The 54-year-old actor has reportedly been “quietly dating” the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor since last autumn and things are going well for the couple.
A source told Us Weekly magazine: “Brad’s absolutely smitten by her. Their chemistry is off the charts.
“They got romantically involved almost right away. He’s been going to great length to make sure he’s not spotted by prying eyes.”
The ‘Fury’ actor – who has been single since splitting from wife Angelina Jolie in September 2016 – is said to have taken some under-the-radar trips overseas with the 42-year-old architectural designer, including visiting the Design Indaba conference in South Africa together in February, where Neri was a featured speaker.
The source said: “Brad and Neri have travelled together internationally on several occasions.”
Brad – who has children Maddox, 16, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 11, and nine-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with Angelina – was first pictured with Neri in November, when he apparently attended one of Neri’s classes.
Several students shared pictures of the ‘World War Z’ star posing with the class, but another photo, where he was standing next to the professor, has now been removed.
The couple are said to have met through an architecture project at MIT and bonded over their shared love of the subject.
It was recently revealed Brad and Angelina are close to finalising their divorce and are finally back on amicable terms following their bitter split, which saw the ‘Moneyball’ actor investigated, and subsequently cleared, by child protection services.
A source said recently: “The terms of the divorce are now agreed. They are being finalised by both legal teams, but will be filed within weeks. It’s a huge turnaround from where the marriage ended, especially given the claims Angelina made against Brad, but they are now on pretty good terms.
“Both decided it was crucial for the children that they had a respectful relationship. The key thing is that they agree to custody sharing, with Brad having access and working with Angelina on logistic issues about work and travel. There were rumours the divorce was being called off, but that’s not the case.”