Fast Friends - Jen & Sandra's Crazy Chemistry

Through heartbreak and grief, these stars are there for each other

Sandra Bullock was on a mission to disrupt and delight. During a Netflix press junket in December – where she was promoting her thriller Bird Box – she stacked a tray with tequila shots, juice and lime wedges, and crashed a nearby interview.

And it wasn’t just any interview: Jennifer Aniston and Dolly Parton were in the middle of discussing their film Dumplin’. As the country music legend wet her whistle, Jennifer puckered up and kissed Sandra on the lips, then declared the refreshments “delicious”. Sandra smugly replied, “That’s the way you like it, Mama.”

It all started about five years ago, multiple insiders reveal. “They’d known each other from the industry,” a source tells. Both had dated actor Tate Donovan in the ’90s and enjoyed the title of “America’s Sweetheart” after a string of rom-com hits, including one each with Ben Affleck as their leading man (Forces of Nature for Sandra in 1999, He’s Just Not That Into You for Jennifer in 2009).

Their friendship began during a dinner party at the home of one of Ben’s exes – Gwyneth Paltrow. Says our insider, “They got to talking and everything just clicked.”

It didn’t take long for them to discover “they had similar outlooks on life and the same dry sense of humour.”