As Split Rumors Fly, Scarlett and Sean Say Cheese

Wonderwall, Monday, June 6, 2011, 1:05pm (PDT)

By Kat Giantis

Now that Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn are purportedly kaput, they're finally ready to have their picture taken together.

At Spike TV's Guys Choice Awards on Saturday, the age- and comeliness-mismatched pair posed together backstage, something they tried to avoid doing during their five-month romance.

JustJared reports that Penn, 50, greeted ScarJo, 26, with "a big kiss" and they chatted for about 15 minutes, presumably just long enough to tamp down any talk that they may have ended things on a sour note and get the rumor mill buzzing about the state of their once footsy-inclusive relationship.

"They weren't flirty or anything, but they did seem to get along," a spy tells Us Weekly.

After Johansson offered the crankypants Oscar winner a friendly kiss on the cheek goodbye, he wandered over to talk to Robert De Niro, who was apparently surprised when Johansson briefly joined in the conversation.

"There was some tension," alleges another onlooker.

Tension or no, ScarJo, who was decked out in a black dress topped with a prom-like white ruffle, seemed to really enjoy the "guy" part of the awards show.

In between posing with Penn, ScarJo was snapped hanging backstage with both rumored onetime fling Justin Timberlake and Jeremy Renner, her co-star in the currently filming superhero flick "The Avengers" (her auburn tresses are for her Black Widow role).

So, why did Scarlett and Sean stick a fork in their head-scratching but "head over heels in love" entanglement just a month after enjoying a round of president-adjacent tongue-wrestling at the White House Correspondents Dinner?

E! Online has a theory, alleging that "some members" of the actor's family urged him to get out of the relationship because it was such catnip for his favorite people on the planet, the paparazzi.

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