More Than Friends? Queen Latifah & Pal Paula Patton Exploring 'Deep Connection'

Queen Latifah ruled the royal court last week at the L.A. premiere of The Perfect Match and it seems that she may have found herself her own new match! As RadarOnline.com has reported, she split with longtime girlfriend Eboni Nicholas last fall, but was hardly alone on the red carpet. Latifah turned heads when she cozied up to Paula Patton, who starred in the film. But insiders told RadarOnline.com exclusively that rumors the two could be dating are not totally off the mark.

Latifah, 45, and Patton, 40, looked very comfortable with each other at last week's premiere of The Perfect Match. Although Latifah produced the film and Patton starred in it, RadarOnline.com has learned that the two ladies have been friends for years! According to another source, the Queen even threw Patton a baby shower years ago for her son, Julian, by ex-husband Robin Thicke. So has their friendship blossomed into something more?

When asked by ET about her split with Thicke, 38, and her current love life, Patton said, “Yes, I was very in love. ...I am hoping to feel that way soon.”

Patton also told the outlet, “I am a nurturing and very passionate person love to love and I believe in love so much ... No matter what happens, love hurts. But it feels amazing, so you got to get back up  and give it a go again."

Meanwhile, Latifah's girlfriend Nicholas was long gone from her life by premiere night.

Now, a separate source close to Latifah told RadarOnline.com that the two have potential as an item! “Queen is telling her friends that she has not felt like this in a very long time and that she and Paula have a deep connection," the insider said. "But this would be Paula’s first time in a lesbian relationship and it's not clear yet if she really wants that."

The insider told RadarOnline.com, “Latifah is taking it very slow right now because she doesn't want to damage the friendship that they have built over the years. The two of them are both going into this as close friends before anything else.” A rep for Latifah called relationship rumors "absurd."