DIVORCE ON HOLD
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
On July 2, Brad Pitt was spotted cruising down the driveway of Angelina Jolie’s Los Feliz mansion on his grey BMW motorcycle. The social call was the second time Pitt had visited his former wife’s home in two weeks, signalling a major turning point in the pair’s once tense relationship. Jolie filed for divorce nearly four years ago, but the impact of lockdowns has reportedly impeded the work of getting it finalised. “Brad is seeing the kids, but everything involved in their process of resolving legal matters … is slowed down because of COVID,” an insider has told Us Weekly. “With the pandemic, it has been hard for everyone, including them. The legal process is slowed because of that.”
While things may be stalled in the courts, Pitt and Jolie are still making mega-progress in their relationship, in particular with their ability to peacefully co-parent their six children – Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. “They definitely needed help figuring out all the child-custody issues and how Brad could be a dad again,” a source tells WHO’s sister publication People. “Since the kids are older now, they are no longer dealing with separation issues from Angie.”
Working together for the sake of their kids has also brought them back from the brink of all-out war in their divorce battle. “Brad and Angelina have continued to navigate a path forward for their children,”
explains another Us Weekly source. “There has been progress. Things between Brad and Angelina are better than they have been.
“They’re more cordial — they’re aiming toward resolutions that work for each of them.”
Jolie, 45, revealed in June that their children were also the impetus for her split from Pitt, who has since been open about his struggles with alcohol abuse. “I separated for the wellbeing of my family,” Jolie told Vogue. “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.”
Soon after Jolie’s shock filing in September 2016, which came after an alleged
altercation between Pitt and Maddox on a private plane, a judge granted Jolie physical custody with Pitt allowed only agreed-upon therapeutic visits. By June 2018, Jolie was ordered by a judge to help repair Pitt’s parental relationship with his children and the actor, who has since become sober, has gradually been given more time with his kids.
In April this year, website The Blast revealed court documents that stipulated the parents agree on a “traditional” approach for their children’s education. Living arrangements are also a sticking point, particularly for Jolie. “I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18,” she told Harper’s Bazaar late last year. “Right now, I’m having to base where their father chooses to live.”
For now, the former couple live around 10 minutes from each other in Los Feliz, California, and the proximity seems to be working. In May, Pitt threw a birthday party for Shiloh, reportedly attended by all of her siblings, even Maddox, who up until recently had been estranged from his father. “Brad loves spending as much time with them as possible,” says the People source.
“He seems much happier. It’s taken them a long time, with a lot of family therapy, to get to this point.” The easier family dynamic has also cleared the way for Pitt and Jolie to rebuild their relationship. “When Brad and Angelina first separated, their only communication was through their attorneys,” a source tells Entertainment Tonight. “They literally couldn’t bear to even speak to one another. It has taken years to heal, and they finally are in a place where they can co-parent in a really healthy way.”