When Zoe Saldana ended her engagement to her longtime fiancé in November, it was reported that she and Bradley Cooper were hooking up, which her rep immediately denied. Now E! is confirming that the two are indeed together, so serious that they’re spending the holidays together and meeting families.

Zoe and Coop have known each other a few years and worked together on a film called The Words in Montreal this past summer. Many are assuming then that what they have now was ignited on the set. But I can tell you for sure, from multiple sources around production, that there was nothing between them at the time. If they did hang out when they weren’t shooting, it was always around a lot of other people and when they were alone it was only because they were in scenes together. Bradley, in fact, for a few days there, had an attractive companion from France tucked away with him in his trailer. Not sure who she was but when she was in town, they spent most of their time in his hotel room when he wasn’t filming. Which means that whatever it is between Zoe and Coop would have been initiated rather recently, after The Words wrapped...

I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that his Sexiest Man Alive title was such a bust. Right out the gate there was a protest, then he himself addressed the protest, and, well it’s debatable if he was even the first choice.

Accepting the SMA was definitely a career move on top of the successes of Limitless and The Hangover Part 2. Trying to find a girlfriend comes from the same playbook. But it’s not like Bradley Cooper isn’t getting work. He’s getting enough work. It’s just... he’s still not a Movie Star. And he really wants to be one.

But what’s in it for her?

Zoe Saldana is so much more badass than Bradley Cooper, right? Totally. But she still isn’t seeing as many scripts as she could. The girl stars in the highest grossing movie of all time AND the acclaimed Star Trek reboot and still she only worked once in 2011. (Colombiana was shot in 2010.) There’s also the kind of parts she gets: aliens and science fiction, or action girl with a gun. The Words was Zoe in a contemporary setting without the supernatural for a change. There’s no question that the strategy is to find more of that, to build a more well-rounded, varied career. I don’t know if that can be accomplished by dating Bradley Cooper. I’m just saying they both have motivations.