Angelina Jolie Expresses Wish to “End the Fighting” with Brad Pitt As Their Prolonged and Exhausting Divorce Battle Continues
Eight years after their split in 2016, the Jolie-Pitt divorce is still not finalized, and Jolie’s attorney said she wants to “put their family on a clear path toward healing.”
![Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dqmVP2UVExwZhptsA8R5zE-415-80.jpg)
Though Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt split up in 2016, eight years later they are still not divorced (though they were declared legally single back in 2019). Now, as their divorce battle rages on, Jolie is calling for Pitt to “end the fighting” in their prolonged legal battle, E! News reports.
Jolie and Pitt, seen here in 2015, split up the next year, though their divorce is still not finalized.
The battle is long and complicated, but let’s start here: the two became a couple in 2005 after meeting on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith; they finally married after nine years together (and six kids) in 2014. But just two years later, Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, and in addition to their divorce battle, the two have been embroiled in a heated civil suit after Jolie sold her stakes in their once-shared French estate and vineyard, Chateau Miraval. Jolie’s attorney said in a statement yesterday that it is Jolie’s wish to “end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing,” adding that unless Pitt withdraws his lawsuit against her, Jolie will have “no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong,” which include a deeper look into the alleged 2016 plane incident that led to the end of their marriage.
Pitt’s attorney Anne Kiley said of those 2016 allegations that “Brad has owned everything he’s responsible for from day one—unlike the other side—but he’s not going to own anything he didn’t do. He has been on the receiving end of every type of personal attack and misrepresentation.”
Jolie and Pitt, seen here in 2009, were once one of the most famous couples in the world.
Per People, Pitt sued Jolie after she sold her half of Chateau Miraval in October 2021 for $67 million. “He argued that the sale went against a verbal agreement they had,” People writes. “Jolie’s side has said she refused to let him buy her out of the business because she didn’t want to sign his NDA [non-disclosure agreement] as part of the deal.”
Jolie and Pitt purchased the winery in 2008 and were 50-50 partners until 2021, Entertainment Tonight reports. In addition to the lawsuit regarding Chateau Miraval, Jolie and Pitt have also been wrapped up in what Us Weekly calls “messy legal disputes” over the custody of the six children they share—Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne. The twins are the only two of the couple’s six kids to remain underage, as they just turned 16 earlier this month.
Jolie, Pitt, and their children in 2012.
Back in May, on the occasion of her eighteenth birthday, Shiloh hired her own lawyer—and apparently paid for said lawyer herself—to file legal paperwork to drop “Pitt” from her surname (all of the kids carry the last name Jolie-Pitt). Though Shiloh is thought to be the only one of the six to make it legal, Maddox, Zahara, and Vivienne have also reportedly informally dropped “Pitt” from their surname as well—indicative of Pitt’s strained relationship with the kids.
When they split in 2016, Jolie, in addition to filing for divorce, also filed for sole physical custody of the kids. The custody agreement between Jolie and Pitt allows visitation rights to their minor children—with Knox and Vivienne being the only two of the six that remain minors. Jolie and Pitt often “clashed” over their “very different parenting styles” during their time as a couple, People reports, with a source telling the outlet that “During their marriage, they had very different parenting styles. Brad grew up with structure and wanted more rules for the kids. Angie had a different upbringing and wanted the kids to be more independent and responsible for their own schedules from a young age.”
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
The pair, seen here in 2014, the same year they married; they were declared legally single in 2019, three years after Jolie filed for divorce.
They added that “Brad and Angie clashed over this. However, they did always have the same vision for their kids’ future. They wanted the kids to thrive by experiencing the world firsthand and not only learn from traditional schooling.”
A separate source told the outlet of Jolie and Pitt that “They still both really care,” they said. “They both care about the children.”
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Adele Warns Fans They Won't See Her For "an Incredibly Long Time" Once Her Las Vegas Residency Ends
"I will hold you dear in my heart."
By Danielle Campoamor Published
-
Selena Gomez Surprises High School Students After They Request She Sing the National Anthem
“I saw the sign and so I had to come.”
By Danielle Campoamor Published
-
Cate Blanchett Wears Daring Barely-There Top at Venice Film Festival
The actress shined in custom Armani.
By Danielle Campoamor Published
-
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Son Pax Taken to Hospital After E-Bike Crash
The 20-year-old reportedly suffered a head injury and hip pain.
By Amy Mackelden Published
-
Brad Pitt Reportedly Has “Virtually No Contact” with the Adult Children He Shares with Ex Angelina Jolie
That said, Pitt “still loves all of his kids tremendously.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Brad Pitt Knows Daughter Shiloh’s Recent Decision to Remove “Pitt” from Her Surname Represents “More Than a Name Change”: Sources
The May 27 legal filing reportedly left Pitt “devastated.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Shania Twain Hints That She’s Going to Drop Brad Pitt’s Namecheck In Her Hit Song “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and Replace Him with Another Heartthrob
Man, Pitt can’t catch a break lately, it seems.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Brad Pitt “Still Isn’t Ready to Give Up on His Children,” Despite Increasingly Strained Relations
Pitt and his ex, Angelina Jolie, share six children together—many of whom have formally or informally removed “Pitt” from their prior surname of “Jolie-Pitt.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Brad Pitt Is “Aware and Upset” That His Daughter Shiloh Filed Legal Paperwork to Remove His Surname from Hers on Her 18th Birthday Last Week
“The reminders that he’s lost his children is, of course, not easy for Brad.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Daughter Shiloh Files Paperwork on Her 18th Birthday to Legally Drop “Pitt” from Her Surname
She’s far from the only Jolie-Pitt sibling to eschew the use of Pitt in her name—but so far, the only one to file legal paperwork to remove it.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon Have Taken the “Natural” Next Step In Their Relationship
After a contentious split from ex-wife Angelina Jolie in 2016, Pitt has finally “found his spark again” with the jewelry executive.
By Rachel Burchfield Published