'Impossible to write this without crying': Angelina Jolie's heartbreaking email to Brad Pitt goes viral
An emotional email Angelina Jolie sent her to ex-husband Brad Pitt amid their divorce battle has publicly resurfaced, in which the actress expressed her desire to part with her ownership of their Chateau Miraval Winery.
The email was shared by a TikTok user with the handle @magshrts1, who posted slides showing the contents of the message the Oscar-winning actress penned in January 2021 and was included in court documents. The 'Eternals' star said she wrote the email so she wouldn't "get emotional" in explaining the reasons behind her decision to sell her share of the winery.
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"It is the place we brought the twins home to, and where we were married over a plaque in my mother’s memory," Jolie began in the email, found in court documents reviewed by Entertainment Tonight. "A place that held the promise of what could be and where I thought I would grow old. Even now impossible to write this without crying. I will treasure my memories of what it was a decade ago."
The actress said the winery was "also the place that marks the beginning of the end of our family - and a business that is centered around alcohol." The Los Angeles native said she hoped the business would somehow "become something that held us together" but she realized Pitt "really wanted out and will most likely be pleased to receive this email."
Angelina Jolie added in her counterclaim lawsuit an emotional email she'd sent to Brad Pitt on January 2021 as proof that he already had known of her intentions to leave her Ownership & Partnership they both equally shared of Miraval#AngelinaJolie #BradPitt #BradPittIsAnAbuser pic.twitter.com/UYyDp8F6yC
— ¥Judy¥ (@judyju18) October 13, 2022
The 'Maleficent' star said she had witnessed "lots of inconsiderate behavior" in the prior four years and felt excluded from the business end of the winery after money was "spent in ways that [she] would not have approved, and decisions made that [she] was not consulted on."
She added that she had been "hurt by decisions that have been made that show no interest in sharing the business or changing it fundamentally into something that would be healthier for our children."
Jolie criticized the advertising of the winery and said she "was shaken by the recent imagery that was released to sell the alcohol." She continued, "I find it irresponsible and not something that I would want the children to see. It reminded me of painful times."
The embattled mother said she could no longer "be involved, publicly or privately, in a business based on alcohol, when alcoholic behavior harmed our family so deeply" and that the "business is therefore past the point of anything that [she] could be part of, morally and for the good of our family."
The 47-year-old actress said she saw "two ways forward" -- one would be an "outright sale" that she would support so she could "move away from this hard and painful chapter in our lives." She explained, "The alternative is a complete buyout of my share in the property and business by you, the Perrin family, or your associates. Either way, I believe we need to move forward in order to heal and focus on where our family comes together, and where we have positive associations. And to do so quickly."
Jolie also referenced a 2016 incident on a private jet in which she previously alleged Pitt "lunged at his own child," "choked one of the children and struck another in the face," as well as "poured beer" on her. "I cannot begin to express how upsetting it is for me to have to reach this point," she said.
"Your dream for your relationship with the business and the alcohol is your own and you’ve made it painfully clear. I wish you all the best with the business and sincerely hope that the children feel differently about Miraval when they are older, and visit you there. But Miraval for me died September 2016, and everything I have seen in the years since has sadly confirmed that."
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Pitt sued Jolie in February after she sold her share of the winery to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler and his Stoli Group subsidiary, Tenute del Mondo. The actor alleged that while his ex-wife pledged 40 percent of the $28.4 million they invested in the winery, she hadn't contributed to the project.
The 58-year-old actor said the sale also violated a "mutual understanding" in their 2019 divorce pact in which they agreed not to sell their interest in the venue without the approval of the other. In September, however, Jolie's former company Nouvel sued Pitt for $250 million, alleging he "masterminded a so-far-successful plan" to control the winery.
Jolie and Pitt are parents to Maddox, 21, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16 and twins Vivienne and Knox, 14. They tied the knot in 2014 and split in 2016, and have since been embroiled in court battles on multiple issues over the years.