How Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce became most toxic Hollywood split EVER with shock new twist after 10 years
ONCE the golden couple of Hollywood, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s multi- million-pound divorce battle rumbled on longer than they were man and wife.
And ten years since proceedings first started, the bitterness between those involved shows no sign of slowing down.
Brad, 62, watched in horror this week as the final steps were taken to remove any trace of him from the once-glorified “Brangelina” clan.
In a brutal move, his children Maddox, 24, and Zahara, 21, have both filed court papers to officially change their surname from Jolie-Pitt to just Jolie.
Siblings Shiloh, 20, and Vivienne, 18, have already turned their backs on the Pitt name, while Knox, 18, has also dropped it from informal documents and is estranged from Brad.
This leaves only Pax, 23, still using the Pitt surname.
Insiders say that Brad has been left privately “devastated” by the decision.
A source said: “One by one, his children, who he was once so close to, have removed their connection to him.
“He really wonders if he’ll ever rebuild bridges with his shattered brood now.”
It is the latest twist in the family saga, following on from allegations of physical abuse, financial coercion and severe family PTSD as well as a Father’s Day Instagram post from Pax calling Brad a “world-class a**hole”.
It all helps cement Brad and Angelina’s divorce as perhaps the most toxic the entertainment world has ever seen.
In September, it will have been a decade since Maleficent star Angelina, 51, first filed for divorce from movie heart-throb Brad.
Their relationship started not long after they met on the set of 2005 film Mr & Mrs Smith, when Brad was still married to Jennifer Aniston.
They wed in 2014 but, less than two years later, in September 2016, they split in explosive fashion.The former couple had previously adopted Maddox, Zahara and Pax before having Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox.
But Brad, who was once inseparable from all six kids, has now been well and truly frozen out.
Legal notices published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal yesterday reveal that both Maddox and Zahara have filed petitions to change their surnames.
If approved, the changes will become official in court, with Maddox’s hearing set for September 14 and Zahara’s two weeks later.
Zahara has publicly gone by Zahara Jolie since starting university.
Shiloh legally dropped “Pitt” after turning 18 in 2024, while Vivienne was credited simply as “Vivienne Jolie” as a production assistant for the Broadway show The Outsiders.
Pax is the only one still using the Pitt surname, but he has an incredibly difficult relationship with his dad, who he once claimed made his younger siblings “tremble in fear”.
Brad’s relationship with his children seemed to change for ever after an ill-fated flight in 2016, which also marked the end of the high-profile showbiz marriage.
The couple are said to have tried to keep their blistering rows from the children, but that became impossible in the confines of a private jet.
In a report filed by the FBI about the incident, Angelina claimed Brad yelled at her before pulling her into the toilet, where he pushed her against the wall and punched the ceiling repeatedly.
It is also alleged that when one of their kids tried to protect their mum, Brad “choked one of the children and struck another in the face”.
It has long been rumoured that it was Maddox who was assaulted.
The report said Brad then poured beer on his family as they tried to sleep.
The incident led to an investigation by children’s services, with Angelina being awarded temporary full custody and Brad only allowed supervised visits. He was later fully cleared.
Just days later, Angelina filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
Pax’s private Instagram post on Father’s Day 2020 suggests the kids experienced problems before and after the plane incident.
He wrote: “You time and time again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person.
“You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children, who tremble in fear when in your presence.
“You will never understand the damage you have done to my family because you’re incapable of doing so.”
Brad later confirmed that his boozing had become a problem, revealing he had visited Alcoholics Anonymous groups.
He said: “I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges.
“You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard.
“It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself. It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself.
“There’s great value in that.”
The confession did nothing to quell the animosity between the parties, though.
And while the divorce might have been finalised in 2024 — after eight agonising years — another legal fight is still rumbling on.
The former lovers are locked in an acrimonious $350million court battle, known as the War Of The Rosés, over Angelina’s decision to secretly sell her stake in their Chateau Miraval vineyard and home for $64million to Russian booze tycoon Yuri Shefler in 2021.
Brad then sued her in a bid to void the sale.
The couple bought the 1,300-acre Miraval estate in Provence, southern France, in 2008 and married there in 2014.
Angelina claims she originally wanted to sell her stake to Brad, but he demanded she sign an $8.5million non-disclosure agreement as part of the deal.
Her legal team argued it was a coercive tactic to prevent her talking about his alleged abuse.
A trial has been scheduled for February 1 next year.
Insiders have claimed that Brad’s partner of four years, Ines de Ramon, 33, has tried to persuade him to end the hostilities.
A source said: “Ines wants to have a life together — with possibly children in the future — without the albatross that is the eight-year War Of The Rosés.”
While Angelina’s attorneys have filed explosive allegations in court, she has kept a mostly dignified silence.
In 2020, the actress turned human rights advocate addressed the ugly split in a rare interview with Vogue.
She said: “I separated for the wellbeing of my family. It was the right decision.
“I continue to focus on their healing.”
During another interview, when asked if she worried about the safety of her children, she said: “Yes, for my family. My whole family.”
And during the Press tour for her 2021 Marvel film Eternals, in which she played Thena, a warrior battling memory loss and a fantasy-world version of PTSD, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with the condition.
She said: “I had talked to the director about experiencing PTSD myself a few years ago and my own fears about not being strong enough to protect those that I love.”
And while Brad might have moved on, Angelina, who was widely once considered one of the world’s most beautiful women, remains single.
Last month, she said: “To be candid, I haven’t dated since I divorced a decade ago.
“So I kind of get in my head that that aspect of me is not centered in my life if I’m focusing on my children, my family.”
It is true that all six children have certainly been caught up in the crossfire of their parents’ decade-long war, with the sorry saga serving as a cautionary tale to other Hollywood couples on the cusp of divorce.
Now, as the February 2027 trial over the battle for the French vineyard looms, peace still seems a long way off.
And while Brad might still be fighting over his financial future, his legacy with his family appears to be long gone.
