From losing a biological mother to AIDS, to sleeping on an iron bed — to living through their
parents’ nasty, bitter divorce — you won't believe the stuff that Brangelina's kids have seen.
To say that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are equally famous is a bit of an understatement.
The two were — and have been — Hollywood royalty for decades, and when they first crossed paths in
2005, things were a bit murky. Pitt was married to "Friends" star and 1990s darling Jennifer
Aniston — their romance just as high-profile thanks to the burgeoning fame of both stars.
Cue Angelina Jolie, who was cast alongside Pitt in the 2005 action-packed flick "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."
The two played a married couple who were trying to kill the other, bringing a sharp dynamic and
animalistic romance to the screen. Things clearly translated well off-screen for the
two as well. Hollywood Life notes that the time spent together on set allowed Pitt and
Jolie to grow quite close to one another, and things began to get messy from there.
By the time "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" wrapped filming,
rumors started to pick up steam about Pitt and Jolie's relationship,
despite Pitt still being married to Aniston. Ultimately — and much to the disappointment of
Pitt/Aniston fans everywhere — the early 2000s darlings got divorced, paving the way for Pitt
and Jolie to pursue their relationship. Not exactly an easy start to a romance.
When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt met in 2005, Jolie was already a mom to little boy Maddox,
who she had adopted in 2002. As noted by E! News, after Jolie was in Cambodia
on location to film "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," she returned to the country
with her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
It was in Cambodia that Jolie met Maddox in an orphanage and took the steps to adopt him.
Jolie said she didn't feel a connection with any of the other children she met. Then,
she was told there was another baby. Angelina recalled seeing Maddox who was being held in
a box hanging from the orphanage ceiling. In March 2002, Jolie officially adopted 7-month-old
Maddox. She later bought a house and became a citizen of the country of Cambodia. In 2003,
she founded what would transform into the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, whose goal
is to further education, health, environmental issues, and infrastructure in Asian countries.
"My son changed my life. Becoming a Cambodian family changed my life."
By the time 2005 rolled around, Angelina Jolie was mom to Maddox,
and she and Brad Pitt were looking to expand their family. Ready to adopt once again,
Jolie brought 6-month-old Zahara home from Awasa, Ethiopia. Zahara's start in life was
not an easy one, SCMP noted. Confusion surrounding her birth parents led Jolie
to confirm to journalist Ann Curry that Zahara's biological mom had succumbed to AIDS, recounting:
"[Zahara's] mother died of AIDS and so,
they wouldn't have had any funds to send her to school."
However, in 2017, a woman by the name of Mentewab Dawit Lebiso came forward,
telling the Daily Mail that she was Zahara's biological mother and claimed she had become
pregnant following an assault, motivating her to put the baby up for adoption.
This sparked a conflict between Jolie and Zahara's supposed biological mother,
with the adoption agency even weighing in. The little girl's birth family was
adamant that she return to Ethiopia. The head of Wide Horizons for Children,
told the Daily Mail that Zahara's mother had in fact died and that her father was "unknown."
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie continued to dominate Hollywood with their individual star
power and their dynamic relationship. And while they had yet to tie the knot — and already had two
children through adoption — the couple announced in 2006 that they were pregnant with their first
biological child. Jolie confirmed the pregnancy to an aid worker in Santo Domingo, per People,
sending shock waves and celebration through the couple's legions of fans. When little Shiloh was
born, Jolie immediately assessed that the little girl was just like her. Jolie told MSN in 2007,
"Shi's so full of light and love, she's just a little honey, and very, very funny. I think
I'm recognizing some of myself in that one — she's going to be a little bit of trouble."
Shiloh herself would continue to make headlines throughout the course of her
childhood due to her gender identity. Dressing in more traditionally male
clothes and referring to herself as "one of the brothers," Shiloh experimented
and explored gender in the safety of her parents' home. Jolie told Reuters in 2010,
"I would never be the kind of parent to force somebody to be something they are not. I think
that is just bad parenting. Children should be allowed to express themselves in whatever way
they wish without anybody judging them because it is an important part of their growth."
By the time they were a family of five, Pitt had taken the steps to adopt both
Maddox and Zahara as his own children as well. Going through the official process,
Maddox and Zahara soon became Maddox and Zahara Jolie-Pitt, the hyphenated last name reflective
of the Hollywood royalty that had adopted them from Cambodia and Ethiopia, respectively.
Of her blended family, Jolie told People that she wanted both a large family and a
multicultural one, explaining that the many different cultures, ways of life,
and backgrounds had a beneficial impact on all her kids. Jolie said,
"They're pretty great people and because there's so many of them,
I think they've had a very significant effect on each other. [...] I am so excited about
all the different stages and feelings and curiosities that they go through."
Five years after adopting her first son, Maddox, Angelina Jolie was traveling in Vietnam when she
met Pax, a 3-year-old orphan. Just like that, her family was to grow once again. As noted by People,
Pax was born outside Ho Chi Minh City and was in an orphanage for the first few years of his life.
Jolie shared the difficult circumstances Pax faced in his early years, saying,
"He spent 3-½ years of his life in one place, in one room, in this one little iron bed with
20 other kids, and having no choice for himself to do things, having no freedom."
Pax was adopted by Jolie in 2007, and by Pitt in 2008. As People noted,
the Vietnamese process of adoption put hurdles in the way of an unmarried couple adopting,
so Jolie took the first steps to bring her second son — and fourth child — home.
In the summer of 2008, twins Knox Léon and Vivienne entered the world, making the Jolie-Pitt
crew a family of eight. At just three weeks old, the twins appeared on the cover of People in an
exclusive spread, with both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie opening up about their growing brood and the
challenges associated with having not two, not three, but six kids. Angelina spilled,
"It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time."
While Brad further explained,
"[It's] still a cuckoo's nest."
"What's better when Brad is working and you're with the kids?”
“Yes.” “Or you're working and Brad's with the kids?”
“When I'm home with the kids."
But sibling rivalry was clearly not something the couple had to deal with. Jolie explained that both
Shiloh and Zahara loved picking out outfits for the babies and helped with changing them.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may have crossed paths in 2005,
but it wasn't until 2014 — and six kids later — that they tied the knot. So why did they
wait so long? Pitt once told Esquire that he and Jolie did not want to get married until marriage
equality legislation was passed in the United States, ensuring that anyone could get married
regardless of gender or sexuality. However, the couple — in what was called a "slap in the face
to gay Americans" by Time – did end up getting married before marriage equality was a reality.
As noted by Glamour, Pitt and Jolie got married in a gorgeous ceremony in France, and their six
kids played a big part in their special day. Maddox and Pax — the two eldest boys — walked
Jolie down the aisle, while Zahara and Vivienne served as flower girls. As for the ring bearers,
Shiloh and Knox fulfilled those duties, so to say it was a family affair is an understatement. While
it seemed to be a blissful time for the family of eight, the marriage itself was rather short-lived.
"You think this story is going to have a happy ending. Happy endings
are just stories that haven't finished yet."
After more than a decade together, two years married, and six children, Angelina Jolie and
Brad Pitt announced their intent to divorce, commencing a brutal legal battle we've all
witnessed play out over many years. As noted by Glamour, Jolie was the one who made the
initial filing, citing "irreconcilable differences" as reasoning for the split.
Jolie pursued full custody of the kids, and then Pitt challenged for joint
custody. There have been issues with judges appointed to the case, judicial misconduct,
and more mind-boggling details. The battle has gone on for so long that
Maddox is no longer a part of the custodial negotiations, as he is now a legal adult.
In one of the latest updates to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's legal battle — as
of this video — came when an FBI report about a physical confrontation between
the couple became public. As noted by NBC News in August 2022, the report detailed
an altercation between Jolie and Pitt while on their private plane in 2016.
Jolie accused Pitt of "ruining this family," to which Pitt had a troubling reaction. The
report — in which Jolie was referenced by a pseudonym — detailed the following,
"[The woman and] her then-husband, and their children, who were all minors at the time,
were traveling via private aircraft [when the] husband allegedly physically
and verbally assaulted plaintiff and the children,
who have 'experienced lasting physical and mental trauma as a result of the assault.'"
Sources that have been close to the ongoing
legal battle between the couple told NBC News of the FBI report,
"The final paragraph [...] is very clear and concise about the fact that all parties,
all law enforcement agreed on the decision to not press
charges. This was not like a close call. They did their investigation
as they're supposed to. And the decision was made with all parties in agreement."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse,
you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.