Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie reportedly grew close at intimate barbecue in 2004

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have previously confessed that they fell in love on the sets of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2004 when the actor was still married to Jennifer Aniston, though Pitt insists that they did not start dating until his separation from the "Friends" alum.

A recent report in The Mirror claims that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie connected at an intimate barbecue thrown by the actress a month after the filming started in January, adding that their chemistry was obvious to everyone on the set.

Sources from the set claim that the 45-year-old actress "huddled close" to her co-star during the get-together at her mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Several weeks later, Jolie caught the flu from Pitt, after which he sent the actress an enormous bouquet with a note that read: "To the Mrs - Oops!" as claimed in a report in the National Enquirer.

However, despite the rumours of Pitt getting close to Jolie on the film set, he was all smiles with wife Jennifer Aniston during their red carpet appearances in 2004. The couple arrived holding hands at the May 2004 premiere of "Troy" in Los Angeles, as well as at the Emmys in September that year.

According to interviews given by Aniston, who had just wrapped up the filming of her iconic TV sitcom "Friends," she and her husband were planning to spend 2005 travelling and trying for a baby. However, things changed soon and it was Jolie and Pitt who were expecting their first child that year.

Speaking to the Guardian about her and Pitt's plans of starting a family, Aniston had said: "It's time. It's time. You know, I think you can work with a baby, I think you can work pregnant, I think you can do all of it. So I'm just truly looking forward to slowing down."

In an unexpected turn of events, the couple finalised their divorce in 2005, and just after a few months, Pitt went on a holiday with his Jolie and their adopted son Maddox. Soon after, they announced their first pregnancy in January 2006, and welcomed Shiloh in May that year.

Pitt and Jolie went on to have six children, Maddox, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara, Knox, and Vivienne, whom they co-parent since their divorce in 2016. In an earlier interview, the couple hailed "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," with Pitt telling Rolling Stone: "Because you know... six kids. Because I fell in love." "Not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love," Jolie gushed in the comments.