Everything we know about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s divorce settlement

In September 2016, after two years of marriage and 11 years together, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt. The cause? Irreconcilable differences and yet, there must have been a lot to reconcile before truly moving on because it over took eight years for the former Hollywood A-list couple to reach a divorce settlement.

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The exes, who have six children together, signed off on their divorce settlement on Monday, December 30. Let’s put this into perspective. Their divorce proceedings have lasted four times longer than their actual marriage. Their kids were all minors when the divorce process started and now their eldest is 23 and their youngest is 16. What could have possibly taken so long to figure out? Here’s what we know.

How their story started.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
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In 2004, the began filming for the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. At the time, Brad was married to Jennifer Aniston. In May 2005, Brad and Jennifer got divorced after five years of marriage. In July 2005, Brad and Angelina became Brangelina.

Three months after Brad’s divorce, they confirm they have a baby on the way.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt during ShoWest 2005 - 20th Century Fox Luncheon at Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

In January 2006, the couple confirmed that they were expecting their first child together. Angelina was already mom to Maddox and Zahara, whose last names were changed to Jolie-Pitt and were subsequently adopted by Brad as well.

Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Arrive In Japan
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Their daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, was born in May 2006 in Namibia. In March 2007, they adopt son Pax, who was 3 at the time. Angelina gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne in July 2008.

They got married in August 2014.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt wedding medal
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They married at their Chateau Miraval in France. All six of their kids were a part of the ceremony. Zahara and Vivienne were flower girls, Maddox and Pax walked their mom down the aisle, and Shiloh and Knox were ring bearers.

Why did Angelina file for divorce in 2016?

Angelina Jolie with her children visit the Louvre in Paris
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Angelina filed for divorce shortly after a private flight the former couple and their six kids took from France to California. Angelina alleged that Brad was abusive to her and their kids during that flight. The FBI investigated but did not bring criminal charges.

In January 2017, they agreed to handle their divorce privately.

“The parties and their counsel have signed agreements to preserve the privacy rights of their children and family by keeping all court documents confidential and engaging a private judge to make any necessary legal decisions and to facilitate the expeditious resolution of any remaining issues,” read a statement released by Angelina and Brad.

“The parents are committed to act as a united front to effectuate recovery and reunification,” the statement concluded. I’m thinking the reunification part was about Brad being reunited with his kids because some of their difficulties in proceeding with the divorce were related to custody issues.

In 2019, the couple were legally ‘bifurcated.’

Bifur-what? Sounds like they were cut in half during a surgical procedure, but bifurcation is a legal term meaning that even though the divorce was not resolved due to whatever issues, Angelina and Brad were considered legally single and could go on about their lives as single people do.

Their divorce process has taken a long time.

“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” Angelina’s lawyer, James Simon, shared in a statement published by People on Monday, December 30.

“This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over,” he continued.

What does the lawyer mean by ‘this one part’ being over?

Well, it’s likely that the exes still have other joint financial/business things to deal with, but at least the part having to do with their marriage being over is finally over. Good luck to both of them.