Angelina Jolie Reveals Why She Decided To Divorce Brad Pitt

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt not getting along in Mr. And Mrs. Smith

Eternals actress Angelina Jolie is not one to take a slew of interviews, but when someone does sit down with the a-lister or allow her to pen her own thoughts, she’s often very open with her feelings and beliefs. Case in point, in a recent profile, Angelina finally opened up about her high-profile divorce with actor Brad Pitt and why she ultimately decided to leave.

In a lengthy profile over at Vogue, Angelina Jolie detailed her refugee work for nearly two decades with the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees as well as spoke out about her family and her life in Hollywood. When asked about the environment she and Brad Pitt’s children have grown up in following their divorce, Angelina Jolie touched on her previous silence and why she made the decision she ultimately did.

I separated for the well-being of my family. 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.

It’s a pretty elegant answer and comes off as open without getting into too many specifics. After Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt initially split in 2016, the divorce became highly publicized and seemingly somewhat contentious. There were rumors Brad Pitt wasn’t seeing the kids regularly and questions over custody and child support. Brad Pitt has opened up about using alcohol during the end of his marriage with Jolie, as well, though from what the actress seems to be saying here, some of what was written about the divorce was not the truth.

After the split, Angelina Jolie has not talked about the end of her marriage very much, making her comments here fairly unusual and a window into her point of view. She did previously admit after her split that she is not a person who truly enjoys being single also alluding to the breakdown of her relationship as being harder than she may have been making it seem.

I don't enjoy being single. It's not something I wanted. There's nothing nice about it. It's just hard. Sometimes maybe it appears I am pulling it all together. But really I am just trying to get through my days.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may have split back in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2019 that a judge officially ended their marriage with a bifurcated judgment after several years in court. The move didn’t seem to be related to any new relationships and in fact, neither Angelina Jolie nor Brad Pitt have moved on with a public relationship since the decision was made – though rumors are often swirling about Pitt’s love life.

Meanwhile, it sounds as if Angelina Jolie has processed what happened in her relationship and made decisions accordingly. She's currently focused on her six children and is busy with both acting and advocacy. Next up, she has a new movie heading to Disney+.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.