Kate Winslet Rebounding With Strapping Male Model?

Wonderwall, Monday, July 26, 2010, 11:30am (PDT)

By Kat Giantis

Has Kate Winslet taken a cue from longtime pal and sometime co-star Leonardo DiCaprio by turning into a modelizer?

So claims London's News of the World, which says the Oscar-winning actress has rebounded from her split with director Sam Mendes by spending time with a brawny side of British beefcake named Louis Dowler.

Winslet and Dowler, both 34, have supposedly been "inseparable" lately, although paparazzi have somehow failed to capture this alleged joined-at-the-hip status.

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According to the tab, they met a few months back through mutual pals and recently rendezvoused in New York, where the winsome A-lister lives with son Joe, 6, and daughter Mia, 9 (from her first marriage to director Jim Threapleton).

"They've been on lots of dates and get on really well," says a source. "It's early days for them, but they enjoy each other's company."

Dowler, who has modeled for the likes of Burberry and Paul Smith, "has a good sense of humor," continues the insider. "He's a good looking guy and gets lots of attention when he's out and about, but he's not your typical model. Not at all big-headed."

The ostensible pair has "been desperate to keep the relationship under wraps," says the snitch, whose flapping gums don't seem to be aiding in that plan, "so they've been a bit low-key lately."

Kate's rep did not respond to our request for comment on the dating whispers.

In March, Winslet and Mendes, 44, surprised everyone by announcing they were parting ways after seven years of marriage, calling the split "entirely amicable and ... by mutual agreement."

Rumblings soon began that the union had been under strain since they worked together on the collapsing-marriage drama "Revolutionary Road," for which Mendes directed his missus to a Golden Globe award for Best Actress.

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Earlier this month, the estranged couple was rumored to be putting the divorce on hold and planning a summer getaway with the kids to "see if they can reignite their spark."

Mendes, however, flatly denied a reunion was in the works (he also brushed off whispers of a romance with actress Rebecca Hall).

Winslet has been keeping busy since the bust-up. She recently shot the HBO reboot of the Joan Crawford classic "Mildred Pierce" and was spotted last week in Rome looking gorgeous in a plunging black dress as she filmed a watch commercial.

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