The high-profile divorce between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie continues to make headlines, especially regarding their children.
Recently, their daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, has taken legal steps to remove her father’s last name from her surname.
This decision has brought to light the growing estrangement between Brad and his children.
Us Weekly cites sources indicating that the decision to distance themselves from Brad stems from the children’s intense love and loyalty to their mother.
They have struggled to forgive and connect with Brad since their parents’ divorce. Angelina is the head of the household and has raised the children with love and selflessness. Once Brad left and then went to war with her, it was very hard for the kids to accept.
The source added that the rift between Brad and the children has grown, especially with the sons, despite Brad’s efforts to reconnect. “Brad’s relationship with his two sons, Maddox and Pax, is nonexistent at this point. He also barely hears from Zahara,” the source said.
In court documents released in 2022, Angelina accused Brad of assaulting and verbally abusing her and two of their children while drunk on a private flight from France to the U.S.
Angelina wrote that the children were trembling in fear due to their father’s actions.
“Maddox was very affected by that incident and has taken it upon himself to be his mother’s protector,” the source revealed, noting that the eldest son’s views and attitudes towards Brad have influenced the younger children.
Pax once criticized his father on Instagram Story on Father’s Day in 2020, according to the Daily Mail. The adopted son wrote that his father had ruined the family repeatedly and called Brad “the biggest jerk in the world.”
Last year, Zahara, the Ethiopian adopted daughter of the “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” stars, publicly dropped her father’s surname when introducing her name during a sorority event at her university.
Shiloh, Jolie-Pitt’s biological daughter, recently filed a petition in the Los Angeles court to drop the Pitt surname on her 18th birthday on May 27.
The youngest daughter, Vivienne, 15, also only used her mother’s surname when working as an assistant producer for the Broadway musical The Outsiders, which premiered in April.
A source noted that Shiloh used to be very close to her father, and Vivienne often FaceTimed Brad when they were apart, “but things have changed in recent years.”
An insider revealed Brad Pitt’s feelings as his children turned away: “Brad is putting on a brave face, but behind closed doors, he finds it extremely difficult to accept what is happening.”
Brad Pitt was reportedly devastated when he learned that Shiloh filed to drop his surname. A source indicated that Brad saw this move not just as a name change but as “a symbol of deeper estrangement.”
While Brad Pitt’s source told Page Six that Angelina Jolie is alienating the children from Brad, using them as a weapon against her ex-husband amid the intense legal battle, Us Weekly’s source dismissed the allegation.
This source stated that the children made their own decisions: “The kids know what they have seen. Anyone suggesting she has manipulated the children is baseless.”
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt filed to drop Brad Pitt’s last name in from her surname
In late May, on her 18th birthday, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt filed a petition in Los Angeles court to remove “Pitt” from her last name.
An insider close to the situation confirmed that Shiloh hired and paid for her lawyer independently to handle the case.
“Brad was devastated by this choice,” a source exclusively shared in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “To him, it was more than a change of name — it was a symbol of a deeper estrangement that has been brewing for years.”
This is not the first time one of Brad’s children has distanced themselves from him publicly.
Last November, Shiloh’s older sister, Zahara, introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie at a sorority initiation ceremony at Spelman College.
In May, Vivienne, the youngest daughter, was credited as Vivienne Jolie in the playbill for the Broadway musical “The Outsiders,” which she produced with her mother.
Brad, 60, and Angelina, 49, who separated in September 2016, share six children: Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.
Observers note that all six children seem to have aligned themselves with their mother amid ongoing legal battles over custody and their French winery, Château Miraval.
Brad’s strained relationship with his children
“Sadly, Brad doesn’t have much of a relationship with his kids,” a second source revealed. “He’s not ready to give up on them, but knowing they are dropping his name is upsetting.”
Another source added, “Brad’s putting on a brave face, but behind closed doors, he’s finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with what’s happening.”
A secret source reveals Maddox and Pax reportedly have no contact with Brad
“Sadly, their rift has only widened over time,” said the first source. “The boys found it difficult to reconcile with Brad, despite his repeated apologies and efforts to rebuild trust.”
The divorce of Angelina and Brad occurred in 2016, during which Angelina alleged that a drunken Brad assaulted and verbally abused her and two of their children.
The F.B.I. investigated and found probable cause to charge Pitt with a federal crime, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to press charges.
