Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt reach divorce settlement after 8 years

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two.

Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement was first reported by People magazine.

“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr Pitt,” Jolie’s attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. “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. 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.”

The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. A judge will need to sign off on the agreement. An email late Monday night to Pitt’s attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.

Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood’s most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together.

Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt’s actions on the flight. Two months later, the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the US attorney did not bring charges.

A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by AP in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause statement to prosecutors on Pitt, but that after discussing the merits, “it was agreed by all parties that criminal charges would not be pursued.”

A source familiar with the child services inquiry told the AP in 2016 that the child services investigation was closed without a finding of abuse.

During the long divorce fight, four of their children became adults, negating the need for a custody agreement for them. The only minors that remain are 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. In June, one of their daughters, then known as Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, successfully petitioned to remove Pitt’s name from hers.