Though Brad Pitt and Alia Shawkat sparked dating rumours with their hangout pictures, the actress is just a close friend to Pitt who helped him deal with his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

According to a report in Us Weekly, Alia Shawkat has "been a wonderful help" to Brad Pitt after his split from long-term partner Angelina Jolie.

"They have an incredibly tight bond and trust each other implicitly. Alia's been a wonderful help for Brad during this major transition," a source claimed to the outlet.

Pitt was first spotted with the "State of Grace" star at an art exhibition in November last year, which was followed by a number of public outings including a visit to a concert in Los Angeles in March.

"They are hanging out plenty. They're only about 10 minutes away from each other, so Alia will bike or walk to Brad's place whenever they have time to chill. It's all very organic and easy," a second source revealed to the outlet.

Meanwhile, a third source maintained that Pitt is only friends with the 31-year-old actress.

Since his split with his "Mr & Mrs. Smith" co-star in 2016, the "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood" actor has been romantically linked with a number of women, including ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, spiritual healer Sat Hari Khalsa, and MIT professor Neri Oxman.

However, a source close to the Oscar-winning actor told TMZ in March that he is too busy to spend any time on dating. The insider said that the 56-year-old tries to spend most of his time with his six children that he shares with ex-wife Angelina Jolie- Maddox, Shiloh Nouvel, Zahara Marley, Vivienne Marcheline, Pax Thien, and Knox Leon.

The source added that he is much more involved in his children's lives these days as two of his daughters, Shiloh and Zahara, underwent surgery earlier this year.

Brad Pitt
Actor Brad Pitt arrives at the premiere of the film Allied in Madrid, November 22, 2016. Juan Medina / Reuters

Meanwhile, speculations of him rekindling his romance with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston doesn't seem to disappear any time soon. There have been several rumours about the former couple in the past few months, including reports of a second marriage, of them quarantining together, and even of the duo planning to adopt a kid.