From “Domestic Bliss” to divorce: An inside look at Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s protracted, multi-year legal battle

TFD – The Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie divorce saga continues to unravel with new twists and turns. Discover the latest updates and what it means for this once-iconic Hollywood couple.

The family looked like they belonged in a magazine story that was picture-perfect.

In the now-famous 60-page photo spread “Domestic Bliss” from the July 2005 issue of W Magazine, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sat in their sunlit glory, playing with their pretend children in their pretend backyard.

The fashion magazine’s imaginary family scenes, which were published over 19 years ago, predicted what would eventually happen to the “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” co-stars: Together, they had six children and enjoyed a wonderful partnership that saw them overcome both personal and professional adversity in seemingly equal measure.

Pitt and Jolie, who were once considered the most gorgeous power couple in Hollywood, have been embroiled in a complex web of court actions since 2016. The pair known as Brangelina has not yet finalized their divorce, and there is still a difficult division in the family.

From other news source was informed that Pitt “loves his family” and “wants what’s best” for them. And thus, despite the fact that it’s obviously very upsetting, he has stayed silent on discussing anything about his kids,” the person claimed.

Many factors have contributed to the length of their ongoing divorce, such as a difficult custody trial, the fallout from an incident on an aircraft in 2016, and a convoluted legal battle surrounding Jolie’s sale of her share in Château Miraval, the French winery that the couple once co-owned and the land on which they were married in 2014.

All Jolie has ever wanted, a source close to Jolie told, “is peace for her family and she hopes [Pitt] will eventually want that too.”

Their glamorous Hollywood romance may have been well-documented, but their breakup has amounted to nothing less than an unfinished court drama. Here is a recap of their court battle thus far:

The 2016 aircraft mishap

On a private plane in September 2016, there is believed to have been what may be called Brangelina’s final moments.

The incident’s circumstances came to light in August 2022 when a heavily redacted FBI report—which was given to CNN at the time by an unidentified source—showed that Jolie had accused Pitt of physically abusing her and verbally abusing their children while they were on the private jet, which was flying them from France to the US.

According to an FBI statement at the time, Pitt became the focus of an investigation into the incident but was never taken into custody or charged.

According to the FBI report, Jolie claimed that Pitt had “grabbed her by her head,” “grabbed her by the shoulders,” shook her, pushed her into the plane’s bathroom wall, and was screaming obscenities at her. It also claimed that Pitt had lunged toward one of their children, injuring Jolie when she attempted to intervene.

Jolie claimed in an October 2022 countersuit that Pitt “choked one of the children and struck another in the face” during the event, which is related to a lawsuit regarding their winery (more on that later). “Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do,” a spokeswoman for Pitt responded to CNN at the time in a statement.

Jolie stated that Pitt’s “history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip” in a separate court document from the winery lawsuit in April. The document provided no additional information regarding the alleged past mistreatment.

In that petition, Jolie stated that she felt “it was best for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused” and decided not to file charges against Pitt in connection with the plane incident.

Jolie initiates divorce proceedings.

Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016, alleging irreconcilable differences, a few days after the incident on the private flight. In the petition, Jolie requested that the court give her sole physical custody of the couple’s minor children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and the twins, Knox and Vivienne, who were 8 to 15 years old at the time. Pitt would continue to have joint legal custody of the children.

Jolie stated that she “separated” from Pitt in 2020 in an interview with Vogue India in order to ensure the “wellbeing” of her family.

“That choice was the right one. I’ll keep my attention on getting them well,” she remarked. “These six young people are incredibly strong and courageous.”

custody conflict

During the course of their continuing divorce proceedings, four of Jolie and Pitt’s six children have reached eighteen. As of right now, their custody arrangement solely concerns their twins, Vivienne and Knox, who are now fifteen.

Jolie was given physical custody of the kids under their original custody agreement, according to a 2016 court ruling that CNN was able to access at the time. According to the ruling, Pitt was required to submit to random drug and alcohol testing and would receive “agreed upon therapeutic visitation” with the minor children.

In a 2017 interview with GQ, Pitt declared he would no longer be “boozing,” stating that it had simply grown into an issue. And I’m overjoyed that, despite the bittersweet nature of the past six months, I can now experience my emotions again.

Jolie was to have primary physical custody of the children while Pitt would have unlimited phone access, according to a 2018 court ruling that CNN was able to obtain. Jolie was also mandated by the order to inform their kids that their father is their “safe” dad and that it’s “critical” for them to have a positive relationship with both of their parents.

In May 2021, Pitt was granted temporary joint custody of the children after a privately arbitrated custody trial, two people with knowledge of the issue told CNN at the time. Claiming a conflict of interest between herself and Pitt’s legal team, Jolie filed an appeal against the custody decision made by the judge supervising the custody trial. A California appeals court dismissed the judge after Jolie successfully argued her case.

Jolie continues to have primary custody, and in recent months, there has been a noticeable gulf between Pitt and their kids. According to reports, in the playbill for “The Outsiders,” the Tony-winning musical that she co-produced with Jolie, Vivienne listed her name as “Vivienne Jolie.” Additionally, Shiloh, 18, submitted a petition last month to formally remove Pitt from her last name.

“He’s found it extremely difficult,” the person close to Pitt stated. “This is a very difficult time.”

Their legal single status is achieved.

In 2019, Pitt and Jolie were officially deemed unmarried due to a “bifurcated judgment,” even though their divorce processes are still pending.

Jolie formally stricken “Pitt” from her last name as part of the petition.

Being unrelated to either of Pitt or Jolie’s legal affairs, New York family and matrimonial lawyer Sophie Jacobi-Parisi told CNN that a bifurcated divorce is “unique” to California divorces in that it permits former couples to “break the bonds of matrimony” while other issues—financial or otherwise—remain unresolved. However, she continued, there are situations where it can be detrimental to the procedures since it might take away the “incentive to keep people rational,” which would lead the divorce to take longer to be finalized.

According to Jacobi-Parisi, the divorce proceedings are moving slowly, even after the split judgment.

“They both have the money to fight, and it’s all of these unique little situational aspects of this that have completely exacerbated a super high-conflict divorce from the very beginning,” the speaker stated.

The case against Château Miraval winery

The conflict over Pitt and Jolie’s southern French rural residence, Château Miraval, has dominated much of their judicial drama. Numerous details regarding their breakup and ongoing problems have also been made public through the lawsuits and papers related to this case.

Pitt sued Jolie and her previous business, Nouvel LLC, in February 2022, alleging that she had sold her share of Miraval, which the couple had purchased in 2008, in a “illegal” manner. This marked the beginning of their legal battle over the property.

According to Pitt’s lawsuit, Jolie and he had a deal when they bought the vineyard that said neither would sell without the other’s approval. In a following 2023 court file, Pitt’s attorneys described Jolie’s sale as “vindictive” in response to a “adverse custody ruling.

In September 2022, Nouvel LLC filed a countersuit, accusing Pitt of “waging a vindictive war against” Jolie, but it was never agreed upon. According to the countersuit, Jolie tried to sell Pitt her portion of the vineyard, but the agreement’s clause “designed to prohibit Jolie from publicly speaking about the events that had led to the breakdown of their marriage” caused the transaction to collapse.

In October 2021, Jolie sold Nouvel LLC and the winery to Tenute del Mondo, a Stoli Group subsidiary under the ownership of Russian businessman Yuri Shefler.

In an email sent to Pitt in January 2021, Jolie informed him of her plan to sell her ownership stake in the winery, citing her desire to leave a company “based on alcohol, when alcoholic behavior harmed our family so deeply.” The email was one of the exhibits that Jolie’s lawyers provided to the court in October 2022.

The domestic lives of the ex-couple might soon come to light in greater detail.

According to a court document obtained by CNN, Pitt filed a motion in April asking Jolie to provide years’ worth of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). As per the decision acquired by CNN, the court granted Pitt’s plea in May and imposed a deadline on Jolie to deliver the NDAs by mid-July.

According to Jacobi-Parisi, who stressed that the Miraval case and the divorce are technically separate court procedures, these NDAs have been central to the Miraval case, which has felt like “an extension of their divorce.”

“The NDAs can then bring up and dredge up all of the information that was probably sealed in their divorce,” Jacobi-Parisi continued.

That being said, there might still be more until Jolie and Pitt can finally end this chapter and find happiness—whether it be domestic or elsewhere.