Brad Pitt on Angelina Jolie Divorce, Recovery: I Was Boozing Too Much


Brad Pitt reveals that his struggle with alcoholism was one of the factors that led to his high-profile divorce with actress/director Angelina Jolie after two years of marriage and 12 years together. The Allied actor spoke about his lifestyle transformation in an intimate, at times rawinterview with GQ Style.

Truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good, Pitt said. I was boozing too much Its just become a problem. And Im really happy its been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but Ive got my feelings in my fingertips again.

Last September, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI launched an investigation after Pitt allegedly became verbally and physically abusive toward his and Jolies oldest sonafter a talked-about incident on the couples private plane. Five days after that incident, Jolie filed for divorce, requestingsole physical custody of their six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 8.

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Pitt agreed to weekly supervised visits and the investigation concluded that there were no findings of abuse. In January, following an at-times very public, very ugly battle, the former power couple released a joint statement stating that they reached an agreement to handle their divorce privately and were moving forward as a united front. The FBI closed the criminal case with no charges against Pitt.

I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called. And you know, after that, weve been able to work together to sort this out and fortunately my partner in this agrees. Its just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart.

For me this period has really been about looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street, the actor said. Im an [asshole] when it comes to this need for justice. I dont know where it comes from, this hollow quest for justice for some perceived slight. I can drill on that for days and years. Its done me no good whatsoever. Its such a silly idea, the idea that the world is fair. And this is coming from a guy who hit the lottery, Im well aware of that. I hit the lottery, and I still would waste my time on those hollow pursuits.

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