Brad Pitt is 59! Actor decided to put his children first after family was 'ripped apart'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Brad Pitt turned 59 on December 18, 2022, marking a significant life milestone for him. The actor spent 17 of those years as a father after he and ex-wife Angelina Jolie first adopted Zahara Jolie-Pitt in July 2005, when he was 42 years old.
Less than a year after Pitt's divorce with Jennifer Aniston was finalized, news that he and Jolie were expecting a child was confirmed in January 2006. Zahara and Maddox Jolie-Pitt, the other child adopted by Jolie before dating Pitt, were given permission by a judge to use the last name Jolie-Pitt.
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Pitt and Jolie welcomed their first biological child, Shiloh, in Namibia, Africa, in 2006. During his 2017 GQ interview, Pitt revealed he put his "family first" before stating, "People on their deathbeds don't talk about what they obtained or were awarded. They talk about their loved ones or their regrets—that seems to be the menu."
Brad Pitt covers @GQStyle's Summer 2017 issue, photographed by Ryan McGinley https://t.co/kd0qjlEj76 pic.twitter.com/45JZvC1cn3
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) May 3, 2017
The stars shocked fans in September 2016 when Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt after two years of marriage and more than 10 years as a couple. There was much speculation as to what was going to happen to their kids, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Vivienne and Knox. Pitt told GQ he would not let things get ugly in court over the couple's six children. "I just refuse," he said. "And fortunately my partner in this agrees. It’s just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart," he added.
The 'Fight Club' actor acknowledged that he was speaking as someone who had let his work steal his time away from his children. He observed how vulnerable children were, taking everything in and having to have their hands held and things explained. Pitt claimed that they needed to be heard and that when he switched into work mode, he stopped listening to them. He wished to improve in that area. Following the divorce, the actor's children could only visit him at times.
In the wake of the break up, Pitt was the subject of an investigation over a family incident which occurred on a private plane during a family trip. "I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called," Pitt told GQ. "And you know, after that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out. We’re both doing our best," he added. Jolie told the BBC that they would "hopefully be a stronger family" when all is said and done, which is a sentiment also shared by Pitt. "Our focus is that everyone come out stronger and better people, there is no other outcome," Pitt said.
