Child support showdown! Brad and Ange battle over millions
Now it’s a fight to the bitter end!
Just as it looked like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were set to amicably finalise their long, drawn-out divorce, the battle has reached boiling point once more, with the actress accusing her ex of being a deadbeat dad who’s skimping on child support – and a furious Brad is fighting back! “He’s out for revenge and has declared an all-out war on his estranged wife,” a source close to the former couple reveals to Woman’s Day. “Brad says Angelina is going to wish she never made this divorce process so bitter and complicated. “He’s been keeping tight-lipped about all the outrageous things Ange has done, but now he’s ready to explode. Brad’s going to ensure the world knows the truth about what happened in their marriage and what’s been going on ever since. “He’s been keeping a damning dossier on Angelina – recording their every conversation and exchange, making notes when she’s behaved badly and refused to let him see the children, and keeping a diary of the emotional abuse he claims she’s put on him.”
The dossier reportedly includes explosive details of an “emotional affair” she had with a co-star and her attempts to publicly humiliate Brad’s first wife Jennifer Aniston. We’re told the details could destroy her reputation and her career – as well as seeing her lose custody of their children.
“Brad didn’t want it to go this far and see their kids being dragged into their messy drama, but he feels Ange has given him no choice,” says our source. “He needs to think about his reputation and rebuilding his relationship with his children. He’s seething, but he wants to put this nightmare behind them so everyone can move on.”
Angelina, 43, reignited their bitter feud last week, filing court documents accusing Brad, 54, of paying “no meaningful child support” since she blindsided him with divorce papers in September 2016, accusing him of child abuse – a charge he was later cleared on.
Brad’s legal team has since hit back, calling Angelina’s new filing “a thinly veiled effort to manipulate media coverage”, adding that the actor has contributed almost $2 million towards Angelina and the kids’ bills, as well as lending her $12 million to buy her current home.
The actress responded that “a loan is not, however, child support” and said her ex was trying to “distract from the fact that he has not fully met his legal obligations to support the children”.
But insiders insist Brad has paid millions for Angelina’s bodyguards and travel expenses, plus therapists for their kids, Maddox, 17, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
A friend of his slammed the Maleficent actress, saying, “The divorce case has been held in front of a private judge to keep it out of the press, but she filed in LA Supreme Court knowing that it would go public and that he would be made out to be a deadbeat dad – which he isn’t.”
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The nasty battle, which could be Tinseltown’s most explosive divorce to date, now looks like it will be played out in public and already the showbiz world is taking sides. Our source reports, “There is a very noticeable divide in Hollywood and it’s only growing bigger.”
We’re told George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck all
support Brad in the bitter feud, while Gwyneth Paltrow, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Drew Barrymore are firmly Team Angelina.
Earlier this month, it was claimed the actress’ highpowered lawyer Laura Wasser wanted to cut ties with Angelina amid revelations the star had hired another legal firm to help her negotiate full custody of the six children.
The Oscar winner quickly denied the rumours, but an insider tells, “Laura and Ange are butting heads. They had a huge blow-up over the basics of the case, like doing what’s right and putting the kids first.
“Ange is so filled with anger and hatred toward Brad that it’s affecting her decisionmaking. They’re further away than ever on signing off on the divorce.
“Ange is losing this custody battle and she knows it. She’s snapped, and her anger and selfishness are getting the better of her. It’s going to cost her dearly. Her priorities have shifted to the point that it’s all about destroying Brad and now she’s in danger of losing the kids.”