Brad Pitt has been the main topic of every conversation for decades
due to his acting accomplishments and his arguably messy personal life. And as the
custody battle continues, he has strived to prove to his kids that he is a good father.
While there is a higher standard of childcare for celebrity parents,
there is no golden rule with regard to parenting. In today’s video, we’re exploring
Brad Pitt’s way of fatherhood, including what allegedly led to him losing his kids.
After almost ten years together, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ё tied the knot
but went their separate ways just two years later.
While Jolie revealed she initiated the split for the “health of the family,”
it was rumoured that her reasons were partially due to Pitt dealing with a drinking problem.
“I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids,” he said at the
time. “I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
The divorce hit him with the reality of not having been a great father to his kids.
He became aware of the damage his drinking had caused. He wanted to prove to both his kids
and his ex-wife that he could be a better person. His self-improvement efforts finally paid off
in 2018, when Angelina agreed to allow him more time with the kids.
Moreover, a year later, the situation got even better for Brad when Angie reached out
to him to see if he would be interested in looking after the kids during the summer.
Brad was overly excited about it and invited his parents to stay with him to enjoy some much-needed
family time together. During the summer, reportedly, he was teaching them carpentry
and introducing them to his favourite books. Pitt has openly expressed his joy of becoming
a dad. The Ad Astra star views fatherhood as his top priority.
“I feel like the richest man alive since I’ve become a father,” he said back in 2014. According
to the actor, being a father has changed him on so many levels, making him more generous and alive.
In 2008, Brad appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote his film The Curious Case
of Benjamin Button. Still married to Jolie at the time, the actor discussed
the recent birth of his twins and how certain aspects of fatherhood had toughened him up.
“First of all, I’m hard as nails. I’m impervious to poo, snot, urine, vomit… you can’t get me,” he
told Oprah. “In the beginning it was like ‘oh God – how do they vomit that much’… And now,
it’s just like, ‘honey, come here – do you see that? You need to chew your food… You’ve got to
chew your food, or you’ll make yourself sick.’” Despite the typical bodily functions that parents
are subjected to daily, Pitt revealed the profound significance his children brought into his life.
“It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever taken on. I can’t imagine life without it,”
he raved of parenting to the talk show icon. “I can’t help but do a film thinking my kids will
see that someday and that may mean something to them. So, it puts an extra importance and
yet takes off the importance at the same time.” The Academy Award winner also acknowledged the
overwhelming sense of protection he has over his children.
“I worry about them all the time,” Pitt said of his six kids. “That’s the emotional bond
and responsibility that sweeps over you when you have a family to look after. You see past
yourself and become more generous and giving, and wanting only the best for your family.”
Parenting is a difficult task, and sometimes, parents make mistakes, often damaging their
relationship with kids. Brad Pitt’s relationship with his eldest son, Maddox, has been rough since
his split from Jolie. The 57-year-old admitted he was responsible for their estranged relationship.
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star became a father to Maddox after he started dating Jolie.
The actor said Maddox played a significant role in their union.
Referring to Maddox’s and Brad’s meeting, she said, “It had never crossed my mind that Mad
was going to need a father — certainly not that it would be this man I just met. Until, of course, I
got to know Brad and realized that he is naturally just a wonderful father. And we left a lot of it
up to Mad, and he took his time and then made the decision one day,” according to Vogue. She added,
“He just out of the blue called him Dad.” While the couple loved their roles as parents,
they did not share the same parenting style. “I am the disciplinarian with the boys. Girls do
no wrong, so I don’t have to be,” said Brad. Angelina, too, admitted he was the bad cop.
However, Brad’s strict parenting is speculated to be one of the reasons that led to the couple’s
split and his strained relationship with Maddox. Reportedly, in 2016, the actor was under
investigation after an incident that occurred while the family was travelling together.
The couple got into an argument, and Maddox tried to defend his mother. Though sources stated that
the actor did not physically harm him, the event was followed by the couple’s bitter divorce.
With the couple’s split, Brad’s relationship with his eldest son took a toll.
In 2011, the actor told People, “Not like I’m a horrible parent, but I’ve certainly
made mistakes and had to make up for it.” When the boy was asked about his relationship
with Brad, he replied, “Whatever happens, happens.” Meanwhile,
Brad told GQ that he had given up drinking and was taking therapy to improve himself.
Their relationship seems to be on the mend, though. “Maddox gave Brad the chance to talk,
and he dropped ­everything. Being a father is the most important thing in Brad’s life,
and he would do anything to repair their relationship,” stated the source.
Reportedly, in 2020, Brad bowed out of an awards ceremony because Maddox needed him.
He demonstrated his deep connection to his son and clearly showed the world
that family comes way before his work does. He prioritizes his family above all else.
Pitt has previously spoken on fatherhood and his own upbringing, noting that he seems to
have taken on many qualities of his dad. In the 2019 film Ad Astra, Pitt played
astronaut Roy McBride, who goes on a daring space mission searching for his missing father.
The father-son themes struck a chord with the actor, where he talked about his own dad,
William, in an interview promoting the movie. “I grew up with that be-capable, be-strong,
don’t-show-weakness thing,” Pitt said, revealing that he now sees a bit of his father in each of
his roles. “In some ways, I’m copying him. He had grown up in extreme hardship and poverty, always
dead set on giving me a better life than he had – and he did it. But he came from that Stoic ilk.”
The actor and dad of six has found a common thread between his own parent-child
relationships and the anguished character he plays onscreen. Reflecting on how his own
upbringing shaped his parenting style, Pitt said his individual experience is somewhat universal,
in the fact that we know our parents, our first imprint on how to behave,
react, feel in the world. And with that, to different degrees, some of us more than others,
carry pain and confusion from that. “I think it almost takes a lifetime to understand what was
yours, and what was theirs,” the actor said. Pitt acknowledged that his father,
who came from tough times but was able to provide a home and stability for his family,
made him think, “as a dad, what do I have to offer that’s better than I had, to my kids?”
It turns out there’s at least one thing he had to figure out on his own. As grateful as he is that
there was such an emphasis on being capable and doing things on your own with humility,
quote, “what’s lacking about that is taking inventory of yourself.”
Pitt continued by saying how important it is to explore the other part of oneself that is
weak and goes through self-doubts, as it is something we all experience. “It’s my
belief that you can’t really know yourself until you identify and accept those things.”
While Pitt hasn’t referred to his father as an alcoholic,
he noted, he grew up with a father-knows-best mentality — the father is all-powerful,
super strong — instead of really knowing the man and his own self-doubt and struggles.
Eventually, he realized that he was running to avoid tough feelings, painful feelings.
“It’s hit me smack in the face with our divorce: I gotta be more. I gotta be more for my children.”
The actor later added, “I want to feel it, I want to get through the rough night. I
found in doing so, you come out the other side with a more profound understanding, of yourself
and a greater gratefulness of those in your life.” And despite all the legal battles Pitt and Jolie
are fighting right now, they stay devoted to being there for their kids. Just a year ago,
Jolie gushed with pride over Brad’s interactions with their children.
In an interview, she credited him for being a “hands on dad” and declared how impressed she
was that he gives their children his undivided attention. She revealed that he has “completely
stepped up” and focuses on parenting his children in the healthiest way possible.
Pitt opened up about his shortcomings as a father and acknowledged that he had problems too.
Moreover, he’s worked diligently on himself to be a healthier, rejuvenated person and parent to his
kids. We hope the former couple will resolve their issues for the sake of their progeny.
That’s all we have for you today, Juicers! Which celebrity parent would you like us to talk about
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And we’ll be right back! Be well and be kind.