BBC News : Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt citing “irreconcilable differences”, the actress’s lawyer has confirmed.
In a statement, Robert Offer said she filed for “dissolution of marriage” on Monday, stating that the “decision was made for the health of the family”. He added that she will not be commenting and requested privacy for the family.
The couple have been together since 2004 but only married in August 2014.
Ms Jolie’s longtime manager Geyser Kosinski told E! Online: “Angelina will always do what’s in the best interest of taking care of her family.”
According to US entertainment website TMZ, the divorce papers listed the date of separation as 15 September.
Jolie is seeking physical custody of their six children while requesting visitation rights for Pitt. The couple shares six children: adopted children Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as biological children Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne.
Pitt, 52, and Jolie, 41, married privately in the French hamlet of Correns in Provence in 2014.
Their children served as ring bearers at the wedding and helped illustrate Jolie’s white dress with their drawings.
Marriage ‘issues’
In 2013, she announced she had undergone a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer.
She wrote about the experience for the New York Times, saying that she made the choice after her doctor said she was highly at risk of developing breast cancer
“Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could,” she said.
Two years later, she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventative measure against cancer.
Last year, ahead of the release of By The Sea, the romantic drama the couple both star in, Jolie told The Telegraph: “Brad and I have our issues.
“We have fights and problems like any other couple. We have days when we drive each other absolutely mad and want space, but the problems in the movie aren’t our specific problems.”
Lawyer Laura Wasser, whose previous clients include Johnny Depp, Kim Kardashian, Stevie Wonder, and Britney Spears, will reportedly represent Jolie.
Pitt and Jolie: A history
Jolie and Pitt – nicknamed “Brangelina” by fans – are one of the best-known couples in Hollywood.
Jolie, daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, gained fame for her roles in The Bone Collector and Girl, Interrupted, earning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1999. She portrayed Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series and starred in films like Changeling, Salt, A Mighty Heart, Wanted, and Maleficent.
She also directed World War Two prisoner of war film Unbroken.
Pitt’s early acting roles include appearing alongside Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma and Louise.
He starred in films like Fight Club, Ocean’s Eleven, World War Z, Snatch, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Pitt also produced acclaimed movies such as 12 Years a Slave, which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2014, and The Big Short, in which he also acted. Pitt and Jolie collaborated on the 2015 film By The Sea, a relationship drama written, directed, and produced by Jolie.
It focused on a couple trying to repair their marriage while staying at a French hotel.
