The biggest love re-match of the decade almost didn't happen! Kylie Minogue and Olivier Martinez's reunion is the result of a chance meeting and agonised soul searching, a close mutual friend reveals.

New Idea has learnt that while Kylie spent last year making a huge success of her life, Olivier has spent the past six months bitterly regretting their split.

And it was his camp that knew a get-together might be on the cards a full month before Kylie did.
Although Kylie herself has denied that the two are an item, sources close to the couple insist the reunion is genuine.

According to friends of the pair, Kylie and Ollie agreed that, for it to work, marriage and babies would have to be on the cards.

'She knew nothing about his feelings, and he was so uncertain about calling her,' a pal says. 'It's a miracle it happened at all.'

In fact, Kylie had been oblivious until she bumped into a mutual friend in early January, who suggested Olivier wanted her back.

The 42-year-old actor, whose relationship with actress Sarai Givati caused the split of their four-year relationship, took another seven days to muster the courage to call.

'They had a heart-to-heart for nearly two hours. Both are being discreet about what was said, but I know tears were shed and they're happier as a result,' their pal adds.

A week later Kylie flew to Paris and into Olivier's arms - but not into his bed.

Instead, they chatted at his apartment - where she'd spent months recovering from breast cancer - and, around 11pm, walked arm-in-arm to her hotel on the Left Bank. The next day, they shopped and walked his dog Sheba.

An onlooker at Cafe de Flore, where the two had drinks after shopping, reports they barely lost eye contact.

'They sat close together and looked like two people in love,' the onlooker says.

The mutual friend says Kylie knows her family is worried her heart may be broken again. It's believed they've had several passionate talks in the past week, but Kylie insists this is a new start with new rules.

'She wants commitment and children - and Ollie is on the same page,' the pal says. Another of Kylie's friends says: 'Kylie always believed he was the one.'

But will it last this time? Only the next few months will tell if their love is the real.

For more New Idea entertainment, check out the latest issue of New Idea - on sale now!