Reese Witherspoon's "romance" with Jake Gyllenhaal

Despite earlier reports claiming that the 'Walk the Line' actress was merely
"trying out a courtship" with heartthrob Jake, friends close to Reese insist
they are an item.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: "Jake doesn't want a party girl at all.

"Reese is perfect because she understands the business and also the
importance of family. Plus, he admires her talent, thinks she is beautiful
and he respects her values. He respects everything about her actually."

According to reports, Reese was keen to get together with 'Brokeback
Mountain' star Jake, 26, since separating from her husband Ryan Phillippe
last year.

A source said: "Reese was the pursuer and really wanted to date Jake.
"She's known him for a while and thought he was intelligent and charming."
Reese, 31, has two children - Ava, six, and Deacon, three - with Ryan, who
she met at her 21st birthday party.

Meanwhile, according to PEOPLE, after her painful split from Ryan Phillippe last year, Reese Witherspoon didn't see a relationship coming.

At first they seemed like an unlikely match: Gyllenhaal, her costar in the upcoming CIA thriller Rendition, was already an acquaintance – he was an old workout buddy of Phillippe – and they didn't have much screen time together while filming for eight weeks in Morocco.

But during a reshoot in L.A., "Jake went and reintroduced himself to Reese," a source close to both stars tells PEOPLE in its new issue.

And from there, what a friend of Witherspoon's calls "their little flirtation" just took its course. "Things slowly progressed, but it was never something she thought would happen from the start. She just kind of developed this little crush over time."