Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, and the split is already turning bitter.
Jolie is pushing for sole physical custody of the couple’s six children. Sources claim the 41-year-old actress is “fed up” with Pitt’s weed and booze consumption, which could be “dangerous” for the children when combined with his “anger problem”.
Sources close to Pitt have told TMZ those allegations are “a malicious lie” and Pitt is “a loving and devoted father who has never and would never put his children in any dangerous situation”.
Peter Walzer, the lawyer who represented Katie Holmes in her divorce from Tom Cruise, said Jolie’s push for sole custody was equivalent to saying Pitt was not competent as a parent. “It’s an insult,” he said.
Jolie filed legal documents on Monday, citing irreconcilable differences with Pitt. The couple, who’ve been together for 12 years, officially separated on September 15.
Pitt released a statement hours after news of the shock split broke, begging for privacy.
“I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids,” he said. “I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
The Hollywood heavyweights are parents to Maddox, 14, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
Sources told TMZ Jolie called it quits because she was “extremely upset with Pitt’s [parenting] methods.”
While Jolie, who is being represented by celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, is seeking sole physical custody of their children, she will allow Pitt to have visitation rights. She is not seeking spousal support.
Robert Offer, a lawyer for Jolie, said the Oscar-winning actress filed for the dissolution of the marriage “for the health of the family.”
The Sun reports the power couple have been living separate lives for months following a string of fights over their children.
“Angelina is very unhappy with the marriage and wants out with Brad,” a source close to Pitt said.
“There have been rumours around the status of the relationship for years, but they are now very much in turmoil and it is hard to see a way out.
“There have been a constant string of arguments about their future and their children. They ended up completely disagreeing over how to raise the kids.”
The warring couple made their last official public appearance together in November last year at the premiere of their movie By The Sea. The flick, filmed in Malta, was about an unhappy couple.
