Brad Pitt Breaks Silence On 8-Year Divorce Battle With Angelina Jolie Coming To An End

Brad Pitt has offered the public a sliver of a peek into his feelings regarding his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

As the 61-year-old sat down with GQ to share insight on his upcoming racing F1 movie in a feature that was published Wednesday, May 28, the actor dismissed questions on whether he felt “relief” after he and the Maleficent actress finally settled their divorce on December 30, 2024.

The latter had initially filed to dissolve their marriage in September 2016.

Brad Pitt opens up regarding his divorce from Angelina Jolie

Image credits: Marilla Sicilia/Getty Images

Pitt said, “No, I don’t think it was that major of a thing. Just something coming to fruition. Legally.” 

While Jolie has publicly addressed the break-up, her former husband has been much more close-lipped, with various media outlets relying on insiders for more information.

Image credits: Michael Kovac/Getty Images

A source close to the actor told PEOPLE in March that he was “happy that the divorce is behind him,” and that he and his girlfriend Ines de Ramon, whom he’s been dating since 2022, are “in a great place.”

Additionally, James Simon — Jolie’s lawyer — told the outlet in the midst of the divorce settlement that the 49-year-old was now “focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” especially after the chaos of the legal battle. 

“This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago,” he said in a statement. “Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.”

The custody battle went on for eight years

Image credits: Golden Globes

For nearly an entire decade, Jolie and Pitt’s divorce was a topic of conversation amongst fans and the Internet. The latter discussed with GQ that the spotlight never bothered him too much, describing it as a vague “annoyance.”

“[My personal life has] been in the news for 30 years, bro,” he said. “Or some version of my personal life, let’s put it that way.”

Pitt said the divorce wasn’t “that major of a thing”

Image credits: Jun Sato/Getty Images

Image credits: angelinajolie

He later added, “It’s been an annoyance I’ve had to always deal with in different degrees, large and small, as I do the things I really want to do. So it’s always been this kind of nagging time suck or waste of time, if you let it be that, I don’t know.

“I don’t know. Mostly I feel pretty… my life is fairly contained. It feels pretty warm and secure with my friends, with my loves, with my fam, with my knowledge of who I am, that, you know, it’s like this fly buzzing around a little bit.”

Image credits: Vogue

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie first met one another in 2004 while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith. At the time, Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston, even as rumors of the two co-stars having an affair began to gain traction.

About a year later, Pitt and Anniston announced their separation.

In 2006, Jolie confirmed she was pregnant with Pitt’s child, Shiloh, who was born in May of that year. Prior to her birth, the Babylon star had already legally adopted Jolie’s two children: Maddox and Zahara.

The legal battle was highly publicized

Six years later, the two announced their engagement, with a private wedding ceremony taking place in 2014 at their estate in France, Château Miraval. 

However, just two years later, Jolie filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences and requesting full custody of the children — an announcement that shocked the public.

Image credits: Jimmy Kimmel Live

Image credits: ‎Apple TV+

It was reported that Pitt had a fight with Maddox on a private plane, the mother-of-six claiming that her ex-husband had been abusive to her and her kids. 

The actor was investigated by the FBI and Child Protective Services and later cleared. 

The custody battle continued for years, with tensions escalating to their highest in 2022-2023.

Comments seemed to be evenly split between taking Pitt’s or Jolie’s side

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