Why Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s divorce has been dragging on since 2016
There’s a reason why Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt haven’t finalized their bitter eight-year divorce battle.
An insider with direct knowledge claimed they are holding on to resentment, telling People that before the “Maleficent” actress, 49, pulled the plug on her marriage to Pitt, 60, in 2016, “their disagreements took over.” The source shared that things “turned nasty and it was not a good situation for anyone.”
Fast-forward to present day, and nothing has changed.
“All the bitterness is partly why the divorce has dragged on for so many years. Neither will let it go,” the insider stated. “You’d think they would be over it and just settle.”
Jolie and Pitt share six kids — Maddox, 22; Pax, 20; Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 18; and 16-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox — many of whom no longer have a relationship with their famous father.
“Both of them were having issues with each other. The differences added up over time. It’s really sad for the children, but also the parents. Divorce, especially one so high-profile, can be challenging for the whole family,” a separate source told the outlet.
“They both care” about their dragged-out divorce process, the source shared. “They both care about the children.”
Earlier this month, an insider told People, “both sides are still talking, but it’s not done yet.”
While Pitt reportedly has “virtually no contact” with his older children, the “Wolfs” actor and Jolie’s agreement provides him “visitation with the younger kids.”
Shiloh filed a petition to legally drop her movie star father’s last name on her eighteenth birthday in May.
Shiloh has now reportedly published a newspaper ad in the Los Angeles Times to drop “Pitt” from her surname. This is a requirement before the court can approve Shiloh’s petition, according to TMZ.
She’s not the only child who is no longer going by Pitt.
Zahara didn’t include the Pitt surname for her sorority initiation ceremony in November 2023. Vivienne only used Jolie for the playbill when she co-produced the Broadway production of “The Outsiders” with her A-list mother.
The exes’ point of contention goes beyond the children.
Jolie and Pitt have been locked in a legal battle over the sale of their French winery, Chateau Miraval, after the actress offloaded her share for $67 million in 2021.
She has asked her ex-husband to drop his lawsuit and “end the fighting.”
Jolie’s lawyer Paul Murphy told Page Six on July 17 that Pitt “has control of all the properties the couple shared as well as control of the business, but still he demands more, and is suing Angelina for $67 million plus punitive damages.”
He charged that “in doing so, Pitt placed squarely at issue why he tried to punish and control Angelina by demanding a newly expanded NDA to cover his personal misconduct and abuse. Those actions are central to these proceedings. We are not at all surprised Mr. Pitt is afraid to turn over the documents demonstrating these facts.”
His statement continued: “While Angelina again asks Mr. Pitt to end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing, unless Mr. Pitt withdraws his lawsuit, Angelina has no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong.”
Jolie and Pitt wed at Chateau Miraval on August 23, 2014. She filed for divorce in September 2016 after their highly publicized altercation on a private plane.
While Jolie and Pitt were declared legally single by a judge in 2019, they are still fighting over custody of their children, division of assets and the winery.
