Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have gone public with their relationship after enjoying a romantic weekend in Rome.

The Oscar-winning beauty and the Brokeback Mountain actor - who have repeatedly denied romance rumours - walked hand-in-hand around the city and onlookers say they seem besotted with each other.

One passer-by said: “They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. At one point, Reese nestled her head into Jake’s shoulder and he tenderly kissed the top of it.”

Reese - whose divorce from Ryan Phillippe was made official earlier this month - first met Jake on the set of their film Rendition.

The pair were said to have grown close as he comforted her over her split from Ryan, father of her two children, Ava, eight, and three-year-old Deacon.

On set sources claimed the Hollywood stars were virtually inseparable, and spent almost all their time between takes together.

However, it was reported the 31-year-old actress soon ended the relationship because she wanted to spend more time with her kids.

Last month, Reese and Jake - who previously dated Kirsten Dunst - were seen chatting intimately at a party.

Are they making it official?

On today’s Ellen DeGeneres Show, Reese Witherspoon finally spoke out about her on-again beau (and Rendition co-star) Jake Gyllenhaal.

When DeGeneres told Witherspoon, 31, Gyllenhaal, 26, was cute, the Oscar winner gushed, “He’s great!”

The day before, new photos surfaced of Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal (dressed in matching black T-shirts and jeans) strolling hand-in-hand and smooching at Los Angeles International Airport October 22.

The pair had been returning from Rome, where they were promoting their new film. On October 19, Witherspoon, 31, was spotted resting her head on Gyllenhaal’s shoulder while walking through the streets as they enjoyed some downtime.

Looks like the couple may be comforting each other even more from now on: Their buzzed-about CIA thriller bombed at the bomb office, coming in at No. 9 with $4.2 million.

Source: People.com

Jake Gyllenhaal has been everything from an cutie action hero (in The Day After Tomorrow) to the obsessed tracker of a serial killer (in Zodiac) to a gay cowboy (in Brokeback Mountain, for which he lassoed an Oscar nomination). In the new political thriller Rendition (pictured), also starring Reese Witherspoon, Gyllenhaal shows off his range again, this time as a CIA analyst who questions the detention and interrogation of an Egyptian-born terror suspect.

In the following gallery, see how Gyllenhaal became not only a go-to name for such Oscar-baiting roles, but also a big-screen heartthrob.

Source: Entertainment Weekly