Angelina Jolie is focusing on living in the moment as she navigates personal challenges and career pursuits. In a rare interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress and filmmaker opened up about her life, including her family and ongoing divorce from Brad Pitt.
Jolie, who has spent much of her life in Los Angeles as the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, explained that her current presence in the city is largely due to her ongoing divorce proceedings. “I’m here because I have to be here from a divorce,” Jolie said. She added that she plans to leave Los Angeles once her two youngest children, 16-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox, reach adulthood. “But as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave,” she noted.
The actress, who is also directing and writing the film “Without Blood”, emphasized her desire to maintain privacy for her large family. Besides Vivienne and Knox, Jolie’s family includes her four older children: Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18. “When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety,” Jolie said. “I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be … that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here.”
Jolie shared that her plans after leaving Los Angeles include spending significant time in Cambodia, where she adopted her son Maddox in 2002. “I’ll spend a lot of time in Cambodia,” she said. Additionally, Jolie mentioned her intention to visit family members around the globe. “I’ll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world,” she added.
Jolie and Pitt, who divorced in September 2016 after two years of marriage, are still working through the final details of their settlement nearly eight years later. Although Jolie did not delve into specifics about the divorce in her *The Hollywood Reporter* interview, a source close to Pitt expressed surprise over the prolonged negotiations. “It’s pretty shocking that they still can’t find a resolution and finalize the divorce,” the source told PEOPLE.
The ongoing legal battle between Jolie and Pitt has been marked by disputes over custody and financial matters, including a separate lawsuit involving the French winery Château Miraval. The source added that a significant factor in their prior discord was their differing parenting styles and approaches to life. “A major reason for their unhappiness before Angelina filed for divorce was their frequent clashes over parenting their kids,” the source explained. “The former couple always had different approaches to life just in general,” given that Pitt did not grow up in Hollywood, while Jolie did.
A second source familiar with the situation expressed hope that the ex-couple could resolve their marital issues while the Château Miraval case continues. “Hopefully they can both get on the same page to at least resolve the matrimonial side of things while the Miraval case plays out,” the source said.
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Jolie’s reflections in the interview highlight her commitment to her family and her plans to seek stability and peace as she moves forward from her past and focuses on her future endeavors. As she continues to balance her personal life with her professional responsibilities, Jolie remains dedicated to providing privacy and safety for her children while planning to explore new chapters in her life and career.