Brad Pitt has broken his silence about his split from Angelina Jolie, nearly seven months after news of their separation first made headlines.
“I’m personally very retarded when it comes to taking inventory of my emotions. I’m much better at covering up,” the actor said in a candid new interview for GQ Style. “I grew up with a Father-knows-best/war mentality — the father is all-powerful, super strong — instead of really knowing the man and his own self-doubt and struggles.”
The 53-year-old explained that he’s spent the last few months taking stock of his emotional well being, looking at his weaknesses and his failures in an attempt to open up for the sake of his six children.
“It’s hit me smack in the face with our divorce: I gotta be more. I gotta be more for them. I have to show them. And I haven’t been great at it,” he said.
Angelina reportedly filed for divorce following a fight between Brad and their eldest child Maddox, while the family was aboard a private jet. While several reports indicated Brad was “verbally abusive” and became “physical” with the 15-year-old, an investigation conducted by the FBI ultimately cleared him of any wrongdoing.
“I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called,” Brad told the publication.
“And you know, after that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out. We’re 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,” he said.
The Allied actor, who now lives in Hollywood Hills, California, with his bulldog, Jacques, added that he won’t stand for an ugly custody battle.
“It’s just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart. If anyone can make sense of it, we have to with great care and delicacy, building everything around that… Our focus is that everyone come out stronger and better people — there is no other outcome,” he shared.
He added: “I don’t want to live that way.”
The actor also opened up about how the divorce has affected his lifestyle — including his drinking habits.
“I was boozing too much,” he said. “It’s just become a problem. And I’m really happy it’s been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but I’ve got my feelings in my fingertips again.”
“Truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”
The Jolie-Pitt brood during happier times.
Despite the tumultuous circumstances, in a pre-taped interview recently aired on Good Morning America, Angelina continued to describe her estranged husband as “a wonderful father.”
When quizzed by the show’s co-host, George Stephanopolous, as to whether she still thought Brad was a good parent, she said: “Of course, of course.”
WATCH: Angelina Jolie speaks about life after divorce on Good Morning America. Post continues…
“We will always be a family. Always.”
She added that the Jolie-Pitt brood are committed to focusing on the continued “health” of their family.
“We will be stronger when we come out of this because that’s what we’re determined to do as a family,” she explained, seemingly holding back tears.
We wish the Jolie-Pitt family all the very best.
