The proceedings have been messy and tiring, and Jolie wants nothing more than to put things behind her and move on in life. “I just want my family to heal,” she said.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on September 10, 2021. It has since been updated.
Fans of Brangelina were left reeling in shock when the couple announced their split, just two years after they got married in 2014. The two met in 2004, on the sets of Mr & Mrs. Smith. Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time, but a year later, in 2005, Pitt and Aniston filed for divorce. In 2006, Jolie revealed that she was pregnant with her and Pitt's first child. After nearly a decade together, they got married in an intimate ceremony at their winery Château Miraval in France.
In September 2016, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt, 57. The five years since then have been tumultuous, as they've both been caught up in the nasty battle, about which Jolie opened up—as much as she's allowed to reveal—during an interview with Simon Hattenstone from The Guardian. Though Jolie, 46, said she is sworn to silence and “can’t speak” about the details of her claims due to the ongoing legal situation, when she was asked to confirm whether she was scared for the safety of her family during her marriage, she answered, “Yes, for my family. My whole family.”
She was then asked about how difficult the past five years have been for her, because of the ensuing divorce and custody battle, she said it left her “broken,” adding, “I mean, in some ways it’s been the last decade. There’s a lot I can’t say.”
Her decision to file for a divorce came after giving it much thought, she mentioned, because, "I'm not the kind of person who makes decisions like the decisions I had to make lightly. It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children."
The proceedings have been messy and tiring, and Jolie wants nothing more than to put things behind her and move on in life.
“I just want my family to heal,” she said. “And I want everyone to move forward ― all of us, including their dad. I want us to heal and be peaceful. We’ll always be a family.”
According to PEOPLE, Jolie also talked about her family's bond. "Within the understanding that they are family comes a lot of awareness that has to be born of all the years of them growing up together, learning from each other, discussing adoption, race, and family," the Eternals star told the outlet. "Having people say: how could you be sisters, you're not the same color, when you're a little kid. Going to each other's countries and being the only person of their background in that country and feeling outside, yet it's your family."
On a lighter note, Jolie spoke about how her current life would come as a shock to a younger version of herself.
"I never wanted to babysit, I never had dolls, so it's hilarious I've ended up with six children," she said. "... In my late teens I became aware of what adoption is, and the idea that there were children around the world who had been orphaned, and it just made sense to me. I never have had this idea of 'my own blood' ... It was just family born of being together and growing together, right?"
References:
https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/angelina-jolie-and-brad-pitt-divorce-b937745.html
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/04/angelina-jolie-i-just-want-my-family-to-heal
https://people.com/movies/angelina-jolie-divorcing-brad-pitt-wasnt-a-decision-she-made-lightly/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Anthony Harvey
