James McAvoy is reportedly growing increasingly "close" to his X-Men: Apocalypse co-star Alexandra Shipp, just days he and wife, Anne-Marie Duff, announced that they were pulling the plug on their nine-year marriage.

"It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce. ‎We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son," the former couple said in a joint statement on Friday. "We ask that you respect our and, most importantly, our child's privacy during this time."

Like Us on Facebook

The 37-year-old actor is now being linked to Shipp after the two bonded on the set of the highly anticipated movie. "It's no great secret how they've got close, a source told the Daily Mirror. "James has been quite open among the cast and crew that his marriage was over - and it seems he has struck up a friendship with Alex since then."

McAvoy was reportedly also spotted cozying up with the 24-year-old, who plays the role of Storm in the film, at the X-Men: Apocalypse party last week. "It's been the source of some gossip among those connected to the film - but they've kept things low key," the source added.

The source also said that trouble was brewing in McAvoy and Duff household for quite some time now.

"It's been going on for a while now," the source said. "He told people things had started to break down some time ago but that everything was fine and they were perfectly happy."

The insider revealed that even though McAvoy and Duff are divorce, they still continue to live together for the sake of their 5-year-old son, Brendan, but the actor is a single man now. "He and Alex were certainly very tactile," the source added.

TagsJames McAvoy, James McAvoy Anne Marrie Duff, James McAvoy Alexandra Shipp, James McAvoy divorce, Anne Marie Duff, 'X-Men: Apocalypse'