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Angelina Jolie is hinting at the "painful events" that led up to her divorce from Brad Pitt.
Jolie shared insight into her rocky marriage to Pitt while writing a personal declaration submitted to a California court on Thursday (October 9) amid the former couple's ongoing legal battle over their French winery home Château Miraval. Pitt has requested the court order his ex to share private messages, claiming that she allegedly "acted with malice" when she sold her shares of the property to a third party without permission in 2021, which she denies.
According to legal documents obtained by E! News, neither she nor their children have been to the estate since she filed for divorce in 2016. The Mr. & Mrs. Smith costars share six kids: Maddox, 24, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and twins Max and Vivienne, 17.
"The events leading to my need to separate from my ex-husband were emotionally difficult for me and our children," she said. "Upon filing for divorce, I left him control (and full residency) of our family homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval, without compensation, which I hoped would make him calmer in his dealing with me after a difficult and traumatic period."
Jolie has previously alleged that Pitt verbally and physically assault her and one of their kids on a flight, but he has denied the claims. She stated in the court docs that she and her kids "have never again set foot on the property, given its connection to the painful events leading to the divorce," despite the "deep emotional ties" she has to the property.
"Miraval was one of the first major investments we made together, and it was a focal point of our family life. We were married there, I spent part of my pregnancy there and I brought our twin children home there from the hospital," she said, adding, "To have such a sudden break from my home and memories has been hard and it was especially difficult for the children to have their lives so disrupted."
Jolie and Pitt reached a settlement on their years-long divorce battle in December 2024. He has made candid remarks about past mistakes and attending AA meetings following the split, while she has opened up about her "greatest gift" after the "dark" divorce.