Angelina Jolie Shocks With Words About How Brad Pitt Broke Her ‘Spirit’

FIGHTING BACK

The A-List actress made rare remarks about her equally famous ex-husband.

Angelina Jolie has made rare comments on her divorce from fellow A-lister Brad Pitt, saying her “spirit” has returned after the nasty split.

“I think my fighting spirit is finally back,” the actress told Variety in a new interview published Wednesday.

“I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit, and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it,” she explained.

Brad Pitt breaks his silence on messy split with Angelina Jolie.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had a messy split. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Jolie and Pitt share six children: Maddox, 24; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and Knox and Vivienne, 17.

The former couple, both Hollywood royalty in their own right, filed for divorce in 2016 after 12 years together. In the wake of the contentious divorce, their children have slowly delivered a string of blows to their famous father, with several dropping the “Pitt” from their hyphenated last names.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie share six children. Pictured in Tokyo, Japan, in 2011.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie share six children. Pictured in Tokyo, Japan, in 2011. Jun Sato/WireImage

Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 24, filed to change his name in late May, citing “personal” reasons in a legal petition in Los Angeles. Shiloh, 20, did so on her 18th birthday in 2024. Zahara, 21, also took the step to distance herself from her father, dropping “Pitt” as she walked across a stage to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Spelman College. Vivienne, 17, similarly appeared as “Vivienne Pitt” in the playbill credits for a Broadway musical in which she featured.

Following news of Maddox dropping his father’s name, a source close to Pitt told the Daily Beast, “It’s not a surprise this news was released shortly after Brad had a significant evidentiary victory in the Miraval case,” referring to the A-list couple’s legal dispute over their shared winery.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Pitt’s representative for comment.

The obvious tilt toward Jolie, 51, raises questions about the children’s relationship with Pitt, 62. In 2022, during the midst of the divorce, Jolie accused her ex-husband of being physically and verbally abusive to her and their children on a private plane.

Angelina Jolie alleged that ex-husband Brad Pitt was abusive to her and their six children.
Angelina Jolie alleged that ex-husband Brad Pitt was abusive to her and their six children. Valier Macon/AFP via Getty Images

In her latest remarks, Jolie praised her children and nodded toward the support they have provided her. “My kids are almost all 18, so now they want to see me traveling the world, they want me to get out and do things,” she explained.

“They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot,” Jolie continued, in a seemingly pointed remark toward Pitt.

“I think they’re very encouraging of me kind of getting back to aspects of myself that maybe I hadn’t felt as free to do.”

The Academy Award-winning actress further commented on her divorce affecting her career, saying, “I had kind of quit acting before my divorce.”

Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at a press conference in 2006.
One-time Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at a press conference in 2006. -/AFP via Getty Images

“I was focusing on directing, and I thought I’d be doing my international work. But then, suddenly, the only way to be home more and for short periods of time, being away, or to make a good amount of money, was to go back to acting,” she continued. “I was only taking things that were short or close by or I could take [my children].”

Jolie has starred in a handful of feature films in the last few years, taking the lead role in 2024’s Maria and 2025’s Couture. She next appears in Marc Foster’s Anxious People, which has yet to have a release date.

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