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Image: Getty
It seems no topic was off limits when Brad Pitt sat down for his first interview since splitting from Angelina Jolie last year.
In a lengthy interview with GQ published on Thursday, Pitt opened up about his divorce from Jolie, the impact of the split on their kids, and alcohol dependence.
He also revealed he’s been having counselling after the sudden September split and following months of public scrutiny as he and Jolie’s custody battle played out.
“You know, I just started therapy,” he told GQ. “I love it. I love it. I went through two therapists to get the right one.”
On the custody battle and reports of Child Services getting involved with the family, Pitt said:
“I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called. After that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out.
“We [Pitt and Jolie] are 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.
“It’s just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart.”
The Allied star told the magazine that initially he didn’t want to break up with Angelina, but came to accept the split.
“The first urge is to cling on. And then you’ve got a cliché: ‘If you love someone, set them free.’ Now I know what it means, by feeling it. It means to love without ownership. It means expecting nothing in return.”
Image: Getty
He seemed to take a large share of the responsibility for the relationship breakdown, saying it was “self-inflicted”.
The 53-year-old also didn’t hold back when discussing his relationship with alcohol, saying after abusing substances for many years, he’s recently gone cold-turkey.
“I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something,” he said. “I’m really, really happy to be done with all of that.
Alluding to “things [he] wasn’t dealing with”, Pitt continued “I was boozing too much. It’s just become a problem. I mean, we have a winery. I enjoy wine very, very much, but I just ran it to the ground. I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.
Brad said after deciding he didn’t “want to live that way anymore”, it’s been six months since he had a drink, and now he only sips “cranberry juice and fizzy water.”
The news of the Hollywood golden couple’s split in September sent shock waves around the world. According to reports, an altercation that occurred when Brad, Angelina and their six children were on a privately chartered flight led to Angelina filing for divorce the following day.
After several months of seemingly bitter fighting behind the scenes and leaking information about each other to the public, the couple released a joint statement announcing they would be conducting their custody battle and divorce through a private judge to protect the privacy of their children.
