Brad Pitt and his wife Jennifer Aniston were Hollywood's golden couple - until he signed up to star in Mr & Mrs Smith with Angelina Jolie, with whom he now has a brood of six children.
Since then, there's been an all-out public relations war between the two women which has come to a head once again with rumours last month of a split between Brad and Angelina. The gloves are now firmly off and from her ringside seat NICOLE LAMPERT guides us through the fight.
THE CONTENDERS
IN THE RED CORNER: The Dark Destroyer, aka Angelina Jolie. Age: 34.
Previous form: She has admitted to a lust for knives and famously wore a vial of her second husband Billy Bob Thornton's blood on a chain around her neck. Her former bodyguard was once arrested for being a hitman. A fight with Angie is never pretty.
THE WEIGH-IN
Within
a few months of having her twins, the 5ft 8in actress had lost her baby weight. And a depression over the loss of her mother and (apparently) the breakdown of her relationship with Brad has seen her tip the scales at 7st.
The gloves are off: Angelina Jolie, left, and Jennifer Aniston
IN THE BLUE CORNER: Golden Girl, aka Jennifer Aniston. Age: 41.
Previous form: Dippy, hippy and slightly neurotic. Jen was a lover, not a fighter - until Angie stole her man and a determined, dirty side came out.
THE WEIGH-IN
AT 5ft 5in, The Golden Girl weighs in at 7st 8lb. She is mad on yoga and pilates and sticks to a strict low-carb diet.
ROUND ONE
THE BLAME GAME
It's all about reputation in Hollywood and this is a key fighting ground. Angie is determined not to be labelled the scarlet woman, while Jen is equally desperate to stay everyone's heroine.
Blow 1: The word goes round in September 2004 that Brad and Jen are on the rocks because she is putting off children for the sake of her career, rumours later attributed to Angie's 'people'.
Blow 2: As reports of an affair between Brad and Angie swirl, The Dark Destroyer insists in May 2005 that she would never 'be intimate with a married man', even though they are already clearly an item.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie star in Mr & Mrs Smith: Jolie let slip to The New York Times that they fell in love during filming
Blow 3: In her first post-split interview in September 2005, a tearful Jen admits to having days where she wallowed in grief, or 'pity parties' as she called them, but says she believes Brad and Angie did not get together until after the split.
Blow 4: In October 2008. a boastful Angie tells The New York Times that her kids love Mr & Mrs Smith because: 'Not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love.'
Blow 5: It's hook, jab, bam!, as Jen tells Vogue in December 2008 that Angie's admission really, really upset her. The Dark Destroyer is on the ropes.
The winner: Golden Girl
Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer arrive at the Academy Awards in 2009
ROUND TWO
THE MOVIE CAREERS
Jen tends to do fluff and rom com and sell lots of tickets, while Angie prefers more edgy, violent roles. But who is winning the gongs and making the money?
Blow 1: The Dark Destroyer brings out The Changeling on the same day as Golden Girl's He's Just Not That Into You in October 2008. The Changeling gets better reviews, but Golden Girl's movie earns £50 million more at the box office.
Blow 2: It emerges in March 2009 that while Jen earns £4million a movie, Angie is on £6million. Ouch.
Blow 3: It's the 2009 Oscars, and the two are due to clash publicly face-to-face for the first time in March. Angie is in the better position as a nominee, while Jen is handing out a prize.
Blow 4: But Jen pulls a masterstroke when she brings along singer John Mayer as her date just a few weeks after he publicly announced their split, saying they had no chemistry. The Jen and John reunion is all anyone can talk about, particularly after Oscar proves to be the one man who escapes Angie's clutches.
Blow 5: It's a close-run thing, then a rematch is announced. Both contenders are playing assassins in their upcoming movies - Angie's Salt and Jen's The Bounty Hunter - and the films are slated for release within weeks of each other this summer.
The winner: A dead heat
ROUND THREE
THE MAGAZINE COVERS
They might make the tabloids every week, but the real battlefield is the glossies - who looks better and whose appearance generates more column inches. Blow 1: Bash! Just a few weeks after the Jen and Brad split, he's pictured playing 'happy families' with Angie for a now infamous spread in W Magazine, in June 2005.
Blow 2: Jen hits back in September 2005 with an equally infamous Vanity Fair shoot where she is pictured almost naked with the headline: 'Jen finally talks.' And cries, quite a lot, to the journalist.
Blow 3: Showing off her huge pregnant cleavage and highlighting her famous pout with bright red lipstick, Angelina looks incredible on the July 2008 cover of Vanity Fair magazine.
Blow 4: December 2008; 18 months after Angelina is pictured on the front of Vogue in a revealing red dress on a beach, Jennifer chooses an almost identical look. While Angie may look the more beautiful in the photographs, Jen's Vogue sold more copies - 465,000 to Angie's 413,000.
Blow 5: Kapow! Jen goes almost completely naked for the December 2008 issue of GQ magazine - with just a tie saving her blushes.
The winner: Go-go Golden Girl
ROUND FOUR
THE RED CARPET
When it comes to Hollywood, this is the true fight. Reputations have been won and lost on the red carpet and the repercussions of a good or bad round here will circulate the globe.
Blow 1: Brad and Angie actually avoid being on the red carpet together for the first few years of their relationship. So the first time is a biggie, and comes as Brad attends the Cannes premiere of Kung Fu Panda, just after Angelina confirms she is expecting twins in May 2008. The couple could not look more loving.
Blow 2: Ouch! A few months later, Jen wears one of the tiniest dresses she has ever been seen in - a stark contrast to her very pregnant rival - on the red carpet for the premiere of Marley And Me in December 2008.
Pitt and Jolie arrive for the premiere of the film Kung Fu Panda during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, southern France
Blow 3: It's the Oscars 2009 and the two contenders are due on the same red carpet for the first time. Let's hope they don't meet in the ladies' loo. Jen goes all out in a golden (of course) Valentino gown with John Mayer on her arm, while Angie is in boring black. It's a clear victory for Golden Girl.
Blow 4: It's May 2009 and Brad and Angie are back in Cannes, fighting off rumours that they are about to split, by being even more lovey dovey than last year. She looks stunning in a pink Versace gown with a thigh-high slit.
Blow 5: Pow! Take that! Jen does black thigh-high split to huge applause at the Golden Globes last month.
The winner: A hard-fought round and judges call a draw
ROUND SIX
IT'S ALL FOR CHARIDEE
It's a tough line for everyone to tread in Hollywood. You have to be seen to be extremely giving but, if you are too preachy, you could end up losing your credibility.
Blow 1: Angie, already up and running as a do-gooder before she meets Brad, starts the ball rolling by adopting orphan Zahara, her second adopted child, with the actor in July 2005.
Kidding around: Brad and Angelina with four of the couple's children, Maddox, Shiloh, Zahara and Pax
Blow 2: Angie gives a jabjabjab as, after giving birth to Shiloh in May 2006, she and Brad adopt Pax from Vietnam in March
2007. Meanwhile, pictures of the pair's non-adopted children Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne are sold in August 2008 for a total of £15 million, money which goes to charity.
Blow 3: The Golden Girl offers a weak punch as she asks friends to donate money to charity instead of giving her a Christmas present in 2008.
Blow 4: Earlier this week, Angelina goes to earthquake-hit Haiti in her role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador to visit the sick and grieving. There are rumours she may try to adopt a Haitian orphan. Blow 5: Another weak effort from Golden Girl (who celebrated her 41st birthday on Thursday) on holiday in Mexico - apparently to help charity.
The Winner: Classy moves from The Dark Destroyer
ROUND SEVEN
BRAD'S FAMILY
Brad is the ultimate mummy's boy - and the approval of the family is all-important. Brad's mum adored Jen and is said to have taken a long time to warm to her replacement.
Blow 1: Just a few months after his split from Jen, Brad takes Angie home to meet his mother Jane, in May 2005.
Blow 2: The Dark Destroyer looks like she will knock out Golden Girl; Jane is thrilled to become a grandmother to Brad and Angie's first natural-born daughter, Shiloh, in May 2006, as well as their two adopted kids Maddox and Zahara.
Blow 3: But what's this? Two years after the divorce, Jen is seen secretly meeting Jane, in June 2007.
Blow 4: Angie looks cosy with the family at the premiere of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button in December 2008.
Blow 5: It seems as if Angie may be ready to throw in the towel. Allegedly tired of her inlaws' constant disapproval, she decrees that she and Brad will not be spending Christmas 2009 with the family.
Blow 6: With the Golden Girl still the Pitt family favourite, Brad's brother Doug allegedly tells him to dump The Dark Destroyer for good last month.
THE CHAMPION
Despite being the wife he left behind, the Golden Girl has gone the distance and takes the bout on points. And if Brad and Angelina do split, who's to say she won't be waiting for her guy to come home?
