Why did Pitt and Jolie's divorce take so long?

Arguably the biggest A-list couple of the modern era, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were married for two years — but it took eight years since they announced their divorce to finally reach a deal. Why did it take four times as long as the marriage itself to settle?

One part of the answer is that it was a particularly confusing divorce, complicated by bitter litigation involving their children and a French vineyard they bought together.

Some of that still needs to be resolved in what Jolie's lawyer called a “long ongoing process.”

The celebrity's lawyer, Chris Melcher, told BBC News that the divorce had taken an unusually long time.

“It's a lot longer than any divorce we normally see,” he said.

“But initially they had custody battles, and then it all revolved around this winery they own together, and that's been the focus of their battle for the last few years.”

Many celebrities want to quickly divorce and move on, Melcher explained.

“A lot of times in a case of this magnitude we can get it done within six months, a year at the most. Eight years is really a sign that something more is going on.

“It's an inability to let go and a willingness to really hurt the other person.”

Kate Daly, co-founder of online divorce company Amicable, told the BBC that such a case was very different from a normal divorce.

“It's an industry … (they can afford) very expensive lawyers,” she said. “Most people couldn't afford for it to take eight years. It's an industry and it's a bad example – we need to distance (normal) people from these kinds of narratives.”

Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, got together after meeting on the set of 2005's Mr & Mrs Smith.

“Because of the movie, we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this weird friendship and partnership that suddenly happened,” Jolie told Vogue in 2007.

Both have been married before, Pitt to Friends star Jennifer Aniston and Jolie to actors Jonny Lee Miller (1996 to 2000) and Billy Bob Thornton (2000 to 2003).

Jolie and Pitt share six children together.

Jolie adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002, a few months after his birth. Pitt later adopted him after he and Jolie began their relationship.

In 2005 the couple adopted daughter Zahara from Ethiopia when she was a few months old.

The couple's first biological child, Shiloh, was born in Namibia in 2006. Earlier this year, it was reported that Shiloh had petitioned the court to remove Pitt on her behalf.

Their son Pax was adopted at the age of three from Vietnam in 2007 and twins Knox and Vivienne were born in 2008.

The couple made their last red carpet appearance together in November 2015. for the movie they both starred in, By the Sea. It was about an unhappily married couple and was written and directed by Jolie.

The couple rarely discussed their relationship, but when promoting the film, Jolie told The Telegraph: “Brad and I have our issues.

“We have fights and problems like any other couple. We have days where we get mad at each other and want space, but the problems in the film are not our specific problems.”

The news that Jolie was filing for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences” came as a shock to many in September 2016.

It has emerged that she filed for divorce a day after an accident on board a private jet.

Pitt was initially alleged to have bumped his son Maddox, then 15, during the flight from France to Los Angeles. The FBI and social workers investigated the allegations, but neither took any action. Pitt has denied wrongdoing.

Then in 2022, legal documents from the vineyard dispute revealed that Jolie blamed Pitt that a drunk attacked her and two children during the flight.

At the time, a source close to the actor told the BBC that her claims were false.

Speaking to Vogue in 2020Jolie said she left Pitt for the “well-being” of her family.

“It was the right decision,” she said. “I continue to focus on their healing.”

In an interview with GQ in 2017Pitt spoke about his decision to stop drinking and smoking weed, saying the breakup was a “huge generator of change.”

Regarding the divorce, Pitt said that he and Jolie have decided to leave the path of “furious hatred” and work together to resolve their issues, adding that they are committed to resolving the issues amicably and privately.

Their attempts to reach an agreement on their divorce and custody of their children appeared acrimonious and protracted.

In 2019 a judge declared the couple officially single, but the divorce still had to be finalized.

They reached a custody agreement in 2018, but that appears to have fallen apart. In 2021 Pitt was awarded joint custody after a legal battle, but the private judge overseeing the case was later removed for failing to disclose his business dealings with Pitt's lawyers.

That raised the prospect of a new custody case, but nothing was made public.

And while the divorce saga may be over, there's another legal battle that's still going on — over the vineyard.

Pitt and Jolie bought Chateau Miraval together in 2008. and were married in his small chapel in 2014.

But Jolie sold her stake to a spirits maker owned by a Russian oligarch, according to Pitt's lawsuit. He is suing his ex-wife over the sale of her share of the estate, saying they agreed not to sell their shares without each other's permission. Jolie has not commented publicly.

Few details of the divorce proceedings have been revealed. In the US, private judges are often hired to mediate disputes between divorcing celebrities for privacy reasons.

Their children are now all between the ages of 16 and 23, and show business journalist Jeanne Wolfe highlighted the emotional impact.

“It was a very emotional and complicated divorce settlement. It took a big toll on the kids and the couple,” she said.

“They tried very hard not to reveal too many details about what happened in this marriage.”

Jolie's attorney highlighted the time lapse in a statement Monday. “This is just one part of a long ongoing process that began eight years ago,” he said.

“To be honest, Angelina is exhausted, but she's relieved that this part is over.”