Said to have been “blindsided” by the news that girlfriend-of-four-years Kristen Stewart had cheated on him with her Snow White And The Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, Robert Pattinson last week emerged after weeks of hiding out at Reese Witherspoon’s California ranch to promote his new film, Cosmopolis. Appearing on The Daily Show and Good Morning America, as well as hitting up the red carpet for the New York premiere of the David Cronenberg-directed flick and ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, the 26-year-old Brit has studiously avoided the Kristen question, laughed and joked with his hosts, co-stars and fans, and appeared slimmer, healthier and more well kempt than he has in a long time.
And with two new movies lined up, including The Rover opposite Guy Pearce, Robert has also found himself catapulted back to the top of directors’ wish lists and has gained even more fans thanks to his gentlemanly refusal to trash his cheating ex.
reveals how Team Pattinson are emerging from his cuckold scandal stronger than ever…
The perfect gentleman
Despite Kristen’s fears that Robert would be critical of her during his recent promotional tour, the British actor managed to laugh off or deflect any personal questions, with one insider spilling, “Robert is just as charming and witty as ever.”
Appearing on The Daily Show, Rob avoided Jon Stewart’s attempts to get information out of him, telling the host about the media attention, “My biggest problem in my life is I’m cheap, and I didn’t hire a publicist. I’m going to hire a publicist”, after Stewart had asked him, “Are you all right? Is everything OK? I’m worried about you.”
“Kristen’s name was never even mentioned and Jon gave him a break,” said a show insider. “Jon brought out some ice cream and told Rob, ‘The last time I had a bad break-up, Ben & Jerry’s got me through some of the tougher times.’ Rob started laughing. It was so sweet. He handled it well.”
And the actor has found himself once more facing the levels of female attention that accompanied the first Twilight movie, with the show audience letting out a collective ‘awww’ when the actor agreed “it is” after Jon Stewart told him that splitting up with someone when you’re young felt like the end of the world.
“Rob was embarrassed. He quickly told the audience, ‘That’s not what I meant!’,” added the show source.
“An imagine can't buy”
“The cheated-on woman certainly gets a lot of sympathy and attention in this town, but for the cheated-on man it’s a whole other level,” one Hollywood insider said. “It’s like men with babies, men with puppies, men looking lost in supermarket aisles; the image of the cute and helpless guy is irresistible to female fans.” Adding, “Guaranteed every woman will want to cure him of his heartache. If he doesn’t do anything stupid, Rob can look forward to plenty of fan goodwill in the coming months and a host of fans who might not usually see a Cronenberg movie going to see Cosmopolis.”
Stopping to sign autographs at last week’s premiere, Pattinson told fans, “Thank you for being here,” and it also emerged last week that the actor has been passing on all the gifts he’s been sent to local hospitals.
“He was incredibly touched, but he decided to send all the gifts he received to local hospitals and senior citizens’ homes,” revealed a mole. “Robert didn’t feel like he deserved any of the presents and didn’t want them going to waste. So, he decided to redirect them to places he felt warranted receiving such gifts.”
Healthier than ever
In a bid to take his mind off of his break-up, Rob has embarked on a new health and fitness regime, which has seen him shed weight in the past few weeks – a new look compounded by the fact he is barely eating.
“He was seen jogging around Reese’s seven-acre compound obviously trying to work out his heartache,” spilled an LA source. And despite reports that the actor had embarked on a spate of alcohol-fuelled nights out with pals, insiders have insisted that Rob has laid off the booze, with one revealing, “He only drinks when he’s happy.”
“His hair looks amazing. The suit is hot. The new melancholy in his eyes only adds to that face. It was a beautiful, beautiful face, now sexier, hardened by emotional distress,” said eTalk’s Elaine Lui. “[It’s] a development he would do without, obviously, but if we’re being straight superficial here, if there’s an upside it would be that his personal anguish improved his aesthetic.
The Kristen question
Although the pair has now spoken via text and on the phone, pals of the Twilight actor say he has only chatted with his ex because she left so many voicemails and bombarded him with calls.
“Rob had been avoiding her calls, but now they’re talking… well, they’re barely talking,” an insider spilled to In Touch. “There’s a lot of dead silence on the phone because there’s not a lot to talk about.”
And sources have revealed that Rob’s close friends, including Tom Sturridge and Katy Perry have been “working hard to make sure he doesn’t go back to her.”
“Rob knows he’s got the final Twilight movie to promote alongside Kristen and that there will be plenty of interviews and photo ops that they will contractually have to do together,” added the mole. “For the sake of not making things even more awkward than they already are he picked up the phone to one of her calls. But it’s over, he will not take her back.”
