So Sad! - How Angelina Jolie Told Brad Pitt She Wanted a Divorce
After 12 years and six kids together, Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt just after their two-year wedding anniversary. Subscribe nowfor the real story behind the split, only in PEOPLE.Angelina Jolie broke the news to Brad Pitt that she wanted to end their two-year marriage and 12-year romance just days before filing for divorce. “She sat down, talked to Brad and offered to file [for divorce] together,” a source close to the actress tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “She said, ‘This is what I’d like to do.’ She explained everything. Angelina did what she felt she needed to do.” Though Pitt, 52, was aware that their marriage was in trouble, he was still “wrecked” when Jolie told him of her plans two days before she filed divorce papers, marking irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split, says a source in his circle
“He was appealing to her to do this quietly – not to save the marriage but to consider the well-being of the children – and it was ignored,” contends the Pitt source. “He is just wrecked by this.” On Thursday, PEOPLE confirmed that Pitt is under investigation for child abuse by the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services following a September 14 incident on a private plane in which he allegedly got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with one of the couple’s kids in front of Jolie and at least some of their other children. In her divorce filing, Jolie listed the couple’s date of separation as the following day, September 15.
Pitt, who had been in counseling “to try to figure out how to make things better” for their six kids “begged [Jolie] to press pause” and slow down the proceedings, says the Pitt source – not so that they could reconcile, but so they could move forward in a way that would both protect and prepare the kids for the massive upheaval that was to come.FLASHBACK: Brad and Angelina at the 2012 Golden Globes
Pitt, who had been in counseling “to try to figure out how to make things better” for their six kids “begged [Jolie] to press pause” and slow down the proceedings, says the Pitt source – not so that they could reconcile, but so they could move forward in a way that would both protect and prepare the kids for the massive upheaval that was to come.FLASHBACK: Brad and Angelina at the 2012 Golden Globes
“He was willing to do anything, change any habit, change any lifestyle, to do what had to be done to make this work,” adds the source. “And by 'make this work,’ that means doing what has to be done to make even a split one that is amicable and in the best interests of the children.” The former couple disagree about custody plans. Jolie, 41, asked for physical custody of the couple’s kids and is requesting that Pitt be granted visitation rights, while Pitt wants shared custody, sources have said.
It’s been two days since the Brangelina divorce bomb was dropped, and what’s left in its wake is nothing short of confusing. Did Angelina Joliereally file for divorce from Brad Pitt because of a child abuse incident?
People reported on Thursday that Pitt, 52, allegedly got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with one of the couple’s children on a private plane last Wednesday. (Jolie, 41, and Pitt have six kids: Maddox, 15; Pax, 12; Zahara, 11; Shiloh; 10; and 8-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.) TMZ also said Pitt was so wasted and “out of control” on the tarmac he even tried to take off in a fuel truck.
However, the Los Angeles Police Department has said Pitt is not being investigated for abuse, and the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services will not comment. People reports the FBI is involved in the situation, and sources told CNN that Pitt has been cooperating fully. The FBI office in L.A. released the following statement on Thursday night: “In response to your inquiry regarding allegations within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; specifically, an aircraft carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI is continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued.”
Meanwhile, a Pitt source also told E! News that Brad “did not commit any abuse of his children.”
With so many reports flying around, it’s hard to keep everything straight. Here’s what we know about all of the latest developments:
The “incident”: Sources told Yahoo Celebrity on Wednesday that “an incident” occurred prompting Jolie to file for divorce, but wouldn’t elaborate further. “Although they had been having issues for a while, something serious happened that was the last straw,” an insider close to the family said. “Yes, they had been having problems, but it wasn’t a spontaneous decision on [Angie’s] part.” Today, the same source confirms the “incident” was what happened on the couple’s private plane, although exact details won’t be divulged … for now, that is.
Another insider told People that Pitt “was drunk, and there was an argument between him and Angelina,” noting that one of the couple’s older children “then got caught in the middle, literally. He stepped in front of Brad. There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have.”
The source insisted Pitt did not hurt his son. “He is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed. He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is emphatic about that. He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was nose to nose and was spiraling out of control.”
Any accusations beyond that are “a combination of exaggerations and lies,” the insider added, seemingly blaming sources in Jolie’s camp. “They have taken the overall smallest kernel of truth — that a fight in which Brad was somewhat inebriated got out of hand and reached a regrettable peak, and that as a result DCFS is looking into it — and they are manipulating it to best suit their attempts to gain custody.”
Substance abuse?: When TMZ broke the news of the Brangelina divorce, sources alleged that substance abuse and anger issues played a role in Jolie’s decision to leave Pitt. It was also reported that Pitt was “inebriated” during Wednesday’s plane “incident.”
“Over the past two years, his drinking seems to have increased,” another source — who is not Team Brad or Team Angie — told Yahoo Celebrity. “However, I never saw him do anything to endanger the children. It was more off-set, when he wasn’t with his family kind of drinking.”
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