Ever had that nightmare where you’re on a roller coaster and can’t get off? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce is beginning to look that way for them. In the latest news from their negotiations, The Blast, known for surfacing documents of Los Angeles cases like these, leaked a filing last week in which Jolie has made herself available in the trial to offer “proof and authority in support” of alleged domestic violence. She’s also filed on behalf of her three youngest kids, which, if approved, would allow them to testify in this case (though both parents would have to agree for this to be allowed).
It’s unclear whether said “proof and authority” would include any new information, but as a source familiar with the case told V.F., “When they [initially filed for] divorce in the fall of 2016, [Jolie] made similar allegations (about what happened on their plane ride back to the U.S.).” These “were reported to the authorities and thoroughly investigated before concluding no wrongdoing, and therefore, no action was taken. These have been the same attacks repeated for the past four and a half years.”
This is in reference to investigations by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Child and Family Services, after there was an incident on an airplane in 2016. Both closed their investigations in November of that year, a couple months after Jolie filed for divorce.
Meanwhile, on Page Six, a source close to Pitt has said, “Brad and his camp has never attacked Angelina. But his camp feels this leak was calculated to sway opinion ahead of the conclusion of their trial. Brad feels like he’s being more and more isolated from his children, and he’s devastated about it.”
No divorce is easy, most are quite sad, but few are drawn out this long. They’ve been divesting from each other for close to five years, more than twice as long as they were married, and the most difficult part—custody—still hangs in the balance. Pitt reportedly wants an even 50/50 physical and legal custody of their six children.
They’ve both referred to the situation in various profiles. In his first interview since Jolie initially filed for divorce, Pitt told GQ Style, “I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called. And you know, after that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out. We’re both doing our best. I heard one lawyer say, ‘No one wins in court—it’s just a matter of who gets hurt worse.’ And it seems to be true.”
“We’re all just healing from the events that led to the filing.... They’re not healing from divorce. They’re healing from some...from life, from things in life,” Jolie told Vanity Fair in a 2017 profile (Jolie did not immediately respond to request for comment). She added at the time, regarding Pitt, “We care for each other and care about our family, and we are both working towards the same goal. I was very worried about my mother, growing up—a lot. I do not want my children to be worried about me. I think it’s very important to cry in the shower and not in front of them. They need to know that everything’s going to be all right even when you’re not sure it is.”
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