Summary
- Brad Pitt's ongoing custody battle with Angelina Jolie has strained his relationship with his kids, especially the younger ones who live with their mother full-time.
- Brad spends low-key time with his kids at home and keeps their time together private, indicating a better relationship with his younger children compared to his older ones.
- Brad's younger kids are "fine" seeing him regularly, but Angelina is unlikely to drop the custody battle and continues to interfere with Brad's relationship with their children.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship wasn’t only headline-making because of how it started, but because of how quickly they grew their brood. The couple welcomed six children during their relationship – three adopted and three biological -- to form one of the biggest families in Hollywood. But since their 2015 split, Brad has reportedly been struggling to maintain a good relationship with his kids, as Angelina has fought to primary custody.
Brangelina’s oldest children are adults now, but their twins, Vivienne and Knox, are still minors. Given that the kids live full-time with their mom, there’s speculation over how close Brad must be to them. Here’s everything we know.
Brad Pitt Is Still Fighting Angelina Jolie To See Their Kids
There are few details known about Brad’s relationship with his kids. But it’s likely that they’ve been strained due to his ongoing custody battle with his ex-wife Angelina Jolie. Following their split in 2015, Angelina has been fighting to maintain custody of their children. Their oldest three kids are now legal adults, so any existing custody agreement doesn’t apply to them.
But Shiloh, 17, as well as their twins, Vivienne and Knox, 15, are still minors, so Brad and Angelina continue to negotiate terms of custody via their lawyers. It’s reasonable to assume this has hindered Brad’s relationship with his children, especially the younger ones who can’t choose whether they see him or not.
As per a 2021 report, Brad doesn’t force any of his children to see him, even if a court makes it mandated.
"He supports his kids and what makes them happy," a source told E! News. "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," the insider went on. "He keeps their time together private. They are homebodies and have a good routine in place."
Brad Pitt Is Closer To His Younger Kids Than His Older Ones
Though Brad may still be struggling to see his kids regularly, there’s reason to assume he has a better relationship with his youngest kids rather than the older ones.
Brad and Angelina’s 2015 break-up was reportedly prompted by an altercation that happened on their private plane in front of their kids. Brad allegedly got physical with Angelina, and one or more of their older children intervened, escalating the situation. The pair’s oldest sons, Maddox and Pax, were rumored to be the ones who got involved.
The FBI investigated the incident but later cleared Brad of wrongdoing. However, Angelina has made a series of allegations against Brad, including that he would become aggressive after drinking during their relationship.
Moreover, it appears there are still hurt feelings over the private jet incident, as various reports say that Brad’s relationship with his older kids remains rocky, especially Maddox.
Their relationship became more tense after Maddox was called to testify in his parents’ custody case, a March 2021 report claims. Apparently, Maddox’s testimony didn’t paint his father in a positive light.
“Maddox has already given testimony as [an] adult in the ongoing custody dispute and it wasn’t very flattering toward Brad,” a source told Us Weekly.
“He doesn’t use Pitt as his last name on documents that aren’t legal and instead uses Jolie. Maddox wants to legally change his last name to Jolie, which Angelina has said she doesn’t support,” they continued.
Brad’s Younger Kids Are “Fine” Seeing Him, But Angelina Isn’t
While Brad’s relationship with his oldest son still appears tense, he may have smoothed things out with his younger children, who are reportedly okay having regular visitations with him.
In June, a source told Radar Online that Brangelina’s children are tired of seeing their parents fight over custody for years. Apparently, the kids were begging Angelina to drop the case and are “fine” seeing Brad, save for his eldest son.
"Angelina doesn't want to let her fight for sole custody go, but the children are growing up, and even they tell their mom it's time to stop," the source explained. “Maybe the exception of Maddox, they all actually like him,” they added.
However, this has allegedly made Angelina more bitter as well as unlikely to drop her quest to maintain full custody. “That really gets under Angie's skin,” the insider continued. “If she has her way, she'll continue to battle Brad for years. It's become a part of her."
If Angelina is truly trying to interfere with Brad’s relationship with their kids, then the Babylon actor may not be as close to his children (especially his youngest, the twins) as he wishes he could be.
Unfortunately, the same source told Page Six that Angelina is unlikely to let go of the custody battle any time soon. "Angelina Jolie goes through periods of wanting to move on from Brad and live her life and then pure resentment toward him," they explained.
"Brad would have settled things a long time ago, and at this point he's spent millions on legal fees,” the source added. “They both have. The situation is ridiculous."
For now, it appears Brad is going to have to continue to fight to see his youngest kids until Angelina can agree to a resolution or the kids become legal adults.
