A handsome man of forty-five with a lean and chiseled physique, he wears gauzy, low-slung pants and a necklace of fragrant mala beads he picked up during a sojourn in Bali.With his longish tousled hair and high cheekbones, his inner glow and sober mien, he looks like a hunky Hollywood guru.(For the record, rumors that he was inordinately chatting up ex-wife Jennifer Anistonwere also shot down, as they hadn't—contrary to what people wanted to believe—completely iced each other out of their lives prior to Pitt's split last year.) at the time."Predictable," indeed, what with the two of them being technically single and anywhere near each other.Never mind that Pitt just went through one of the toughest years of his life, which included riding a wave of salacious press, quitting drinking, repairing his relationship with his children and getting back on speaking terms with Jolie. His close friend and Plan B co-founder Brad Grey passed away unexpectedly from cancer on May 14 (though Pitt was among the tiny inner circle that knew the former Paramount chief was ill), and then longtime friend Chris Cornell committed suicide just four days later.The actor even joined Cornell's two kids at Universal Studios last month, where 11-year-old Christopher was excited to pick out a wand from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Four years ago, he was a cash-strapped real estate agent with a beautiful wife and two young daughters, struggling with monogamy, facing with dread the prospects of his fifth decade.

Getty, now 41, admits the couple has long moved past the extramarital indiscretion, telling Britain's Evening Standard newspaper the affair is "ancient history" and feels like "another lifetime".

In a rare, candid chat, the former Brothers & Sisters star insists the incident has only made his marriage "stronger", admitting, "Without going down, you can't rise again." Balthazar declined to discuss the issue further, but he previously heaped praise on his "understanding" wife for doing what's best for their kids.

"Here's the bottom line: It was a very challenging time for everybody involved," he told America's Harper's Bazaar magazine in 2010.

"But I loved and missed my family too much not to make it work.