotional side.

And there’s quite a gap between Brad and Jen. If you were lovers you’d be closer together from the bottom end. So she’s leaning forward at the top, which shows connection and affection, but her left leg shows she’s emotionally holding back.

They could be doing this because of the environment they’re in but she is definitely holding back.

The way he’s got his lip jutted forward, there’s attraction with him for her, it’s sensual.

I would say they’ve reconnected on a deep, affectionate and intimate level. As to whether it will move on to something else… I think she’s got a lot of reservations.

“She’s coming in, her hands are higher but there’s that gap at the bottom between their legs and her left leg is held back. So she’s connecting, there’s a warmth and love but as to whether she wants to take that any further…

“Again, her hands are splayed out so it’s more formal. There’s an intimacy, he’s used his left hand to take her left hand, which shows a deep emotional connection.

But when someone holds the wrist it’s more controlling. There’s a gentle dominance, his hand is over top of hers – it tells me that he doesn’t want her to go but she’s turning away and carrying on with what she’s doing.

I feel like she’s moved on from him. If he reallly pulled the stops out, she’s got a deep love for him and could go back to him. But these photos don’t say that, really.

“The eye contact between them is easy, they’re laughing together and really comfortable together.

He’s got his chin jutted forward so he would be proactive in connecting with her. She’s got her chin forward and she’s laughing too but her chin is a double chin which means she’s pulled her head back a little bit (his head is quite far forward, in comparison). That tells me she is holding back. It’s subtle. She wants to connect with him but she has some question marks.”

Loading the player...

Suzanne concludes, “Brad is more overtly showing his feelings, Jen is more hesitant but she’s open to a large degree.

“When I watched them doing their speeches (Brad was named best supporting actof for his role in Quentin Tarantin’s Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, and Jennifer was name dbest actress in the drama series The Morning Show) … when Brad is watching Jen he’s got his right leg forward which again shows he’s really interested in what she’s doing and engaged.

“He pulls his arms behind his back and leans forward which is almost like he’s masculine posturing. When a man is attracted to a woman that’s what they do.

“But when Jen watches Brad, she was not impressed by his comments about guy gets high, takes his shirt off, doesn’t get on with his wife.

“Immediately afterward they panned to Jennifer Aniston and she blows out air; she’s not impressed and there was a micro-expression of sadness. She wasn’t amused by what he said. there is no energy in her clap, she just felt she had to. I think she was disappointed, like ‘Really, do you have to bring that into this?’ It’s still another woman, whether he likes her or not, he’s being flippant.

“So there are lots of mixed messages there. He’s attracted to her but whether he wants to reconnect with her as a couple is anybody’s guess.

“He’s quite a sexual man – he’s very sensual in his body language. You can see by how his lips are and the shape of his face, his sexuality is quite high. And he’s quite independent.

“Jen is more ‘heart’ energy. She’s coming from the heart, affection, friendship, community, family.

“They could get back together, the attraction is there and there’s a very deep affection, but it’s a long shot.”

Sigh.

Related stories