Ange’s solo struggle
I can’t cope!
Striding into the London School of Economics to deliver a powerful lecture about women, peace and security, Angelina Jolie looked every bit in control of her new life as a working single mother.
Wearing a no-nonsense taupe coatdress and low-key make-up, the Oscar winner
did her best to show the world that she’s coping – but
Woman’s Day can reveal that behind the façade, her loved ones fear she’s close to collapse.
“In the past month alone, Angelina has taken all six kids to Cambodia, back to Los Angeles and now to London,” a source close to the actress tells. “She’s scaled back on her nannies because she wants to appear hands-on, but the reality is she’s not coping. She’s absolutely exhausted and totally stressed out.”
Image over haul
It’s been six months since Angelina, 41, filed for divorce from her husband Brad Pitt, 53, and until last month, she’d remained largely behind closed doors as she focused on her bitter battle for custody of Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
But after a highly publicised trip to Cambodia, where she told an interviewer her divorce had been a “difficult time”, the actress appears hell-bent on restoring her reputation in a bid to win back her fans. Since blindsiding Brad with divorce amid accusations of child abuse – which were later dismissed – Angelina has been widely criticised for her bid for sole custody.
“Angelina is full steam ahead with her humanitarian work,” says the source. “There’s no doubt she believes in what she’s doing, but she’s also desperate to get back public support. She can’t believe how fast everyone took Brad’s side – it really hurt. She says no-one knows the full story and that she deserves a chance.”
Just hours after jetting into London last week, Angelina was spotted shopping with her brood at famous toy store Hamleys and a local bookstore. As well as treating her brood to special days out, the UN ambassador had a full schedule of humanitarian work lined up – including giving the lecture as part of her role as “professor in practice”.
“I’m a little nervous, feeling butterflies,” Angelina admitted. “I hope I do well. This is very important to me.”
Our source adds, “Angelina is stretching herself to extreme limits. As well as being a visiting professor, she’s trying to oversee the kids’ homeschooling, read scripts for new projects and prep for the upcoming promotion of her new Cambodian film. It’s an insane schedule.”
Kids rule!
The source claims that the fragile star barely eats and is constantly exhausted. She’s struggling with the children, who are still upset with her for splitting with their dad.
“Sometimes she just locks herself in the bathroom and sobs,” reports our source. “She is constantly on edge and tearful with the kids. She is used to having Brad to lean on, but obviously that’s not happening any more.
“She has discipline problems with Maddox and cannot get him to stop playing computer games at all hours of the night. Shiloh is very sarcastic, while Zahara walks around with her earphones on in the house and refuses to take them out. Knox and Viv are always fighting with each other. It’s chaos!”
But exhausted Angelina continues to fulfil her postdivorce promise to make individual time for each of her six kids while she’s still working. She vowed to them that they would get an hour of their own time with her to do whatever they want.
“That’s six hours a day!” our source exclaims. “She realises she’s bitten off more than she can chew, but she’s not sure how to find a way out of this. Raising six kids on her own is far harder than she ever imagined.”
Now her friends, family and therapists are doing their best to convince her to slow down, says our source. “Angelina won’t delegate anything. She’s even house-hunting for a new family home in LA amongst all this. Part of it is trying to keep her mind off her family’s collapse, but everyone’s worried about how long she can keep it up.
“No-one would be surprised if she ends up in hospital at this rate. There’s only so much anyone can take.”