Hilary Swank seems to have a tendency to bond with the people on her payroll. When she collected her second Best Actress Oscar in 2005 for "Million Dollar Baby," she thanked her "best friend and publicist," who just happened to be the same person. Now, she's been snapped looking cozy in Italy with John Campisi, her agent at Creative Artists Agency.

Reps for Swank, whose eight-year marriage to Chad Lowe went belly-up in January, have vehemently denied the relationship is of the romantic variety, but several tabloids beg to differ, serving up details of the alleged amour.

"Hilary cried on his shoulder when she and Chad split," a source tells Life & Style. "He comforted her through that intensely difficult period."

Swank, 32, and Campisi, 39, who reportedly just separated from his wife, were spotted perambulating hand-in-hand around Rome on Aug. 27, with a spywitness recounting to Us, "She grabbed his head in her hands, pulled him close and kissed him sweetly."

Both magazines say the actress and the ten-percent-collecting agent have been spied out and about in recent months, enjoying everything from workouts to retail therapy in Beverly Hills.

"They have fabulous chemistry," another snitch tells L&S. "He knows her so well, he often finishes her sentences."

Adds an insider to Star magazine, "Hilary fell for John -- it's as simple as that! She craves the kind of stability John offers."

You'll recall that back in July, Swank told Vanity Fair that her marital meltdown could be partly traced to an unspecified "substance abuse problem" Lowe allegedly battled.

"I don't want to make it seem like that's the sole reason [for the breakup]; there were other factors," she explained. "But that just kind of blew it open; it made me look at things a lot deeper."

Said Hilary of her underemployed and occasionally under-thanked ex, "It's an enormous obstacle to overcome and he's doing it. He's living a sober life. I know how difficult it is and I'm really proud of his sobriety."