Magazine: Pitt, Jolie An Item

For the last several months Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have openly denied being anything more than friends.

But, as rumors continue to circulate that they are in fact a "couple," Us Weekly magazine has obtained exclusive photos of the superstars enjoying a beach vacation together in Africa this past weekend, along with Jolie's toddler son, Maddox.

The photos will be featured in the Us hitting newsstands Friday.

Pitt has strenuously denied being involved with Jolie since splitting with his wife, Jennifer Aniston, in January. But he and Jolie have been the subject of intense speculation since filming the sexy action flick, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," slated for release in June.

Katrina Szish, Us' style editor, told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm Tuesday the denials coming from the two aren't surprising in the least.

"Of course they (denied it)," Szish says. "But there is a relationship. They are definitely together.

"Celebrities traditionally try to control their private lives as much as possible, of course. Nobody wants to really confirm anything until they do it their own way. I'm thinking of Britney being pregnant. She wanted to announce by herself on her Web site. Even Brad and Jen's split. They wanted to make the announcement on their own terms. And again, Brad and Angelina haven't announced it yet, but it's true."When reminded Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, said the Us story about them frolicking by a hotel pool was completely untrue, Szish shot back, "Just look at the pictures and you see they're are acting like a family, they look like a family."

Though there are no photos of the two kissing, "It's a lot more body language. There are reports of eyewitnesses who said they were kissing in the pool. They were holding hands. There was lots of very sexy suntan lotion rubbing.

"The pictures that you'll see in the magazine, 14 pages' worth, just show these three, Maddox, Angelina and Brad, looking very much like a family. Angelina is so protective of her son, that to allow anyone to get close to him, especially a man, speaks volumes."

Szish notes this was no regular resort Pitt and Jolie visited.

Saying it's "very much off the map…very, very private," Szish continued, "It's in Africa, in Kenya. It was a three-day romantic rendezvous. Brad flew to meet Angelina at this gorgeous resort. They stayed in their own private villa together. It has an infinity pool, a nanny service, a private chef. It also has what travel experts call one of the five most romantic bedrooms in the world."

Asked if this could all be just some big publicity stunt for "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," Szish said simply, "Brad and Angelina definitely do not need any extra publicity. They just get it."

And, while refusing to disclose how much Us paid the for photos, Szish called them "outrageously valuable."

How is Jennifer Aniston holding up during all this?

"Sources close to Jennifer tell you that she is, frankly, really bummed out. She's been very anti-social, leaning very heavily on Courteney Cox for support. And she's having a hard time."