Ange’s surprise ally
The healing has begun for the Jolie clan
As Angelina Jolie teetered on the brink of calling off her divorce earlier this month, Brad Pitt had no such qualms.
Insiders say the separation between the two Hollywood heavyweights is moving full steam ahead because, when push came to shove, Brad couldn’t forgive Angelina for accusing him of child abuse.
Now, bizarrely, it’s Angelina’s once-estranged father, actor Jon Voight, 78, who is playing a crucial part in helping his daughter and six grandchildren deal with the family fallout.
“Jon was acting as mediator
between Ange and Brad, making sure they went to therapy and secretly hoping they’d reunite,” a family insider reveals to Woman’sDay. “It’s an ironic twist given that Ange cut Jon out of her life for 10 years after he publicly accused her of having ‘serious mental problems’ and it was Brad who finally helped them reconnect.”
While her father’s hopes of bringing Angelina, 42, and Brad, 53, back together have been dashed, the Midnight Cowboy star has made no secret of his deep love for grandkids Maddox, 16, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and nine-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
Jon was last week pictured with Angelina and Vivienne at an art class in Los Angeles. Our insider tells, “The whole family attends art programmes based on expressions of feelings – anger, joy, sorrow and jealousy. It’s full-on therapy where both the adults and siblings are encouraged to paint, draw and sculpt their emotions.
“Pax has drawn some amazing black holes and Knox makes giant white sugar-cube creations that look oddly like his parents. Angelina insisted her art is her filmmaking, but the kids said she had to make something too, so she’s learning to sew and is making
a quilt with all the kids on it. They’re trying to convince her to put Brad’s face on it too, but she refuses.”
Meanwhile, though Jon is firmly back in the family fold, we’re told Angelina has banned Brad’s parents Bill and Jane from seeing their grandkids.
A well-placed source explains, “Ange always just tolerated Jane and Bill, who are strict, conservative Baptists, but now that Jane has repeatedly asked for visits, Ange has turned her down. It’s got to the point where Jane has considered filing court papers – she worries that the kids will forget who she is!”