It was a crushing blow for Brad Pitt when his and Angelina Jolie’s youngest daughter Vivienne became the fourth of his six children to officially drop his surname. Last week an LA judge granted the 18-year-old’s petition to legally change her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie.
But if Brad thought that was the worst thing to happen to him last week, he was sadly mistaken. In a turn of events that’s said to have shocked and saddened the Hollywood actor, 62, his brave daughter also made her eating disorder public.
During her debut solo art show in LA, Vivienne courageously explained the significance of tulips in her artwork range named The Tulip Fields.
“Why is it called The Tulip Fields, you ask? Like many, I have struggled with mental health. I have also struggled with an eating disorder. At the beginning of this year, I was hospitalised for my ED,” she wrote alongside the whimsical paintings.
“I was angry, sick and very alone. Eventually, however, the kindness and warmth of the kids and staff at the hospital broke down the walls I had built so high. I have never laughed or cried harder, never been more honest or more myself.”
BRAVE MOVE
She explained that “the tulip fields is what I call the hospital” and her artworks represent moments in time spent there. “The title of each painting is a sentence I took from journal entries I wrote during my time at the hospital,” Viv continued.
And while Angelina, 51, is proud of her daughter for going public with her battle in a bid to help others, insiders say it’s made her feel doubly protective.
“Angelina’s proud of how she dealt with it. She knows how brave it is to go public about health issues – she’s incredibly brave,” an insider tells Woman’s Day. “Vivienne faced her problems head-on and has been on the mend ever since. The entire family are grateful to the support she found in hospital.”
Angelina filed for divorce from Brad in 2016 following an alleged incident aboard a private jet from France to LA, allegations Brad Pitt has denied. The exes finally settled their divorce in December 2024, but the fighting was far from over, with the pair still locked in a legal battle over their French winery, Chateau Miraval.
The ongoing lawsuit and lengthy divorce proceedings have seen the couple’s adult children – Maddox, 25, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 18, distance themselves from Brad.
“It’s no coincidence that a year after Brad gave up fighting for joint custody of the kids, Vivienne ended up in hospital with an eating disorder. She’s always been the quiet, tough one while everyone around her went crazy, and as a result, she’s kept so much bottled up inside,” says the source.
“It’s so easy to overlook Viv, and generally she likes it that way, but putting everyone else in the family first takes its toll.”
According to the insider, Brad’s been aware of Vivienne’s struggles. “He’s been worried for her as he’s been open about his own mental health struggles, but they’re not in direct contact any more and it’s clear Viv wants it to stay that way. He’s tried to be there for her but she always pushes him away.
“Now Vivienne’s gone public, Angelina’s sent a warning to Brad to refrain from any public comments on it. She doesn’t want him to start upending Vivienne’s world when she’s finally doing so well. Viv’s already made it very clear she wants Brad to stay away by changing her name.”
For guidance and support visit Butterfly Foundation at butterfly.org.au or Lifeline at lifeline.org.au or 13 11 14
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
