Rome, Aug 29 (IANS/AKI): Days after announcing a her split with her French husband and movie star Vincent Cassel, Italian actress Monica Bellucci is said to be involved with a property tycoon from Azerbaijan.

Bellucci, 48, who shot to fame in films like "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Passion of the Christ", is having a relationship with Telman Ismailov, according to Azerbaijani gossip website Haqqin.az.

The liaison between Bellucci and Ismailov is reportedly the cause of her separation from Cassel and dates back to 2009.

In a statement to French and Italian news agencies, Cassel and Bellucci announced Monday they were separating after a 14-year marriage that produced two daughters.

The couple had reportedly been leading separate lives for some time, with each having an apartment in Paris and Rome.

"Marriage, we never know how long it will last ... Today, it works, but in a year, I don't know," Bellucci told an Italian women's magazine earlier this year.