Mel Gibson's Saturday night dinner meeting with Britney Spears wasn't the first time the movie star has reached out to help the troubled singer, according to reports.

The odd couple was spotted entering and leaving Russian restaurant Romanov in Studio City, Los Angeles within minutes of each other, and staff later confirmed they dined together for almost two hours.

And now sources are coming forward with reasons behind the meeting, insisting Gibson has become a friend to the troubled star, a former Malibu, California neighbor, meeting her many times since her hospitalization last month.

One insider tells People.com, "Mel and his wife Robin clearly saw a woman in crisis and wanted to extend themselves in any way possible. There's just a handful of people in the world who understand the kind of intense attention that Britney goes through, and how to raise a family with some semblance of privacy and how to keep one's family intact and out of the limelight."

-Britney Spears Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)