SHILOH’S BACKING DAD BRAD AND ANGE IS FURIOUS
Heading to court, the couple fear what their children may say
They h were once admired for their close-knit “rainbow family”, but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s six children are now locked in a bitter war of their own.
With the Hollywood stars’ toxic two-year custody battle just weeks away from reaching court, Woman’s Day can reveal that the siblings have dramatically chosen sides. Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, and Shiloh, 12, are said to be supporting their dad, while Maddox, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 10, have remained fiercely loyal to Angelina.
“What’s happened to the family is incredibly sad,” an insider tells us. “Those kids have always been homeschooled together and don’t have many friends outside the family. They meant the world to each other. But now tension is running high and some of them are barely on speaking terms. It’s tragic.”
The worst falling-out is between adopted brothers and former f best b pals Maddox and Pax, while biological daughter Shiloh is said to have told lawyers she wants the chance to publicly support her dad in court. She’s determined to clear Brad’s name after Angelina’s initial allegations of child abuse, which were later dropped.
“The children are all preparing their own testimonies, and Shiloh is demanding the right to get up on the stand and have her say, which could prove to be catastrophic for Ange," claims our insider.
“Shiloh is only 12, but she’s very savvy, and says she has some surprises up her sleeve, including a diary she’s been keeping for the last year, which details a series of damning rows between her and her mother. She isn’t holding back and seems to blame Ange entirely for breaking up their family.” As first reported in Woman’s
Day, Brad, 54, and his ex-wife’s custody battle is heading to court, with the trial starting on December 4. Insiders say it’s likely to be one of the most explosive Hollywood divorce hearings ever.
“Neither side will hold back,” says the insider. “Every tiny detail from their marriage and all the secrets of what really went on with their shock split will be made public.”
While the Maleficent star, 43, is desperate to maintain sole custody of the children, Brad is gunning for a shared arrangement. Until now, his contact with his offspring has been supervised and sporadic.
“Brad will never forgive Ange for taking his children away from him. He has been utterly broken by it,” explains a friend.
After firing her first lawyer Laura Wasser amid rumours of a falling-out, Angelina is now represented by Samantha Bley Dejean. They’re said to be working hard on compiling damning evidence against Brad to cement their case, while a psychologist, Dr Stan Katz, has also been appointed by the courts to assess each parent.
Tells our insider, “Ange is remaining quiet about her tactics and while she’s petrified about what’s going to happen in that courtroom, she’s got the best legal team money can buy. She insists Brad’s history of alcohol addiction and drugs will go against him, and she certainly won’t go down without a fight.”
Fighting dirty
Brad, however, has reached boiling point and has refused to cooperate with private mediators any longer due to what he calls Angelina’s “unreasonable” behaviour. He’s ready to unleash on the woman he once loved. He’s also gathering as many of his friends and family as possible to provide character references.
“Brad has been compiling a dossier on Ange for the last three years, which documents her conduct both before, during and after their split,” reports our insider. “He says it contains recordings of her going ballistic at him, furious rants, losing her temper
with the children and toxic messages. Brad says it could destroy her reputation, as well as putting an end to her chances of getting full custody.”
The insider says Angelina has heard about the dossier and is beside herself with worry. “Ange is terrified her relationship with the kids will never recover from this. It’s not how she imagined things would turn out, but she’s not one to back down and there’s no chance she’ll go quietly.”
And it’s not just sole custody of the children that she’s after, with the court case also expected to settle the former spouses’ ongoing financial wrangling. Recently, Angelina’s legal team claimed in court documents that Brad had failed to pay any “meaningful child support” since the actress left him in 2016. He quickly responded that he’d in fact dished out $2 million, as well as a $12 million loan for her new house.
“She wants as much money as she can get out of Brad,” claims a source. “Her goal is to get half his fortune. It really seems now that she’s out to get him in every way possible.”
In the meantime, however, family insiders say it’s the kids who are suffering most. Says our source, “It’s terrible to see the children in turmoil like their parents. We all just hope that one day they can move on from all of this and heal.”