Once a picture of domestic bliss, with thriving Hollywood careers, six children and an idyllic French winery to their names, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s relationship is in dire straits. After 11 years together and two years of marriage, in 2016 Jolie filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. However, the divorce was not finalised until December last year.

The eight-year legal battle saw the former couple lock heads over the custody of their minor children as well as the rightful ownership of Jolie’s 50% stake in their winery – the latter of which is still ongoing. Not only has their legacy as a Hollywood power couple surely been destroyed, but there are still many unanswered questions and unresolved claims about their marriage.

Even so, anyone following the saga would assume Pitt and Jolie are at least somewhat relieved to no longer be legally married. However, in a recent interview with GQ to promote his upcoming film F1, which is out on 27 June, Pitt seemed indifferent. ‘No, I don’t think it was that major of a thing,’ he responded when asked if he was relieved that the divorce was behind him. ‘Just something coming to fruition, legally.’

Given the media circus bookending their marriage – from its controversial origins after co-starring in Mr & Mrs Smith while Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston in 2005, to its abrupt end after a private plane journey in 2016 – Pitt did not go into any further detail. Nevertheless, for an eight-year legal battle to be passed off as ‘nothing major’ seems strange.

‘My personal life is always in the news,’ he said later in the interview. ‘It’s been in the news for 30 years, bro. Or some version of my personal life, let’s put it that way.’

It’s certainly true of the past nine years, which have been marred in troubling allegations, familial estrangements and legal disputes. And it will be true of the next year too as Pitt and Jolie prepare for trial over their winery dispute.

In 2022, Pitt sued Jolie for allegedly selling her shares of their French estate to the Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler without consent. Pitt claimed this violated a previous agreement and sought to harm his investment. A few months later, Jolie counter-sued, alleging that she attempted to sell her shares to Pitt in the first instance, but refused after he tried to force her to sign an $8.5 million (£6.28m) non-disclosure agreement to cover up ‘years of abuse’.

Jolie filed court papers accusing Pitt of drunkenly attacking her and their children during a private family flight from France to LA, prompting her to file for divorce. She alleges that he grabbed her by the head and verbally abused and poured alcohol on his family during the journey. Pitt has always denied the allegations and was cleared of wrongdoing following an FBI investigation at the time.

Last December, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in favour of the case heading to trial, which was viewed as a victory for Pitt. However, the following week the judge ruled that Pitt must disclose documents that Jolie’s lawyers claim will prove ‘communications concerning abuse, lies to authorities, and years of cover up’ on Pitt’s part.

This includes emails, texts and other written communications, but nothing between Pitt and his attorneys or therapists. Pitt’s team sought for Jolie’s motion to be denied, calling the request ‘wide ranging and intrusive’ as well as a sensationalist fishing expedition’.

Jolie’s lawyer, Paul Murphy, thinks otherwise. He described the documents as ‘crucial evidence’ that Pitt has ‘fought for years to hide’.

‘His actions harmed Angelina and their children and are central to this case. But I want to again emphasise that Angelina never wanted any of this. She never pressed charges, she left all their properties, and she is the one who tried to sell him the business in the first place.

‘To this day, Mr. Pitt has never been held accountable for his actions and has at all times controlled Miraval and the winery, yet he still demands more. She wants this to end, the children want this to end, and Mr. Pitt should focus on healing their family, not pursuing lawsuits.

‘If he does not,’ Murphy concluded, ‘Angelina will defend herself in court by presenting the evidence necessary to demonstrate that Pitt’s allegations are demonstrably false.’

Perhaps Pitt’s indifference was rooted in the fact their legal troubles are far from over. The exes might not meet each other in court until next year, but ‘some version’ of the darker details of their marriage are likely to play out in the media when they do.

Even if Pitt does view the divorce as ‘not anything major’, his reputation is still on the line.
The actor has already grown estranged from his children, Maddox, Zahara, Pax, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne, all of whom have taken a marked stand with their mother, and four of whom have publicly dropped ‘Pitt’ from their surnames. This alone proves there is more at stake than 30 hectares of vineyards, and that there is more to the story than his nonchalant comments might suggest.

Whether Pitt likes it or not, his personal life remains firmly in the news. His marriage to Jolie is over, but given their collective star power, the allegations at play from both sides make this a complicated public interest story. Anyone hoping to understand ‘his version’ of events better may well have to wait until he takes the stand.