Brad’s RUNNING BACK TO JEN
Brad Pitt has turned to his greatest love, Jennifer Aniston, after his messy split from Angelina Jolie
Ayear after she blindsided Brad Pitt with divorce papers, Angelina Jolie continues to twist the knife with her words. In a Sept. 13 interview with The New York Times, the actress called the six kids she shares with Brad — Maddox, 16, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and 9-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne — “the best friends I ever had,” adding that “nobody in my life has ever stood by me more.” The Times writer caught Angelina’s shade. “That last sentence hung in the air,” the journalist wrote, “perhaps a subtle allusion to, or indictment of, Mr. Pitt.” Angelina also seemed to imply that she and the kids are better off now without Brad. “None of it’s easy,” she said quietly. “It’s very, very difficult, a very painful situation, and I just want my family healthy. They’re getting better.”
While Angelina made it clear her marriage was no great love affair, Brad is running back to the great love of his life: Jennifer Aniston. Nearly 13 years after Brad, 53, and the Friends star, 48, shocked the world and announced they were splitting after four-and-a-half years of marriage, Brad is hoping to forge a new relationship with his ex. Brad, whose reputation and parenting skills were smeared by Angelina, 42, in the wake of their split, “wants and needs Jen in his life,” a source tells In Touch exclusively, “especially during this trying time.”
But Jen’s husband, Justin Theroux, needn’t worry. “Brad wouldn’t dream of breaking up Jen’s marriage,” says the source. “Brad’s leaning on her as a confidante now. His renewed relationship with Jen has been a huge source of support and comfort through the toughest year of his life.”
Angelina has gotten wind of the renewed bond between Brad and Jen — and she isn’t happy. In fact, says the source, “She’s furious. Jen’s always been Angelina’s greatest rival when it comes to Brad. She hates the way that she has always been depicted as the evil femme fatale and
Jen as the girl-next-door victim in the famous love triangle.”
Jen, meanwhile, takes delight in Angelina’s anger. “She’s getting her well-deserved revenge,” says the source. “Jen feels Angelina lorded her relationship with Brad over her all these years.” (Indeed, in 2006, Angelina bragged to Vogue that she and Brad fell in love on the set Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which they filmed when he was still wed to Jen. “That stuff about how she couldn’t wait to get to work every day?” Jen later said. “That was really uncool.”) Now, notes the source, “Jen’s having the last laugh. She loves the fact she has become his confidante.”
Two emotional conversations cemented their newfound friendship. As part of Brad’s new lifestyle (“I was boozing too much,” he told GQ earlier this year), he has stopped drinking and started apologizing to those he wronged. And Jen “was the person highest on his apology list,” says the source. So he called her in June and expressed his sorrow. “Brad flat-out apologized for all the heartache and pain he caused by leaving her for Angelina. He came off as genuinely sorry, and Jen was deeply touched. She was completely won over.”
the subsequent custody battle that still rages on today. “He soberly spoke about hitting rock bottom,” says the source, “and how he made the climb out.”
He then offered another mea culpa. “He launched into a grand apology,” says the source. “He apologized for being an absentee husband in the marriage — being stoned and bored much of the time. He also made amends for being an avoider, getting lost and in a serious drinking-and-gettinghigh phase when he fell for Angelina while making Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” Brad, who knows Jen is happily married and is glad for her, even wistfully wondered what might have been. “He told Jen they might still even be married if he were emotionally and physically present and sober at the time. It was the most intimate conversation Brad had ever had with Jen,” who famously said in 2005 that he’s missing a “sensitivity chip.”
But not all of Brad and Jen’s conversations have been so deep. The two design aficionados have bonded again about their love of overhauling homes. “It’s something Brad always shared with Jen, as opposed to Angelina, who couldn’t care less about interior design or home renovation,” says an insider. Angelina recently told Vanity Fair that design was “Brad’s thing…. I didn’t even know I needed throw pillows [for my new house].” Meanwhile, Jen recently declared, “If I wasn’t acting, I would do [renovation] full-time.” Now the exes are swapping ideas. Says the source, “They’ve been talking about ideas for future houses and building projects.”
They may even join forces on movies. Before they split, they were partners on Brad’s Plan B production company, which produced the 2017 best picture Oscar winner, Moonlight. “Brad wants her involved again,” says the source, “and Jen wants in on such prestige projects.”
The rekindled friendship has had a positive effect on Brad. “Jen has a way of calming and encouraging Brad, which he needs in his hectic life right now,” says the source. And now that he’s not drinking, “he’s in a great place mentally and physically. He’s in touch with his emotions and his true self like never before. He is closer to the kids than he has been in months, and he’s shown tremendous maturity and patience with Angelina concerning the divorce.” Having a loyal friend like Jen back in his life is a bonus and a blessing, adds the source: “He hopes to count on her for a long time to come.” ◼
Brad wants Jen in his life again. Part of him will always love her” — A SOURCE