When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie first fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith I was skeptical on how long their relationship would last. Pitt had an affair with Jolie, after all, and the statistics of rebound relationships having longevity are very slim. But, as the years passed, the couple seemed to have a strong united front and were dubbed as Hollywood’s “Golden Couple”. Jolie would boast about what an amazing father Pitt was. And Pitt had a sparkle in his eye every time he mentioned Jolie.
So, when I found out that Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt, my heart sank. Not only because I know how difficult the divorce experience can be, especially under the microscope and scrutiny of everyone’s opinions (and you know what they say about opinions, everyone’s got one), but, mostly for the six children that they share together. How will their lives be affected by one of the most high profile divorces in history?
We know that Jolie is asking for sole custody, which says a lot. But, we do not know why she is asking to be the primary caregiver and why she only wants Brad to have visitation. In today’s time it is rare that a court will award one parent sole custody, and these circumstances are limited to situations in which one parent has been deemed unfit or incapable of having any form of responsibility over a child (for example, due to drug addiction or evidence of child abuse). So, of course this is leaving many of their fans wondering what went wrong (including me).
However, we should remember that we don’t know the facts and any speculations out there (i.e. Pitt’s substance abuse and anger issues, or that they have different parenting styles, or that he had an affair) are just that – speculations. And, honestly, people can say what they want, it doesn’t mean that it is true. The truth as to why they are getting divorced is known by the Jolie-Pitts, their lawyers, and their trusted loved ones.
So, for now, what we do know is that Angelina Jolie-Pitt filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. We also know that Brad Pitt put out a statement stating “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids, I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time”.
I am sure that Brad and Angelina had high hopes that their relationship would work and that they would stay together until “death do them part”. But the reality is that even though they are the most famous couple in the world, they are human. And sometimes the choices that one person makes does not always coincide with the other person in the relationship.
So, no matter how difficult this divorce process will be for the Jolie-Pitts, their focus needs to be on their own self betterment so that they can focus on the children. If they make their children their priority, which it sounds like they will, it is possible for this situation to be a win, win, win for everyone.
