Actress Angelina Jolie has filed for a divorce from actor Brad Pitt, her husband of two years and romantic partner since 2005, her attorney said on Tuesday, signaling the end of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous and powerful couples.
“This decision was made for the health of the family. She will not be commenting, and asks that the family be given its privacy at this time,” attorney Robert Offer said in a statement.
The Oscar-winning actress filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, citing irreconcilable differences, court documents showed. Jolie sought full physical custody of their six children ages 8 to 15 with visitation rights for Pitt but did not seek spousal support. Jolie cited their separation date as Sept. 15.
“I am very saddened by this but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids,” Pitt told People magazine. “I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
Jolie and Pitt, known collectively as “Brangelina,” were one of the entertainment world’s most visible couples, due to their good looks, successful films and activism. They married in 2014 after a decade together.
Their relationship was steady fodder for tabloids with reports focusing on what role Jolie played in the breakup of Pitt’s marriage to actress Jennifer Aniston and, more recently, possible trouble in the marriage.
Jolie, 41, who won a best-supporting actress Oscar for “Girl, Interrupted” in 2000, was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.
Pitt, 52, was married to Aniston in 2003 when he and Jolie filmed “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” the story of assassins unknowingly assigned to kill each other. There were reports of an affair, but Jolie told Vogue they were only “very, very good friends” until Pitt and Aniston split in 2005.
Jolie has been estranged from her father, actor Jon Voight, but he told “Inside Edition” he was concerned about the divorce filing. “It’s very sad,” he said. “Something very serious must have happened for Angelina to make a decision like this.”
Peter Walzer, a California attorney who represented actress Katie Holmes in her divorce from superstar Tom Cruise, said in a phone interview it was unusual Jolie sought sole physical custody of the children and it was equivalent to saying Pitt was not competent to be a parent. “It’s an insult,” Walzer said.
Their children include sons adopted from Cambodia and Vietnam and a daughter adopted from Ethiopia, as well as three biological children. (Reuters)