Angelina Jolie claims she feared for the safety of her ‘whole family’ during marriage to Brad Pitt 

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Angelina Jolie has claimed she feared for the safety of her ‘whole family’, including her children, during her marriage to Brad Pitt.

The actress, 46, said her experiences while in a relationship with the fellow Hollywood A-lister, 57, had made her realise the importance of children’s rights.

When asked to elaborate further she said she ‘can’t speak about’ the situation due to ongoing custody proceedings.

But, during an interview with the Guardian’s Weekend magazine, the Tomb Raider star is said to have nodded to confirm she was alluding to her divorce and allegations of domestic abuse she made against Pitt.

The former couple share six children, adopted sons Maddox, 20, and Pax, 17, adopted daughter Zahara, 16, biological daughter, Shiloh, 15, and biological twins Knox and Vivienne, 13. 

Asked if she feared for the safety of her children during the relationship, Jolie told the publication: ‘Yes, for my family. My whole family.’

She said of her decision to file for divorce after 14 years together: ‘It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children.’

Jolie added she had been traumatised and ‘broken’ by the ‘horrific’ experience which she alleged had gone on for ‘the last decade’.

But, she claimed in spite of it all, she wanted her whole family ‘including their dad’ to ‘heal and be peaceful’.

‘We’ll always be a family,’ she added.

Jolie was promoting her new book, Know Your Rights – giving young people the ‘knowledge and tools’ they need to utilise their rights.

During the interview, she criticised the US government for not doing more to protect the rights of minors.

She said the fact the US has not fully ratified the United Nations convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC), had had a large impact on her legal battle with Pitt, claiming their adopted son Maddox had been ‘denied a voice in court’ as a result.

Jolie said her divorce and custody battle with Pitt, in which she alleges the star was ‘verbally abusive and physical’ towards Maddox, had been ‘horrific’.

Documents filed by Jolie in March ‘under seal’ – meaning they cannot be viewed by the public – indicated she was going to accuse her ex-husband of domestic violence and intended to prove it with video recordings and testimony from their children.

But it was reported that permission to do this at a trial was refused by a judge in May this year.

Pitt’s lawyers were contacted for comment on Jolie’s new claims. 

On Friday, Jolie shared rare photos of daughters Zahara and Shiloh doing their summer reading with her 10.2million followers.  

The Maleficent actress posted a snap of Zahara reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and another of Shiloh reading The Dark Lady by Akala. 

‘End of #summerreading. These are some of the favorites in our house. Would love to know yours,’ she wrote.  

Jolie previously told HELLO! magazine about the challenges of homeschooling amid the Coronavirus pandemic.  

‘I have four different schools going on with six different kids, so it’s all different. I’m also terrible with math and I question history, so I’m a really challenged parent when it comes to a lot of this stuff.

‘Fortunately, I have very capable, smart children. They are getting through, but it’s hard,’ she added.    

The former couple, dubbed ‘Brangelina’, met in 2005 on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith in which they played married assassins. Pitt was married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston at the time.

He tied the knot with Jolie in France in 2014.

In 2011, Pitt had nothing but praise for Jolie as a mother, telling Parade magazine: ‘One of the greatest, smartest things I ever did was give my kids Angie as their mum.

‘She’s such a great mum. Oh, man, I’m so happy to have her. With a partner like Angie, I know that when I’m working, the kids are happy, safe and prospering. And when Angie’s working, she knows she has the same.’ 

After two years of marriage, Jolie filed for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’, and requested sole physical custody of their children.

‘This decision was made for the health of the family,’ Jolie’s representatives told Us Weekly at the time.    

It is thought the split was triggered by an alleged violent incident aboard a private plane taking the family from Paris to Minnesota overnight on September 14, 2016 – just five days before it was announced they were separating.

Pitt, who last year won his third Oscar, has admitted shouting at one of his children but denied ever being abusive. He was cleared of the allegations in November 2006. 

Shortly after their separation in 2016, Jolie was granted full custody of their children while Pitt was allowed visitation rights. 

Jolie spoke about their divorce for the first time in an interview with Vanity Fair in July 2017. 

‘It’s just been the hardest time, and we’re just kind of coming up for air. [This house] is a big jump forward for us, and we’re all trying to do our best to heal our family.’

Referencing the children, she said: ‘They’ve been very brave. They were very brave. In times they needed to be. We’re all just healing from the events that led to the filing… They’re not healing from divorce. They’re healing from some… from life, from things in life.’

In August 2018, Jolie alleged Pitt had not paid ‘meaningful child support since their separation’, which he strongly denied.   

By November 2018, the former couple reached a new agreement, allowing for joint physical and legal custody.

They prepared to go to trial in October 2020, with Pitt in favour of 50/50 shared custody. 

In March 2021, Jolie alleged Brad of domestic violence in court documents. In June, a temporary ruling saw Jolie and Pitt given shared custody.