In a candid and deeply personal court declaration, Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has laid bare the emotional devastation wrought by her separation from Brad Pitt, revealing how the breakdown of their marriage forced her to make extraordinary personal and financial sacrifices while prioritizing the well-being of their six children.
The 49-year-old actress submitted the declaration to the Los Angeles Superior Court as part of the protracted legal dispute over Château Miraval, the former couple’s sprawling French vineyard estate that has become the epicenter of a bitter post-divorce battle.
In language unusually frank for celebrity court filings, Jolie described the circumstances surrounding the divorce as “emotionally difficult” for both herself and the children. Most strikingly, she revealed that neither she nor her children—Maddox, 24, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and 17-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne—have returned to the French property since the separation.
“Its connection to the painful events leading to the divorce” has rendered the estate, once the backdrop for family memories, now off-limits, according to the filing obtained by Page Six.
Perhaps most revealing are Jolie’s claims about her financial situation following the split. The Oscar-winning actress disclosed that she found herself in such dire financial straits that she could not purchase a home for her family outright, ultimately accepting a loan—with interest—from Pitt himself.
“My savings were tied up in Miraval, and I had not asked Brad for alimony or any other financial support, so I needed the funds from the château,” Jolie stated, explaining her decision to sell her stake in the vineyard to the Stoli Group’s wine division without Pitt’s consent—the sale that sparked the current litigation.
According to the filing, Jolie made the conscious decision to forgo alimony and other financial support, instead leaving Pitt with “control (and full residency) of our family homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval, without compensation.” She hoped this gesture would foster a more amicable post-separation relationship.
Jolie’s declaration paints a portrait of a mother who placed her children’s recovery above her career. For approximately two years following the separation, the “Maleficent” star says she declined work opportunities to focus entirely on caring for her children and supporting their emotional healing.
“I was very concerned about the health of our children,” she stated, detailing the upheaval the family experienced.
The actress also addressed the emotional difficulty of severing ties with Miraval, describing it as “one of the first major investments we made together” and “a focal point of our family life.” The couple married at the estate, and Jolie brought the twins home there from the hospital—memories that now carry painful associations.
At the heart of the current dispute is Pitt’s lawsuit over Jolie’s 2021 sale of her 50% stake in the vineyard. The 61-year-old actor claims the sale violated an agreement between them, while Jolie maintains she had every right to divest her share.
Pitt’s legal team has demanded access to private communications related to the sale, a request Jolie’s attorneys have characterized as overreach. In her latest filing, Jolie is seeking $33,000 in legal fees for responding to Pitt’s motion, arguing that her team repeatedly asked him to withdraw it and warned of this consequence.
“Jolie, through counsel, repeatedly asked Pitt to withdraw the motion,” her attorneys stated. “Pitt still refused to withdraw it.”
Sources close to Pitt have pushed back against Jolie’s characterization of events, insisting this is purely “a commercial business dispute that is not a part of the divorce.” They describe her statements as “unfortunate but not surprising.”
One insider defended Pitt’s motivation: “Brad’s motivation is to ensure that his kids can maximize the benefit of this asset. Once it was sold, that’s no longer the case, and it significantly decreased their inheritance.”
The former Hollywood power couple, who married in 2014 after nearly a decade together, separated in 2016. However, their divorce was not finalized until 2024—an eight-year odyssey through the legal system. Throughout this period, Jolie has previously accused Pitt of abuse, allegations that have cast a long shadow over custody arrangements and financial settlements.
As this latest chapter unfolds, one thing remains clear: the dissolution of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated unions continues to reverberate through the lives of those involved, with no end to the acrimony in sight.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Angelina Jolie’s court filing reveals she was left financially devastated after her divorce from Brad Pitt—so broke she couldn’t buy a home and had to borrow money from Pitt himself. Despite waiving alimony and giving him their family properties, she was forced to sell her stake in their French château to survive while caring for their six children.
She put her career on hold for two years to focus on the children’s recovery, and the family has never returned to the estate due to the trauma associated with it. What Pitt claims is a “business dispute” over the vineyard sale, Jolie portrays as a desperate financial decision made by a mother prioritizing her children’s wellbeing over preserving marital assets.
