Relationships

Angelina Jolie admits she lost herself after her split with Brad Pitt

The bitter 2016 split and custody battle led to a journey of self-discovery for the Oscar-winning actress.
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Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has opened up about her 2016 split with Brad Pitt, saying she felt “smaller” and “insignificant.”

In a raw and candid new interview with French magazine Madame Figaro, the 44-year-old revealed she felt a profound sense of sadness and deep hurt following the separation.

She also admitted that the split left her feeling lost, and ultimately led to a journey of self-discovery.

“I do not know about destiny, but I’m certain that I’m in transition, and this is a homecoming, I’m coming back to myself. Because I was a little lost,” she revealed.

Angelina’s interview was translated into French for the magazine and then translated back to English once the magazine hit the newsstands, so while some of her words might have been lost in translation, the general meaning and sentiment remains.

Angelina was Madame Figaro’s cover story.

Asked to clarify what she meant about feeling lost, Jolie replied “I think it happened at the end of my relationship with Brad, and then at the beginning of our separation.

“It was a complicated moment, when I did not recognise myself anymore, where I had become … smaller, almost insignificant, even if it was not necessarily obvious. I felt a deep and real sadness, I was hurt.”

Having come out the other side, Angelina feels like she’s back to her old self. “I feel like I’m coming full-circle,” she said.

“I asked myself: what is expected of me? And the answer was that I want to be who I’ve always been. So instead of hiding my wild side, I’m bringing it out. I want to feel free.”

Brad and Angelina shocked the world when they announced their split after 12 years together. Image: Getty

Pitt and Jolie share six children; adopted children Maddox, Pax, 15 and Zahara, 14 as well as biological children Shiloh, 13, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

The bitter divorce and custody battle played out over two years and was finally settled in December 2018.

As painful as the whole experience was, Jolie expressed her gratitude at being able to “reconnect with this humility and this insignificance,” saying it’s made her appreciate life even more.

“All these things settle in you and remind you of how lucky you are of being alive,” she explained.

“It’s a lesson I pass onto my children: the idea of renewal, and through it all, the possibility of joy. I had to rediscover the joy.”

Five out of six of Angelina’s children joined her at the world premiere of her newest movie Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Image: Getty

Speaking to People magazine last week at the Los Angeles premiere of her newest film Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Jolie was asked where she got her strength from, to which she simply replied “My kids.”

Her five youngest children accompanied her on the red carpet, looking every inch the happy family. Her oldest son Maddox couldn’t make it, having recently moved to South Korea to study biochemistry at university.

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