In a move that shocked the public, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have called it quits after 12 years as a couple. They married in August 2014. They’ve been together since 2004. The actress filed for divorce on 19 September, citing “irreconcilable differences“. Here we explore the many possible reasons that could have led to the split of one Hollywood’s most high profile couples:
TMZ broke the story that Angelina filed for divorce because of a conflict involving the kids. Both Angie and Brad are two different people with two different personalities so a disagreement over their parenting style seems like a believable scenario.
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Angelina was also reportedly fed up over Brad’s excessive drinking and marijuana-smoking habits. Brad has spoken about his substance abuse problems before but it looks like he couldn’t kick the bucket when it came to his vices.
Sources also claim that Angie believes Brad has “an anger problem,” which has become “dangerous for the children.” The couple have six kids together; three adopted and three biological. She wants sole physical custody, with Brad getting only visitation.
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Angie alledgedly hired a private detective to uncover Brad’s affair with his Allied co-star Marion Cotillard and his infidelity was the final straw for her. We’ll take this one with a pinch of salt as several publications have come out to disprove it.
Privately the couple was said to be struggling with their marriage even before news of their divorce broke. Both Angie and Brad have very strong personalities and while it’s normal for couples to not see eye-to-eye on everything, we feel that they may have failed to agree on who wears the pants in this relationship.
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The pair got together under unique circumstances (Brad was married to Jennifer Aniston when he met Angie on the set of the film Mr & Mrs Smith) and while the actor has spoken about how he loves how wild and emotional Angie was, her behaviour has reportedly gotten more and more erratic over the past year.
Some media outlets say Angie had had enough of Brad putting other things over and above their family. Brad “refused” to spend the last days of summer vacation with his wife and their six kids. Instead, he went to Croatia with his friends.
Angie and Brad’s divorce comes just over a year after they starred in By The Sea together. The film tracks the story of a couple facing a marital meltdown on screen. Maybe the pair just couldn’t shake off their characters after the cameras stopped rolling? We’ll never know, but the movie is worth another look in retrospect.
Angie and Brad were allegedly looking to expand their family in July, in the hopes of strengthening their bond, but a disagreement over their immediate future may have foiled plans for the couple to adopt a seventh child.
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Another source claims that Brad has gotten too cozy with Angie’s estranged dad, Jon Voight, and she didn’t like that he hung out with her father more than she did. For what it’s worth, Jon is equally as shocked about the split as we are and said “something very serious must have happened” that lead to the pair’s breakup.