Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt shifted from 'Domestic Harmony' to divorce proceedings: A deep dive into their prolonged, multi-year legal dispute
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie once portrayed a harmonious family life in a 60-page photo spread named "Domestic Bliss" for the July 2005 issue of W Magazine. This false family depiction foreshadowed their real-life union: six children between them, a shared profession, and a relationship that faced both fame's heights and personal hardships.
Now, they find themselves in a tangled web of legal disputes, as their divorce dispute—dubbed Brangelina—has been ongoing since 2016. The ending of their once-legendary love story has yet to be finalized, leaving behind a lingering family rift.
A source close to Pitt informed CNN that Pitt cherishes his family and desires only the best for them. Despite the unsettling situation, Pitt remains mum about his children.
The prolonged divorce can be attributed to elements such as a challenging custody trial, the aftermath of a 2016 incident on a private plane, and complicated legal disagreements over Angelina's sale of her stake in Chateau Miraval, the French vineyard they once co-owned. The couple wed on this property in 2014.
All Angelina wants, as a source close to her told CNN, is peace within her family. She hopes that Pitt eventually yearns for the same. CNN reached out to representatives for both Pitt and Angelina for comment.
A glimpse into their prolonged legal feud follows:
The 2016 plane incident
Details of the September 2016 incident on the private jet, which marked the end of Brangelina, emerged in August 2022. A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by CNN suggested that Angelina accused Pitt of physically abusing her and verbally abusing their children during the flight.
Pitt was the subject of an investigation related to the incident but was never arrested or charged.
Angelina claimed Pitt grabbed her by the head, shook her, and pushed her into the plane's bathroom wall. He allegedly lunged towards one of their children, causing Angelina to be injured when she attempted to intervene.
In a 2022 countersuit in relation to their vineyard case, Angelina alleged Pitt had choked one of the children and struck another during the incident. Pitt's representative, in response, stated that Pitt "has accepted responsibility for what he did, but not for things he didn't do."
In April, Angelina claimed in another legal filing from the vineyard case that Pitt's history of physically abusing her started well before the family's plane trip in 2016. No further details were provided.
According to the filing, Angelina decided not to press charges against Pitt in relation to the plane incident out of concern for the family's recovery from the trauma.
Divorce filing
Angelina filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. She requested sole physical custody of their then-minor children—Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne, who ranged from 8 to 15 years old—with visitation rights for Pitt, who would retain joint legal custody.
In a 2020 interview with Vogue India, Angelina stated that she parted ways with Pitt for the wellbeing of her family and continues to focus on their healing.
Custody battle
Currently, custody arrangements concern only Vivienne and Knox, who are now 15. According to a 2016 court order, their initial custody arrangement granted Angelina physical custody of the children. Pitt was given "therapeutic visitation" and ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testing.
In 2018, following the FBI's 2016 investigation of the plane incident, a court order granted by CNN specified a shared custody arrangement for that summer, with Jolie holding primary physical custody and Pitt receiving unlimited phone access to the children. The order also requested Jolie to inform their children that the court deemed them safe with their father and that having a decent relationship with both parents is crucial.
Following a privately decided custody trial, Pitt was granted temporary joint custody of the children in May 2021, as stated by two sources privy to the case. Jolie contested the custody ruling, alleging the judge presiding over the trial had a conflict of interest with Pitt's legal team. Jolie won her appeal, and a California appeals court removed the judge.
Despite retaining primary custody, a distance between Pitt and their children has become increasingly apparent in recent months. Vivienne was said to have listed her name as "Vivienne Jolie" in the playbill for "The Outsiders," a Tony-winning musical she co-produced with Jolie. Also, Shiloh, who is 18 years old, recently filed a petition to remove Pitt from her last name.
A friend of Pitt shared, "It's been extremely difficult for him. This is an incredibly challenging period."
Though their divorce proceedings continue, Pitt and Jolie were officially declared single in 2019, thanks to what is referred to as a "bifurcated judgment." Jolie formally dropped "Pitt" from her last name as part of the filing.
According to New York matrimonial and family law attorney Sophie Jacobi-Parisi, who has no connection to either Pitt or Jolie's legal concerns, a bifurcated divorce is unique to California divorces because it enables former couples to sever matrimonial ties while outstanding issues, such as financial matters, remain unresolved. However, it can sometimes worsen proceedings, as it might diminish the motivation to maintain rationality, thus prolonging the divorce process.
Jacobi-Parisi remarked that the slow pace of the divorce proceedings, even after the bifurcated judgment, is "unusual."
The majority of Pitt and Jolie's legal disputes revolve around their French country estate, Château Miraval. Their legal conflicts regarding the property started in February 2022, when Pitt sued Jolie and her former company, Nouvel LLC, accusing them of selling her stake in Miraval unlawfully.
Pitt's lawsuit claimed that he and Jolie had agreed when they purchased the winery that neither would sell without the other's consent. A 2023 court filing revealed that attorneys for Pitt labelled Jolie's sale as "vindictive" after an "adverse custody ruling."
In response, Nouvel LLC filed a countersuit in September 2022, accusing Pitt of waging a vindictive campaign against Jolie. The countersuit also alleged that there was never any agreement in place regarding the sale.
Jolie sold Nouvel LLC and its stake in the winery to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, in October 2021.
In a January 2021 email disclosed by Jolie's attorneys in October 2022, Jolie informed Pitt of her intention to sell her share in the winery, stating that she no longer wished to be involved with a business based on alcohol, given that alcoholic behavior caused harm to their family.
Further insights about their domestic lives could become public.
In April, Pitt filed a motion requesting Jolie to produce a multitude of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), according to a legal filing obtained by CNN. These NDAs have become the focus of the Miraval case, which has essentially been an extension of their divorce, according to Parisi-Jacobi.
Parisi-Jacobi further explained that the Miraval case and the divorce are different legal proceedings. She remarked, "Under the Miraval court action, these NDAs can then bring up and delve into all the information that was probably sealed in their divorce."
In essence, there might be more revelations before Jolie and Pitt finally conclude this chapter and find their peace, domestically or otherwise.
