Shiloh’s heartfelt plea: ‘Can Jen be my mum?’
INSIDE THE SHOCK CONFESSION THAT LEFT BRAD GOBSMACKED
As Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s ugly custody battle enters its seventh month, the couple’s daughter Shiloh has made a shocking new admission.
The 10-year-old – who family friends say has sided with her dad during the messy split – has become close to Brad’s ex-wife Jennifer Aniston after meeting her during a recent visitation.
It’s emerged that Shiloh ‘talks nonstop’ about the Friends star and has been searching for old photos of her father with Jen from when they were married. The girl’s affection for Jen, 48, has grown so strong, say friends, that she’s even made a powerful confession to her dad.
‘In recent years, all that Shiloh has heard is her mum and dad fighting,’ says a source close to Brad. ‘So when she met Jen and saw how funny and nice she was, how happy Brad was to see her, she couldn’t believe it that this was the evil ex-wife Ange had painted her to be.
‘Jen had just popped around to say hi to Brad while the kids were there for a visit a few weekends ago. She only stayed for 30 minutes and met all the kids, but she spent most of the time talking to Shiloh – and they really bonded.
‘Shiloh told her dad after Jen left that it was nice to see him so happy again, that she hadn’t heard him laugh like that with Ange. Then Shiloh told Brad she wished he and Jen could get back together – that she could be another mum to Shiloh.
‘[Brad] was completely floored. He wasn’t expecting to hear that.’
While Brad, 53, glossed over Shiloh’s admission, it didn’t stop the youngster’s curiosity over her dad’s ex.
‘Shiloh started looking at photos of Brad and Jen when they were younger on her ipad, searching through all the old archive shots and pics of their wedding,’ says the source.
‘Shiloh really wants Jen to come to her 11th birthday party next month. Brad and Ange have been talking about putting aside their differences to have a joint party for their daughter’s sake, but Shiloh’s thrown a real spanner in the works by wanting Jen there.’
It was recently revealed that Shiloh has been struggling with her parents’ divorce the most out of all her siblings – Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, and Vivienne and Knox, both eight.
‘Shiloh is taking [the divorce] the hardest,’ a source revealed to Hollywood Life. ‘She’s a daddy’s girl and she’s apparently upset with her mum for keeping them apart. Angelina is trying to explain that it’s for the best, but the kids don’t see it that way.’
Leading Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Dr Jenn Mann, who doesn’t treat the child, says it’s no surprise Shiloh has been deeply hurt by the split.
‘It’s hard for any child not to see a parent regularly,’ she says. ‘It creates a sense of loss... Not getting to see her father is going to be very hard on her. Legally, [Brad and Angelina’s divorce] is nasty. We don’t know how nasty it is behind closed doors. We don’t know if they badmouth each other to the children.
‘If they are, it could potentially scare Shiloh off marriage and commitment later on when she’s an adult.’
But it seems Shiloh has turned her grief over her parents’ split into a fascination with Jen, hoping that her dad will get his ‘happily ever after’.
‘Shiloh has given up on wanting her parents to get back together,’ says the source. ‘She’s not angry over the split anymore, she just wants to see her dad happy.
‘She feels sorry for him and loves how happy he was with Jen. She would never say that to her mum, but she’s been pretty open about it to Brad.’