Angelina Jolie is looking back on the painful circumstances that led to her split from Brad Pitt.
According to court documents Jolie filed on Monday (Oct. 6) that were reviewed by E! News, the actress shed light on why she and the six children she shares with Pitt have not returned to their former family estate, Château Miraval, since their 2016 divorce. The look back came as part of a lawsuit Pitt filed against her back in 2022 over the French winery they once co-owned.
"The events leading to my need to separate from my ex-husband were emotionally difficult for me and our children," Jolie wrote in a declaration submitted to a California court. "Upon filing for divorce, I left him control (and full residency) of our family homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval, without compensation, which I hoped would make him calmer in his dealings with me after a difficult and traumatic period."
She added, "To this day, the children and I have never again set foot on the property, given its connection to the painful events leading to the divorce."
Jolie didn’t provide details about those events in the recent filing, but E! News pointed out that she originally filed for divorce after a 2016 fight in which she alleged Pitt had verbally and physically assaulted her and one of their children. Pitt has denied the allegations.
The legal battle between the former couple centers on Miraval, the French winery they once shared.
Jolie stated that in early 2017, she and Pitt had “on-again, off-again discussions” about him buying her shares.
"These discussions were always difficult for me, due to my deep emotional ties to our family home there and how our relationship ended," recalled the Oscar winner. "Miraval was one of the first major investments we made together, and it was a focal point of our family life. We were married there, I spent part of my pregnancy there and I brought our twin children home there from the hospital.
"To have such a sudden break from my home and memories has been hard, and it was especially difficult for the children to have their lives so disrupted,” she said.
Per her statement, Jolie claimed that Pitt eventually agreed to buy her shares if she signed an expanded non-disclosure agreement, which she said would “silence” her about the events surrounding their separation.
She rejected the condition, saying, "As the mother of our children, as well as an advocate for victims of violence around the world, I found his demand extremely painful."
Jolie supposedly informed Pitt of her intentions to sell her shares to a third party before finalizing a deal with Stoli Group’s Tenute del Mondo in 2021.
Pitt sued her the following year, claiming she sold her stake without his approval. Jolie countersued, and their legal dispute continues.
As part of the lawsuit, the Fight Club actor requested access to Jolie’s private messages, arguing they would prove she acted “with malice” in the sale. However, Jolie pushed back, stating the communications are protected by attorney-client privilege.
"I understand that Brad has filed a motion where he seeks to compel me to produce emails and documents discussing legal advice or legal strategy from my attorneys," she wrote in her declaration, insisting that the contents were "intended to be a confidential communication."