It's finally happened - and yes, it's all sugar and spice and everything nice for "Rendition" co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, who have finally decided to go public with their relationship after enjoying a romantic - and very public - weekend in Rome. The Oscar-winning actress and the "Brokeback Mountain" star have repeatedly denied romance rumors, but were seen walking hand-in-hand around the city and onlookers say they seemed very much in love with each other.

"They couldn't keep their hands off each other. At one point, Reese nestled her head into Jake's shoulder and he tenderly kissed the top of it" said one passer-by. The two actors first met on the set of their movie "Rendition", and the pair were said to have grown close, as Gyllenhaal comforted Reese over her split from Ryan Phillippe, who is also the father of her two children, Ava, eight, and three-year-old Deacon.

On set sources claimed the Hollywood stars were virtually inseparable, and spent almost all their time between takes together. However, it was reported that the budding romance was ended by Reese because she wanted to spend more time with her kids. Last month, however, Reese and Jake reunited and were seen chatting intimately at a party. And now, finally, the two appear to have gotten over all their difficulties and have decided to let the whole world see how in love they are.

"I have known Jake for years through different friends and he is just wonderful. He's very kind, generous and funny", Reese stated during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres earlier this week, in which she hinted heavily at the fact that she was quite fond of Gyllenhaal, whom he described as "cute" and "great".

Reese, it turns out, has declared herself to be quite the control freak. "[My dad and uncle] taught me that in every relationship, the person least interested in maintaining it is going to dominate it, because they'll never compromise", Reese revealed last month during an interview for Elle. "So you have to always maintain that position of least interest, and you'll always control the relationship". That makes sense, I suppose - but I hope she still has the power to be fun and spontaneous and occasionally even legally blondish if not in brains, as least in attitude. Time will tell…