For over a decade, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were one of the biggest couples in Hollywood. Together, they built a large family with six children — Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15. But only two years after legally tying the knot, Angelina surprised fans by filing for divorce. And so ensued years of legal battles, even until today, despite their messy Hollywood divorce being finalized years ago.
The catalyst for Brad and Angelina’s divorce was a simple one for Angelina. The divorce occurred after an alleged altercation that took place on their private jet in front of their kids in 2016.
Initially, Angelina was granted physical custody of their six kids, while Brad only had visitation rights. He was given joint custody in May 2021. However, Angelina later won an appeal against the joint custody. She currently retains sole custody, while Brad has visitation of their minor children.
Given the complicated family dynamic, many fans wonder how close Brad is to his kids. Here’s what we know about their relationship.
Updated December 2023: As of October 2023, Brad Pitt has done a lot of work to mend the relationship with his kids. Because of this, he spends time with Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox. It is Maddox who wants nothing to do with his father, and recently, it seems like Pax is angry with his father, too. What is interesting is that Zahara dropped Pitt from her last name, something that Maddox and Shiloh had already done. Whether the rest of the kids will follow suit remains to be seen.
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Brad’s relationship with his children has been complicated following his divorce from Angelina. In 2020, Us Weekly reported that his eldest sons, Maddox and Pax, weren’t speaking to him following the plane altercation that happened years ago. However, Brad reportedly remained active in his younger kids’ lives.
Case in point: according to a source who spoke with Us Weekly, “He flew to Italy for the twins’ birthday and that meant a lot to them, plus he made a big fuss of Shiloh on her 16th.”
It certainly seems, then, as though Brad is still on good terms with his younger kids, and things have improved as they’ve gotten older.
“Brad has dinner with his younger kids when they are all in L.A.,” a source explained. “Since the kids are older now, they have their own life and friends. But, Brad still has a pretty good relationship with them.”
It appeared that, except for Maddox, the relationship between the older kids was on its way to being mended as well. That is until Pax seemingly slammed his father for being an absentee dad in a secret Instagram post.
But with that said, when Zahara was introducing herself to her sorority, she introduced herself as “Zahara Jolie.” The Pitt had been dropped from her name, something that Maddox, and according to some sources, Shiloh had already done in the past. Whether that is a signal of more of an alliance to Angelina than Brad remains to be seen. However, it speaks volumes to just how close Brad is with some of his children that they have made the decision as they have gotten older to take the hyphenate out of their name.
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Brad has spent years fighting Angelina in court for joint custody, and he continues to. But reports say that the actor doesn’t force his children to do anything against his will, so visiting him likely isn’t mandatory if the kids object.
“He supports his kids and what makes them happy,” a source told E! News in 2021.
“They are old enough now where they can make decisions and he doesn’t stand in the way. He’s encouraged them to be whoever they want to be. He wouldn’t ask for anything different.”
“He spends low-key time with his kids at home,” they continued. “He keeps their time together private. They are homebodies and have a good routine in place.”
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With this in mind, it’s possible that the kids’ relationship with Brad was slightly strained before his marital strife with Angelina was publicized.
He does have visitation rights and coupled with reports from sources who say he’s on good terms with his younger kids, Brad appears active to an extent with some of his children. But this likely can’t be said about his eldest.
His court-ordered visitation can’t be enforced on any of his children who are no longer minors. Right now, this includes his eldest sons Maddox, 22, and Pax, 20, who he’s reportedly had the most tenuous relationship. Daughter Zahara is now also 18.
Though Brad is currently entitled to time with his younger kids, it won’t be long before they start aging out of the visitation order. His second daughter, Shiloh, has just one year to go.
In a 2017 interview with GQ, Brad appeared to imply that the divorce was damaging his kids.
“We’re both doing our best. I heard one lawyer say, ‘No one wins in court—it’s just a matter of who gets hurt worse.’ And it seems to be true, you spend a year just focused on building a case to prove your point and why you’re right and why they’re wrong, and it’s just an investment in vitriolic hatred.”
“I just refuse. And fortunately, my partner in this agrees,” Brad continued. “It’s just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart…. If anyone can make sense of it, we have to with great care and delicacy, building everything around that.”
