By Debbie McGoldrick

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are either madly in love or fighting like cats and dogs, depending on what gossip mag you read. Life & Style Weekly takes the latter view, and one of the causes of distress is none other than Colin Farrell.

Evidence supporting this major event in our world today? “(Colin) says he misses her and regrets not taking their relationship further,” a “friend” tells the weekly. And that’s about it. Obviously the standard of reporting at L&S isn’t up to much!

It is true that Colin and Angie were close, though they never confessed to a romantic relationship. They co-starred in the disastrous Oliver Stone flick Alexander in 2004, and were photographed on off hours frolicking around with her adopted son Maddox.

“He is a real guy. He’s a real man – and I think we don’t have a lot of ‘men’ today,” Angie said of Farrell. “He really does break a mold and I think that’s so important. He is his own man. He’s also really wild and uninhibited and free and bold.” Perhaps he wasn’t wild enough, though, as they went their separate ways after the film bombed – and the rest, as all Brangelina followers know, is history.

Colin certainly has had his share of female conquests. Now he’s supposedly squiring around a British singer named Nicola Ward, who he met in London while filming an upcoming Woody Allen movie.

“We met randomly when he was filming and he took my number,” Ward told Contactmusic.com. “I didn’t think in a million years that he’d get in touch, so I was really surprised when he called. I enjoy his company and, yes, he’s a real gent. It’s early days so I don’t want to say too much.”

Hmmm . . . maybe she already has. After all, Colin is no stranger to being burned by blabbermouth women.

One of them, though, British actress Eileen Atkins, 72 – yes, SEVENTY-TWO! – recently told the media that she regrets revealing that Colin tried to put the moves on her while they were filming the movie Ask the Dust, which was released last year.

In 2005, the delighted senior citizen couldn’t wait to tell all about her near encounter with Farrell. “Three weeks before my 70th birthday, a simply stunning, gorgeous big film star came into my hotel room for sex without strings. I spent two and a half hours saying no, but it cheered me up fantastically,” she gushed.

But now, Ms. Atkins wishes she hadn’t been so forthright. “I felt awful at exposing Colin — I was so upset at appearing to tell tales out of school but Colin was adorable. He sent me flowers, came to my first night in America, stood in my dressing room and said, ‘I should be so lucky.’ I’m keeping (quiet) in future,” she says.