Natalie Portman 'under pressure' to find someone after ex Benjamin Millepied moved on 'pretty quickly'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Natalie Portman is reportedly "under pressure" to find her Mr Right after her ex-husband, Benjamin Millepied, was spotted engaging in PDA with a mystery woman in October.

According to a close friend of the 'Thor' actress, she is now "a lot more open to dating a heart surgeon or an architect" than someone from the entertainment industry. 

Speaking to Life & Style, the source dished that the 43-year-old actress, who separated from Millepied in May 2023 amid rumors of him being unfaithful to he, is ready to jump back into the dating pool.

While she still seems to be a little wary of welcoming a new man into her life, her friends are reportedly there to smooth her ways. 

Natalie Portman has an aversion to dating fellow actors

The source further shared that the 'Black Swan' actress, who met her ex-husband in 2009 while preparing for her role in the movie, has "an irrational fear about dating a fellow actor."

"The central problem with Natalie, as she gets back on the dating scene, is that she has a bit of an irrational fear about dating a fellow actor," dished the insider, before adding, "She barely likes to socialize with other stars and she’s even admitted publicly how difficult it is maintaining those friendships."

While the pal confirmed that the Oscar winner "does have famous friends" in the industry, "She’s a lot more comfortable around people she knows from her college years and folks she grew up with back East, before she became a household name."

They also noted that because of her aversion to dating Hollywood stars, she is finding it difficult to wade through the dating pool. 

"That’s why Natalie is going to be a lot more open to dating a heart surgeon or an architect than a sitcom star," shared the tipster.

Talking about her preferences, they said, "She is attracted to high achievers and that was the big thing that she and Ben had in common, but it turned out he wanted to be a star a lot more than he initially let on, and Natalie is going to be very careful about not getting into a situation like that again."

"She’s made this clear to her friends, but let’s see if Natalie sticks to her own ground rules about this stuff," shared the source, before noting that she is stressed about finding a new man in her life.

"She’s under pressure to find somebody worthy of her time now that Ben has publicly stepped out with his own new lover," they remarked, referring to Millepied's viral PDA moment with the mystery woman. 

Natalie Portman wasn't surprised to see Benjamin Millepied move on so quickly

Natalie Portman sparked a romance with French choreographer Benjamin Millepied in 2009 after she took ballet lessons from him for 'Black Swan'. They got engaged a year later, and welcomed their first child, Aleph, now 13, in June 2011. 

After tying the knot in 2012, the former spouses welcomed their second child, Amalia, now seven.

However, after the rumors of Millepied's apparent infidelity started doing the rounds in mid-2023, Portman separated from him, and the couple finalized their divorce in February this year.

Just a few months later, the dancer was found engaging in PDA with a mystery woman in Paris on October 15.

However, as per the insider, the 'No Strings Attached' actress "isn’t surprised that Benjamin has moved on because of how their relationship ended. She thought he’d move on pretty quickly."