While fans of the former A-list couple may be reticent to admit it, the love story between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is truly in the past. But with a family of six children between them, the actors are still in each other's lives and trying to make co-parenting work. Jolie and Pitt have kept the business of separating largely private, but in a new interview, Jolie opened up about the toll it's taken on their children. Keep reading to learn what she said, and for more Hollywood family news, check out Madonna's Daughter Lourdes Looks Just Like Her in New Ads.
Jolie and Pitt broke up under contentious circumstances in 2016.
ShutterstockThe couple, who famously and controversially fell in love on the set of their movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, were an item officially after Pitt split from Jennifer Aniston in 2005. By the time they broke up 11 years later, Pitt was the legal parent of the three children Jolie adopted before they got together and they also had three biological kids, as well. They had married in a secret ceremony in 2014.
It was Jolie who filed for divorce in 2016. The decision seemed to have been cemented by a reported altercation on a plane between Pitt, who was allegedly intoxicated, and their then 15-year-old son Maddox Jolie-Pitt. No one in the family has ever publicly discussed the supposed argument in detail, though investigations were conducted by the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, as Us Weekly reported. Although both investigations cleared Pitt of wrongdoing, he was required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and submit to drug and alcohol testing to be able to see his children. While the split has stuck, their divorce still isn't finalized.
For more celebrity news sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
In 2020, Jolie said she made her choice with her kids in mind.
DFree/Shutterstock“I separated for the wellbeing of my family," she told Vogue India in June 2020. "It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds. In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people."
For more famous offspring, here are 25 Celebrity Kids Who Look Just Like Their Parents.
But she recently admitted that the aftermath of the breakup has been difficult.
British VogueSpeaking to British Vogue in Jan. 2021, Jolie again acknowledged that her children were by no means unaffected by the end of her marriage to Pitt. When asked whether she's currently in a "happy stage of [her] life," the star was frank.
"I don’t know," she shared. "The past few years have been pretty hard. I’ve been focusing on healing our family. It’s slowly coming back, like the ice melting and the blood returning to my body."
And for more celebrities raising kids in the spotlight, check out Jada Pinkett Smith Regrets Doing This One Thing With Her Kids.
Pitt is definitely still in their lives, however.
Conde NastThough Jolie didn't mention her ex by name or elaborate further on her current relationship with him, she did explain that she and her children moved into their home in Los Feliz, California "to be close to their dad, who is only five minutes away."
The actor also confessed that lockdown has made her "feel like [she's] lacking in all the skills to be a traditional stay-at-home mom," but said that her children were "helping" her through it. And while she also has found it hard to see her six kids between the ages of 12 and 19 miss out on so many formative experiences, the circumstances of the pandemic have also given them plenty of time to spend together.
"It’s not how you imagine these moments," Jolie said. "But birthdays go on, and I think that for many people, it’s made us all feel very human together. There’s something beautiful about that." And for another celebrity kid who's upholding his parent's legacy, check out See James Gandolfini's Lookalike Son as Tony in the "Sopranos" Prequel.
