Why did Pitt and Jolie's divorce take so long?

Arguably the biggest couple of modern times, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, were married for two years, but it took eight years since announcing their divorce to finally come to an agreement. Why did it take four times as long as the marriage itself?

Part of the answer is that it's a particularly messy divorce, complicated by bitter legal disputes involving their children and a French vineyard they bought together.

Some of that still needs to be resolved in what Jolie's lawyer described as a “long and ongoing process.”

Celebrity lawyer Chris Melcher told the BBC that the divorce settlement took an unusually long time.

“This is much longer than any divorce we normally see,” he said.

“But they fought first over custody and then it was over the winery they owned together, and that's been the focus of their fight over the past few years.”

Melcher explained that many celebrities want to divorce quickly and move on.

“Often in a case of this size we can settle the matter within six months, or a year at most. Eight years is actually a sign that something else is going on.”

“It's the inability to let go and the desire to really hurt the other.”

Kate Daly, co-founder of online divorce company Amicable, told the BBC that such a situation is very different from average divorces.

“It's an industry… (they can afford) a lot of expensive lawyers,” she said. “Most people can't stand it taking eight years. It's an industry and it's a bad example – we have to move (ordinary) people away from that kind of narrative.”

Jolie (49 years old) and Pitt (61 years old) met after meeting on the set of the movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” which was released in 2005.

“Because of the movie, we ended up getting together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this weird friendship and partnership that happened out of the blue,” Jolie told Vogue in 2007.

Both have been married before – Pitt to Friends star Jennifer Aniston, and Jolie to actors Jonny Lee Miller (1996 to 2000) and Billy Bob Thornton (2000 to 2003).

Jolie and Pitt have six children together.

Jolie adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002 just months after his birth. Pitt later adopted him after he and Jolie began their relationship.

In 2005, the couple adopted their daughter Zahra from Ethiopia when she was just a few months old.

The couple's first biological child, Shiloh, was born in Namibia in 2006. Earlier this year, Shiloh reportedly petitioned the court to drop Pete from her name.

Their three-year-old son, Pax, was adopted from Vietnam in 2007, and twins Knox and Vivienne were born in 2008.

The couple last appeared on the red carpet together in November 2015 in the movie they starred in, By the Sea. The film was about an unhappy couple, and was written and directed by Jolie.

The couple rarely discussed their relationship, but when promoting the film, Jolie told The Telegraph“Brad and I have our problems.

“We have fights and problems like any other couple. We have days when we drive each other crazy and want space, but the problems in the film are not our specific problems.”

News that Jolie was filing for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences,” came as a shock to many in September 2016.

It turned out that she filed for divorce the day after an accident occurred on a private plane.

It was initially alleged that Pitt hit his son Maddox, then 15, on the plane from France to Los Angeles. The FBI and social workers examined the allegations, but took no action. Pitt denied any wrongdoing.

Then in 2022 legal papers from the vineyard dispute It was revealed that Jolie accused Pitt By attacking her and her two children while she was drunk during the trip.

At the time, a source close to the actress told the BBC that her claims were false.

Speaking to Vogue in 2020Jolie said she left Pitt for the “well-being” of her family.

“It was the right decision,” she said. “I continue to focus on their recovery.”

In an interview with GQ in 2017Pete spoke about his decision to quit drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, saying the breakup was a “huge generator of change.”

Regarding the divorce, Pitt said that he and Jolie have decided to put aside their “vitriolic hatred” and work together to resolve their issues, adding that they are committed to resolving matters amicably and privately.

It appears that their attempts to reach agreements regarding divorce and custody of their children were difficult and protracted.

In 2019, a judge declared the couple officially single, but the divorce still needed to be finalized.

They reached a custody agreement in 2018, but that appears to be falling apart. In 2021, Pitt was granted joint custody after a court battle, but the private judge who oversaw the case was later removed because he did not disclose his business relationships with Pitt's attorneys.

This raised the possibility of a new custody case, but nothing was announced.

Although the divorce saga may now be coming to an end, there is another legal battle still ongoing, involving the vineyard.

Pitt and Jolie bought Chateau Miraval together in 2008 and married in its chapel in 2014.

But Jolie sold her stake to a liquor factory owned by a wealthy Russian, according to Pitt's lawsuit. He is suing his ex-wife for selling her share of the estate, saying they agreed not to sell their shares without the other's permission. Jolie has not commented publicly.

Few details have been revealed about the divorce proceedings. Private judges in the United States are often appointed to mediate disputes between divorcing celebrities for privacy reasons.

Their children are now between 16 and 23 years old, and entertainment industry journalist Jane Wolfe confirmed the emotional repercussions.

“It was a very emotional and complex divorce settlement. It had a significant impact on the children and the spouses involved,” she said.

“They tried hard not to let too many details be known about what happened in that marriage.”

Jolie's lawyer highlighted the passage of time in his statement on Monday. “This is just one part of a long ongoing process that began eight years ago,” he said.

“Honestly, Angelina is exhausted, but she's relieved that this part is over.”