Sean Penn and Charlize Theron are still together. They do cutesy photo-ops together too. They take Jackson to Whole Foods and they skip down the road together and now, after a whole month together, they’re allegedly already thinking about marriage. Sounds about right. I mean, this is Hollywood. And they’re both Oscar winners and there’s a kid involved. I’m trying to do the math… let’s see. That means they’ll probably elope in April.

Has Sean Penn finally been tamed? “Sean can’t get enough of Charlize Theron,” gushes a pal. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he pops the question soon.”

While shopping together with Charlize’s son Jackson at Whole Foods, eyewitnesses tell Star, “They were adorable. Sean was making funny faces for Jackson and they all seemed comfortable together.”

The pair’s sharp turn from friendship isn’t a shock to those closest to them, who say Charlize is the only woman who can handle Sean’s strong personality.

“She isn’t intimidated by him. Sean wants to be with someone who takes no nonsense from him or anyone else, and he feels like he’s finally found his equal.”

Charlize is apparently such a good fit for Sean that she’s drastically calmed his notoriously bad temper. “Charlize brings him peace, and he’s making it a point to watch himself around Jackson. He wants to take care of him like he was his own son.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Do you believe that Sean likes strong women? I have my doubts. I think he likes to be a strong woman occasionally, but only so he can break her down. Maybe I’m reading that the wrong way, but his dating MO for the past few years has been much-younger models and Scarlett Johansson. His type is more “women who are so young, I’m just a bad-boy/daddy phase in their 20s.” And personally, I don’t even think Charlize is that into marriage at all. People tend to forget that she and Stuart Townsend pretty much lived like a married couple for the better part of a decade without ever making it official.

But that’s not all from the tabloids this week – much like last week’s story about Charlize’s mom Gerda being turned off by Sean’s womanizing ways, The Enquirer says that Gerda is actively discouraging Charlize’s relationship.

Charlize Theron’s mom Gerda Maritz is dead-set against the idea of Charlize marrying Sean Penn.

“Charlize says for the first time in her life she can see herself settling down with someone,” said a friend. “She’s crazy about Sean and would say yes in a second if he asked her to marry him.”

But that’s troubling talk for Gerda. She thinks Sean is a hothead who’ll only cause heartache for Charlize, and Gerda has been trying to persuade her to run as fast as she can away from Sean.

“Gerda is counting on the fact that Charlize has always listened to her, and she’s filling her ear plenty. She believes a marriage would be a disaster.”

But a friend says: “To Charlize, they already feel like a family.” But Gerda isn’t letting up. “Gerda believes Charlize will eventually take her advice. She wants nothing to do with Sean and hopes Charlize will see the light before it’s too late.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

I think IF Gerda doesn’t care for Sean and IF she’s being vocal about it, then yes, Charlize would end up taking her mom’s advice. Charlize and her mom are very close and they’re very protective of each other. Charlize will eventually see the light. Right after she spends the next two months getting her rocks off. See, if that’s the way she’s approaching it, I might be onboard. It’s the storyline about “love and marriage” that irritates me. Just say, “Charlize loves having sex with Sean and he’s just happy to have a beautiful woman interested in him. This isn’t about emotion.”

Charlize and Sean “stopped by a studio” yesterday:

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.