Brad Pitt's Rumored Romance With a Professor Is 'Professional,' Source Says

Brad Pitt is expanding his friendship circle!

The rumor mill went wild earlier this week when news broke that the 54-year-old actor was spending time with MIT professor Neri Oxman after reportedly meeting through an architecture project. However, a source tells ET that the two are simply friends.

"They only have a professional relationship," the source notes of Pitt's current bond with the 42-year-old architect and award-winning artist.

Our source adds that it's not surprising that the two have become fast friends, given that Pitt is an architecture enthusiast and Oxman is an architect.

The American-Israeli designer was previously married to Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov. Today, she spends her days directing the Mediated Matter research group at the MIT Media Lab as the Sony Corporation Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences.

"Oxman coined the term, and pioneered the research area, of Material Ecology, which considers computation, fabrication, and the material itself as inseparable dimensions of design," a description of Oxman on the MIT Media Lab website reads. "In this approach, products and buildings are biologically informed and digitally engineered for, with, and by nature."

Her work has been featured in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Centre Georges Pompidou, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the FRAC and the Boston Museum of Science. Along with her team, Oxman has also won numerous awards for her impressive, innovative thinking. 

Late last month, an additional source told ET that Pitt (who's notoriously private), has become a changed man since splitting with Angelina Jolie in September 2016 after two years of marriage. He has been going out a lot more and enjoying time with close friends.

"He has made changes in his life since the split," the source said. "When they first split he spent a lot of time at home and was often very down about what was going on. He was a homebody for many months, but in the last month or two, he’s been going out more. He enjoys going out to eat with close friends."

“He’s very private about who he’s seeing, but he does continue to casually date," the source continued. "The women he sees are not in the public eye."

Hear more on Pitt's post-split life in the video below.

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