Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon are slowing coming out of the relationship closet after a much-ridiculed public clinch in Rome, Italy that seemed a little too conveniently timed with the release of their film Rendition. Then they were spotted out in Napa Valley in November enjoying a romantic weekend getaway at an exclusive resort. The two were even said to have had a quickie in a first class airplane bathroom around that time, but the only proof was a supposed eyewitness that saw them go in minutes apart and look guilty afterwards.

In the past week Reese and Jake have been photographed out together twice – getting coffee and going for a hike with her two children. Jake was seen carrying four year-old Deacon on his shoulders during the hike. The same photo agency captured both moments, so they either have an exclusive deal with them or they’re particularly good at stalking Jake and Reese. I would say it was a stalking situation since Reese looks incredibly annoyed in the photos as has had public clashes with the paparazzi in the past.

There’s a story in this week’s Star Magazine titled misleadingly “A Ring for Reese!” It’s all about how Jake visited a Cartier jeweler with his sister Maggie and supposedly checked out engagement rings. He went away with a three thousand dollar necklace that looks suspiciously like two wedding rings entwined:

With sister Maggie in tow, [Jake Gyllenhaal] paid a hush-hush visit to Cartier in Beverly Hills on December 13. And Star has learned exclusively that he spent two whole hours checking out the ring bling!

“Jake was adorable,” a Cartier clerk reveals. “He was like a teenager with a crush, asking his sister, ‘Which one should I get?’ He kept talking about Reese and how she’s classy and fun.”

But after pouring over the diamond dazzlers and pondering a pair of $3,800 Love rings, Jake put the ring thing on hold and instead snagged a $3,050 necklace from the store’s Love Collection…

[Jake also] bought [Ava, 8, and Deacon, 4, Reese’s children with her ex husband Ryan Phillippe] the season’s hottest toy, the Nintendo Wii.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, January 7, 2008]

We got a Wii for Christmas here and I swear they developed that thing with the idea of helping kids exercise while they’re playing video games. You have to swing your arms so hard, although it’s a lot of fum.

So it seems like a lot of photos of Jake and Reese are coming out all at once. I checked the DVD release date for their film, Rendition, and it’s not out until February 19. That’s over six weeks away, a lifetime in the news cycle. It must be true love.