Nicole & Reese 'They're Fake Friends!'

THE ONCE-CLOSE CO-STARS STRUGGLE TO SEE EYE TO EYE

They off on’t have seemed closer. After greeting each other with a warm hug, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman held hands and grinned ear to ear on the red carpet at New York’s 2017 Gotham Independent Film Awards on November 27. The megawatt smiles continued when Reese presented her Big Little Lies co-star with the Actress Tribute that night. ‘I’ve been one of her biggest fans since I saw one of her very first movies, Dead Calm,’ Reese said in her speech. ‘I saw this movie when I was a girl and I thought, “That is my hero; that is the kind of woman I want to be.”’

From Reese’s story, one might assume Nicole was decades older. She’s not: there’s just a nine-year age difference between the actresses. But insiders aren’t surprised Reese took the subtle swipe during what was supposed to be Nicole’s big moment. While the pair act like besties for the cameras, sources exclusively tell OK! that in reality, they can’t stand each other.

‘Their friendship is just for show,’ says an insider. ‘There have been a lot of eye rolls and gritted teeth on red carpets. Nicole and Reese are kind of like vinegar and oil – and they are definitely fake friends.’

COMPETITIVE CO-STARS

Things weren’t always this way. Nicole, 50, and Reese, 41, ‘were inseparable on the set’ of the HBO hit Big Little Lies, reveals a source. ‘The two of them were always joking around and having fun together.’ The laughter stopped once the series premiered in February. ‘The success of Big Little Lies has gone to both of their heads and there’s now a power struggle between the two stars,’ says the source. ‘Behind closed doors, their egos are clashing and they bicker over the smallest thing.’