In a town where even the most solid-seeming partnerships -- from Tom and Nicole to Meg and Dennis -- are just an irreconcilable difference away from divorce court, Aniston's plan is an ambitious one. Sixteen months after Pitt swore to love, honor and "split the difference on the thermostat" with her till death do them part, friends figure Mrs. Pitt could have upped her stationery order tenfold. "If anyone's going to make it," says their singer pal Melissa Etheridge, "they are." What makes the Pitts, in the context of showbiz couples, extraordinary? According to Aniston's friend Kathy Najimy, their ability to be simply ordinary. "There's no insecurity going on," says Najimy. "They're themselves. They do the things you and I do: go to restaurants, play games, go to work, go on trips. They really, truly are in love with each other."
That was clear to everyone on the set of Friends when Pitt, 37, filmed his much publicized appearance alongside Aniston, 32, in the Thanksgiving episode. While offscreen the couple spent the holiday at the L.A. wedding of Aniston's manager Marc Gurvitz, onscreen they gave NBC's hit show -- watched by 13 million households -- its No. 1 ranking. Perhaps most tickled by the episode were the mister and missus themselves. Rehearsing the show for four days before taping on Nov. 2, they had "a blast," says a source. Adds producer Douglas Wick, who worked with Pitt on the just released Spy Game: "The chemistry between him and Jennifer is adorable."
