Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s breakup: The shocking truth that no one knew when Brad and Jen made their shocking announcement 20 years ago and Pitt’s romance with Angelina Jolie began
Exactly 20 years ago this month, we received news that none of us expected – Hollywood news The golden couple, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitthas split.
After seven years together and five years of marriage, two of the biggest names in the industry are just “friends,” according to tabloids.
News of their breakup seemed to come out of nowhere, making it even sadder for fans.
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“For those who follow this kind of thing, we would like to make it clear that our separation is not the result of any of the speculation spread by the popular media,” the joint statement from the actors read.
“This decision is the result of a lot of thoughtful consideration.”
While many were hoping for the couple, Aniston made it official, filing for divorce two months after their announcement.
What we didn’t know at the time was that something else was brewing beneath the surface, something we weren’t privy to until a few months later.
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Domestic bliss: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at home.
The 60-page photo went viral W MagazinePitt and photographer Steven Klein capture the life cycle of marriage.
It started with a happy family of five enjoying time at their home in Palm Springs until the marriage slowly fell apart in some very sensual photos.
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20 years later: The celebrity moments that defined 2005
For those who know how the story ends, the depiction was almost prophetic.
It of course sparked massive controversy in the form of a very early 2000s media narrative of “Team Jolie vs. Team Aniston” — complete with T-shirts you could buy to pledge allegiance.
But what surprised fans even more was that Jolie and Pitt categorically denied being together at that time.
The scandal became so big that Aniston herself intervened, saying that a “chip of sensitivity” was missing regarding the magazine’s spread.
“I can’t say it was one of the highlights of my year.” friends the star admitted in an interview later in 2005.
“Who would approach that and say, ‘Isn’t that beautiful! Sounds like fun!”? But…she jokes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“I’d rather everyone move on. I’m not defined by this relationship.”
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“Brangelina”, as she later became known, confirmed their romantic relationship months after filming, and insisted that there was no overlap with Pitt and Aniston’s divorce.
They maintained this stance for years — though fans continued to have doubts — until Jolie screwed up.
In a 2008 interview with New York TimesShe said she looks forward to the day when her children are old enough to watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith Because “not many people get to watch a movie in which their parents fell in love.”
This little detail caused a tidal wave effect through the Hollywood gossip mill, as it was widely known that at the time of filming, Pitt was still very much married to Aniston.
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And Pitt dug the hole he and Jolie had been digging even deeper a few months later, confirming what we all suspected. Rolling Stone.
After being asked why the action movie was his favorite, he simply said: “Because you know… six kids. Because I fell in love.”
The couple had six children together – three adopted and three biological. Jolie adopted Maddox and Zahara in 2002 and 2005 respectively, with Pitt finalizing the adoption procedures and later adopting them as his own children.
In 2006, they welcomed their biological daughter Shiloh – the first photos of her sold in the millions in a world first – and in 2007, they adopted three-year-old Pax from Vietnam.
Finally, the couple welcomed their last children, twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline in 2008.
The couple continued their engagement in 2012 and tied the knot in 2014 in a private ceremony at the chapel of Chateau Miraval, the family estate in Correns, a French village, and the location of the couple’s wine business.
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But just two years later, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt.
Jolie’s lawyer said: “Angelina Jolie-Pitt filed for annulment of the marriage. This decision was made for the health of the family.” the people at that time.
He added: “She will not comment at this time, and asks that the family be given privacy during this difficult time.”
Pete also said the people In a statement, “I am very saddened by this, but what matters now is the well-being of our children. I ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this difficult time.”
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Although no one knew what caused the split at the time, events that occurred in the following years clued us in to the problems in their marriage.
The former couple has fought a number of legal battles, including child custody, division of financial assets — including Jolie’s sale of her stake in their wine business — and even an FBI case over an incident that occurred on a private plane in 2016. Just days before Jolie filed for divorce.
Finally, on December 30, 2024, the former couple officially announced their divorce.
“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. Since that time, she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” Jolie’s lawyer, James Simon, said in a statement.
“Honestly, Angelina is exhausted, but she’s relieved that this part is over.”
Meanwhile, Aniston began a relationship with actor, director and screenwriter Justin Theroux in 2011, married him in 2015 and separated from him in 2017.
Despite their complicated ending, Aniston and Pitt made their way to being friends again, just as the tabloids said they would nearly two decades ago.
In 2019, he was spotted attending her 50th birthday party, and the following year, they were snapped in a hilarious confrontation at the SAG Awards that had Team Jennifer fans ecstatic.
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Later that year, the pair shared the screen for the first time in decades for a virtual table read Fast times at Ridgemont High School To raise money for Sean Penn’s non-profit CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) and the REFORM coalition.
Although the readout covered a steamy scene between the two characters they played, Aniston maintained that she and Pitt were just friends.
“Brad and I are friends, we’re friends,” she said on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show, “and we talk and there’s no weirdness at all, except probably everyone who watched it wanted to be there, or assumed he would be there.”
Pitt, now 61, has been in a relationship with a 30-something Swiss jewelry professional named Ines de Ramon for the past two years, and the pair only recently made their first public appearance.
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