In an interview with The New York Times, Brad Pitt opens up about his alcoholism, what role it played in his divorce from Angelina Jolie and his new commitment to sobriety.
Getty Images | Jean Baptiste Lacroix
Brad Pitt Opens Up About Attending Alcoholics Anonymous After Split From Angelina Jolie
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were — and still are one of the most famous couples of all time. They were an iconic duo for the ages.
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Their 12-year relationship will forever be a staple in pop-culture.
They met on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2004, where they "fell in love".
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At the time, this was seen as controversial because Brad was still married to Jennifer Aniston. But by early 2005, Brad and Jennifer announced their split.
Jennifer Aniston officially cited that "irreconcilable differences" were the reason for their divorce.
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"Irreconcilable differences" AKA, Brad was in love with Angelina Jolie.
Irreconcilable indeed.
Before we could even process that Brad and Jen were no longer a couple, he was flying to Ethiopia with Angelina, adopting a six-month-old baby.
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Three months after Brad's divorce from Jennifer was finalized, he and Angelina were expecting their first biological child as well.
Fast forward to 2014, four more children later, Brad and Angelina finally tied the knot.
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The pair seemed to be unstoppable.
But there was, apparently, a lot more going on behind the scenes than we were aware of.
In August, 2016, Angelina filed for divorce from Brad due to, again, "irreconcilable differences".
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She also requested primary custody over their six children.
"This decision was made for the health of the family. She will not be commenting, and asks that the family be given its privacy at this time," Angelina's said in an official statement.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Brad finally reveals just what those "irreconcilable differences" were, and then some.
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In early 2017, Brad was set to star in the film Ad Astra — around the same time his split from Angelina was materializing.
“I had family stuff going on,” he said. “We’ll leave it at that.”
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The interviewer pried, asking Brad what that period of his life was like — juggling his personal issues and his new movie role.
“The fact is, we all carry pain, grief and loss,” he said.
YouTube | ET Canada
“We spend most of our time hiding it, but it’s there, it’s in you. So you open up those boxes.”
He explained the moment he and Angelina's relationship came to an impasse was in September 2016, when they fought about Brad's drinking, aboard a private plane.
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And since then, he has removed alcohol from his life entirely.
“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” he revealed.
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He spent a year and a half in Alcoholics Anonymous after Angelina filed for divorce.
He explained that his recovery group was made up entirely of men, and he was impressed by their ability to allow themselves to be in such a vulnerable position.
YouTube | ET Canada
“You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard,” he said.
“It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.”
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None of the men in the AA group sold Brad's story to the tabloids, and that sort of integrity made him comfortable enough to really open up.
“It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself,” he said. “There’s great value in that.”
YouTube | Moviefone
Nowadays, as Brad is almost four years sober, he's beginning to dabble in activities outside of acting.
He revealed that he will be gradually stepping away from the big screen to focus on his other, new-found passions that include sculpting and landscaping.
“It’ll be fewer and farther in between for me, just because I have other things I want to do now,” he said.
“When you feel like you’ve finally got your arms around something, then it’s time to go get your arms around something else.”
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