Together again!
Brad’s apology brings the long-divorced couple back together
She garnered the sympathy of the world when her marriage to Brad Pitt collapsed amid his very public attraction to Angelina Jolie. But Jennifer Aniston can, at long last, put the pain of her failed relationship behind her. And the catalyst for this muchneeded sense of peace was none other than the man who broke her heart in the first place.
Last week, 53-year-old Brad spoke out for the first time since his divorce from Angelina in September. His revealing interview with GQ detailed his long battle with alcohol abuse, but sources say the emotional chat isn’t the only step he’s taken to finally come clean and put his demons behind him in an attempt to become a better man.
Woman’s Day has learnt Brad has finally apologised to 48-year-
old Jen – albeit in private rather than in the public forum – for his behaviour during their marriage. For Jen, who has forged a new friendship with Brad in recent weeks since reaching out to him over fears for his health, the apology is a watershed moment.
Not only does it allow her to forgive him for everything that played out behind closed doors during their four-year marriage, it also comes as a relief to know he’s finally getting the help he needs.
According to sources, Brad’s intensive therapy sessions in the wake of his separation from his second wife, 41-year-old Angelina, forced him to delve into his past behaviour, including those years with Jen.
“I just started therapy,” Brad said in the raw and honest chat last week. “I love it. I love it. I went through two therapists to get the right one.
“For me this period has really been about looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street... I’m personally very retarded when it comes to taking inventory of my emotions. I’m much better at covering up... I have to show [my kids]. And I haven’t been great at it.”
During the groundbreaking magazine interview, Brad, who says he’s stopped drinking completely since his marriage collapsed last year, revealed his relationship with alcohol had played a part in many of his most regrettable life choices.
“Truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka,” he says. “I was a professional. I was good.
“I was boozing too much. It just became a problem. And I’m really happy it’s been half a year [since I stopping drinking] now, which is bittersweet, but I’ve got my feelings in my fingertips again.
“I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff or something.”
A source says it was Brad’s renewed closeness to Jen that inspired him to give the very personal interview, baring his soul to reveal the misery that has haunted him for so long. The cathartic interview, friends say, could only have happened when Brad admitted his failings and knew he had Jen in his corner again.
“I hit the lottery, and I still would waste my time on those hollow pursuits,” Brad admitted to the magazine. “In the end, you find: I am those things I don’t like. That is a part of me. I can’t deny that. I have to accept that. And in fact, I have to embrace that... I am those mistakes. For me, every misstep has been a step toward epiphany, understanding, some kind of joy.”
Those missteps have led to a renewed friendship that has taken both Brad and Jen by surprise.
“After such a long time apart, they are getting to know each other all over again,” our source reveals. “It’s a beautiful thing.
“It’s early days yet, and certainly neither of them is rushing things, but some days Jen gets positively giddy about where all this could go. I don’t think either of them expected this to happen and that’s what makes it so special.”
‘They are getting to know each other all over again. It’s a beautiful thing’
On one of the pair’s recent meet-ups, they had dinner at a tiny Greek restaurant they used to go to in LA when they were married, after Brad convinced the owner to open just for them.
The pair have also been spending time at a property in the Hollywood Hills which is owned by a friend of Brad’s.
“It’s a real out-of-the way place, very private, and Jen has been able to come and go without anyone noticing,” the insider explains. “They talk, listen to music, hang out, and Jen has been cooking for Brad a lot. She wants him to get his strength back, start eating better and put on a little weight. She has been giving him a lot of pasta and homemade pizza, which she knows Brad loves.” The romance that once existed between Brad and Jen is among Hollywood’s greatest love stories. They fell for each other in 1998 when each was at the top of their game professionally and their union seemed written in the stars. When they tied the knot in 2000 it seemed to be the perfect happy ending. But in 2004 Brad started working on a movie called Mr & Mrs Smith that lit up the box office but brought down his marriage. His onscreen chemistry with Angelina made it clear that an offscreen romance was more than just a rumour. After a “break-up break” in Anguilla in January 2005, Brad and Jen – then the hottest couple in Hollywood – announced they were going their separate ways.
Although Jen moved on with several high-profile relationships and a 2015 marriage to Justin Theroux, her failed marriage to Brad has always loomed over her – which is why this much-needed apology from him has meant so much.
Fans of the couple have never given up hope of them reuniting. Of course, Brad has more than enough on his plate at the moment while he continues therapy and negotiates with Angelina for custody of their six children – Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. And Jen is still married to Justin, 45, who, until now at least, has been supportive of her renewed friendship with her ex-husband.
But there’s no denying Brad and Jen are enjoying each other’s company. It’s perhaps surprising considering their strained relations since their bitter split. In 2011, Brad alluded to his personal struggles for happiness and seemingly blamed his discontent on his marriage.
“I started to get sick of myself sitting on a couch, holding a joint, hiding out [from celebrity life],” he said. “It became very clear to me that I was so intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn’t living an interesting life myself. I think that my marriage [to Jennifer] had something to do with it. Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t.”
But it’s becoming increasingly clear that Brad and Jen’s damaged relationship can be repaired with time and compassion, and fans are eager to see what happens next for Hollywood’s favourite couple.
‘They talk, listen to music, hang out, and Jen has been cooking for Brad’