Angelina Jolie still has love-hate relationship with Brad Pitt and doesn't want divorce case to end, says source
While Angelina Jolie has been tied to an array of men in the past, there seems to be one former relationship she is having difficulty getting over — her marriage with Brad Pitt that ended in 2016 after she filed for divorce.
Despite being the one in the relationship who initiated the legal separation, the 'Maleficent' actress has been deliberately dragging out the divorce proceedings for years now and sources close to the star have been confused as to what her motive could be behind doing so. “The longer she does this, the more damage she does to the kids,” one acquaintance told New York Post. “This is a game she’s playing. She still has the kids for more of the time than he does and she’s trying to maintain that as long as possible.”
Jolie has previously acknowledged that doing what was in the best interest of her kids has always been a priority in her life. Speaking to Vogue ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, she said, “I separated for the wellbeing of my family. It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds. In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people.”
However, souces told the New York Post that Jolie had love-hate feelings for her estranged husband, and as a result, did not want the divorce to be finalized. “On some level she doesn’t want this [the divorce] to end,” said one source. “She’s trying to hold on.”
It also could be that Jolie's move to delay the process of getting a divorce was a deliberate attempt to burnish Pitt’s “good guy” image, which in turn would help him keep some of the skeletons in his own closet secret. However, sources said that Jolie was only hurting her own reputation by protecting someone who by no means was a victim. “I’m not saying she’s perfect, or the sanest person around,” said a source who worked with the former couple when they were together. “But he wore the pants in that relationship... He’s much tougher than he lets on. That boyish, good guy image is just an image.”
However, according to Jolie's team, no one "wants it (the divorce) to be done more than her.” The actress, who is currently not dating anyone has thrown herself into work and her children's upbringing. Sources close to the actress said that the children continue to require therapy after Pitt was said to have lashed out at their eldest son Maddox during a private flight in 2016, which reportedly prompted Jolie to file for divorce days later. Since then Maddox has had “no real relationship” with his father. As to the rest of the kids — according to the initial custody agreement, Jolie gets to spend more time than Pitt with them.
“Brad does spend time with the kids but there are still limits and that’s the frustrating part,” a source with knowledge of the situation said. “In California, custody is [typically] 50-50... But in reality, Brad doesn’t have 50 percent custody.” A date for the custody trial was set for next month but may be postponed.