Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie's divorce battle nears 8 years as his romance with girlfriend heats up
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce battle continues to rage on as the actor moves on with girlfriend Ines de Ramon. Fox News Digital takes a look at why the actors haven't settled.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce battle is nearing eight years of back and forth as the "Fight Club" star moves on with new girlfriend Ines de Ramon.
Despite filing for divorce in 2016 and a judge declaring the former couple legally single in 2019, Pitt and Jolie haven't been able to resolve the issues lingering between them.
Pitt has since moved on romantically with Ines de Ramon, who is 27 years younger. Their romance was confirmed in November 2022, just months after Ramon divorced actor Paul Wesley.
Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016, after the couple got into a physical altercation on a plane. Most of the legal filings in the Pitt-Jolie divorce are sealed, but legal experts speculated to Fox News Digital what could be holding up the resolution.
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The child custody dispute between the former couple could be one reason the divorce has been drawn out.
"Although, we don't really know what the status of [the custody dispute] is," lawyer Kara Chrobak, a shareholder in Buchalter's Denver office, told Fox News Digital. "Oftentimes, parties who are embroiled in a really contentious custody dispute can end up having that dispute last a long time, especially when it's going up on appeal and when orders are being set aside for various different procedural reasons."
Pitt was awarded 50/50 custody of the couple's children in 2021, but Jolie fought the ruling. It's unclear where the two stand regarding custody of the children at this point. The twins, Vivienne and Knox, are the only remaining children under the age of 18.
The rest of Pitt and Jolie's children are all over 18 — Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18.
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Ongoing business disputes between Pitt and Jolie could also lead to a drawn-out divorce. The former couple's French winery has been in the spotlight after Pitt sued Jolie for breach of contract in 2022. The "Maleficent" actress sold her side of the business, prompting the lawsuit.
Oftentimes, litigation that is "tangentially related" to the divorce might stall a resolution.
"The parties will need a resolution of one dispute in order to be able to resolve the other. I wouldn't say it happens often," Chrobak explained. "I think it is relatively unique to [Pitt and Jolie's] circumstances, but it does happen."
Pitt and Jolie could also be holding out over money. Jolie's sale of her half of Miraval earned her a whopping $67 million alone.
"There might still be a lot of money on the table," Sophie Jacobi-Parisi, a partner in the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice at Blank Rome, told Fox News Digital. "Their business, whatever the value of that company is – whatever other money they're still in dispute about – could be a lot. And, so, there are times when a settlement can't be reached because we're talking about too much money, and we're too far apart."
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The former couple's decision to become legally single could be holding them back from a resolution, one legal expert explained.
"If they had to still say they were married – still have to file tax returns as jointly married people as opposed to single — I think that probably would be more of a motivating factor to just get it all done," Jacobi-Parisi told Fox News Digital. "But now that they're technically legally divorced — but they still have however many financial issues they still have — now it's like a business divorce. So, it's almost like a regular litigation except with your ex-spouse."
Once they were declared legally single, the divorce now "has sort of the animosity and difficulty of processing how to get through a complicated litigation with your ex-spouse.
"Plus, it probably is complicated on some level — this splitting up of their assets, dealing with Miraval. It's not simple. So, now, they're just in an extended litigation that's more like a regular business dispute as opposed to a divorce because they're divorced in their minds."
By drawing out the divorce for almost eight years at this point, the couple is missing out on the "mental health aspect" of "really feeling like I have finished one chapter, and I'm starting a new one for myself and for my kids," Jacobi-Parisi explained.
Pitt's and de Ramon don't seem to be in any rush with their relationships, sources told US Weekly.
"Brad and Ines both feel like they’ve met their soulmate," an insider said. Another source claimed the two aren't "pushing for an engagement."
"They know how serious they are [about each other]; they don’t need rings to prove it,"
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During the couple's Miraval legal battle, Jolie's legal team released a statement saying Pitt should "end the fighting."
"Mr. Pitt has control of all the properties the couple shared as well as control of the business, but still he demands more and is suing Angelina for $67 million plus punitive damages," Jolie's lawyer, Paul Murphy, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "In doing so, Pitt placed squarely at issue why he tried to punish and control Angelina by demanding a newly expanded NDA to cover his personal misconduct and abuse. Those actions are central to these proceedings.
"We are not at all surprised Mr. Pitt is afraid to turn over the documents demonstrating these facts," the lawyer added. "While Angelina again asks Mr. Pitt to end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing, unless Mr. Pitt withdraws his lawsuit, Angelina has no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong."
However, a source familiar with Pitt's response to Jolie's request told Fox News Digital the winery lawsuit is a "straightforward business dispute."
"This is a straightforward business dispute, but, unfortunately, the other side has consistently introduced personal elements which have exposed the weaknesses in their case and complicated and lengthened the proceedings," the source said.