Shock custody conclusion
Ange collapses as Brad gets the kids
It’s taken more than two years of furious fighting with ex-wife Angelina Jolie, but Brad Pitt can’t stop smiling after finally being awarded joint custody of his six children.
The WarMachine actor, 54, certainly couldn’t hide his delight at a Christmas party in Los Angeles last week. A fellow guest reports, “He looked happier and more relaxed than ever. He refused to talk about what happened, but it was obvious something had gone in his favour.”
Indeed, Angelina, 43, had given in just two days before the stars were due to go head to head in a nasty trial that she was convinced she was going to win.
A court-appointed evaluator had been assessing their kids – Maddox, 17, Pax, 15, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox – and she was sure they’d conclude Brad is an “unfit parent”, an insider tells Woman’sDay.
Trialturnaround
But when the report came back, it was “extremely favourable to Brad”, the insider reveals, and a blindsided Angelina was forced to back down. A source adds, “She knew if this went to trial, she’d lose and Brad would win, so she gave in to spare the kids from going through a trial. Ange had to give in, plain and simple.”
And while the Oscar winner put on a brave face in public, behind the scenes, we’re told she had a dramatic breakdown. “Ange suffered something of an emotional collapse,” the source says.
“There was a lot of angry crying, then a lot of sleeping. It’s as though she was holding herself together by a thread this whole time and when they finally signed off, she was free to have her meltdown.”
Adding that the star’s weight has plummeted to 48kg, the insider continues, “It hasn’t helped that Ange has been basically surviving on black coffee and a few bites of the kids’ food.”
After their shock split in September 2016, Angelina accused Brad of child abuse – a charge he was quickly cleared of, but still she restricted his access to the kids. It wasn’t until a few months ago that a judge insisted the actor be allowed monitored visits every other day. Now he’ll get to see the children for weeks at a time.
“The plan calls for Ange to have the kids for half the time, then for Brad to have them the other half,” our insider explains. “He’ll regularly have the kids overnight at his house for the first time since the divorce proceedings began. This is huge for Brad because he can finally resume just being a dad without the presence of monitors. It was a long and difficult road, but he never gave up.”