When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie split, it was huge news. It seemed like they were truly in love, living together with their six children.
Of course, the relationship had always been plagued with controversy. Jolie and Pitt met on the set of Mr. & Mrs Smith, when Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston.
Because of the film, we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened. I think a few months in I realized, 'God, I can't wait to get to work.'Anything we had to do with each other, we just found a lot of joy in it together and a lot of real teamwork. We just became kind of a pair. It took until, really, the end of the shoot for us, I think, to realize that it might mean something more than we'd earlier allowed ourselves to believe.
And both knowing that the reality of that was a big thing, something that was going to take a lot of serious consideration.
Aniston brought the interview up a couple years later, after having time to look at what happened.
"There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening," she said. "I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss...That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool."
The Split
Despite their possibly adulterous start, "Brangelina" still managed to keep things going for twelve years. After just two years of marriage, however, it was time to call it quits.
Jolie said in an interview that things "became difficult" a year before their split, but that their kids were handling it well.
"[Our lifestyle] was not in any way a negative," she said in the interview. "That was not the problem. That is and will remain one of the wonderful opportunities we are able to give our children . . . They're six very strong-minded, thoughtful, worldly individuals. I'm very proud of them."
One of the biggest issues the couple had to deal with was custody of their six children.
"I just refuse [to make things ugly]," Pitt said in an interview with GQ. "And fortunately my partner in this agrees. It's just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart."
Child Protective Services
Unfortunately, things didn't stay civil for long. While on a flight with his family, Pitt allegedly had an altercation with one of his kids, and Child Protective Services was involved.
"I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called," Pitt said. "And you know, after that, we've been able to work together to sort this out. We're both doing our best."
Pitt also talked about cleaning up his lifestyle so that he could be a better father.
"I'm really, really happy to be done with all of that. I mean, I stopped everything except boozing when I started my family. But even this last year, you know - things I wasn't dealing with. I was boozing too much. It's just become a problem. And I'm really happy it's been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but I've got my feelings in my fingertips again," Pitt said.
Custody
Angelina Jolie was granted primary physical custody of the couple's six children, and was apparently keeping the kids from Pitt.
In a recent court battle, Jolie has been ordered by a judge to tell their children that the "court has determined that not having a relationship with their father is harmful to them," that they are "safe with their father," and that having a healthy relationship with both parents is "critical."
The judge also stated that Pitt gets "unrestricted phone access," meaning he can call and text each child at any time without Jolie monitoring the conversation. The kids will also split time between Los Angeles (where Pitt is) and London (where Jolie is).
There is a schedule laid out until at least the end of summer, which says that a child psychologist must be present when Pitt sees his children. Sixteen-year-old Maddox is the exception to this ruling, as he will be allowed to determine how much time he wants to spend with his father.
If Jolie chooses not to follow this ruling by the judge, she could lose custody of the kids.
"If the minor children remain closed down to their father and depending on the circumstances surrounding this condition, it may result in a reduction of the time they spend with [Jolie] and may result in the Court ordering primary physical custody to [Pitt]," court documents say.
A spokesperson for Jolie responded to the reports of the court documents, calling the leak unfair.
This misleading leak is not in the best interests of the children. From the start, Angelina has been focused only on their health and needs, which is why it was so important that this last court hearing be conducted privately.It's deplorable that someone, for their own selfish reasons, leaked selective portions of the confidential and sealed court record to create an inaccurate and unfair picture of what is really happening.