• Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016.
• Jolie and Pitt finalized their divorce eight years later.
• Divorce lawyers say child custody and shared businesses can lengthen divorce proceedings.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's divorce took eight years, an unusually long amount of time.

Still, legal experts told Business Insider that some factors — such as child custody and shared businesses — naturally lengthen divorce proceedings, and hold lessons for all couples.

The two actors met on the set of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" in 2003, but they did not publicly date until after Pitt's first wife, Jennifer Aniston, filed for divorce from him in 2005. The couple, who became known as Brangelina, adopted three children and had three more before getting married in France in 2014.

Two years later, Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, citing irreconcilable differences.

James J. Sexton, a New York City divorce lawyer, told Business Insider previously that issues like child custody and closely held businesses can always complicate divorce proceedings. "There's almost no limit to how many things you can fight about," he said.

In addition to fighting over custody of their six children, Jolie and Pitt had to contend with a winery they co-owned and multiple shared homes. Here's why it took so long:

Becoming legally single before divorce

Before finalizing their divorce, Jolie and Pitt became legally single in 2019.

The move allowed Jolie to restore her name from "Jolie Pitt" and for both parties to date and even remarry if they wanted to. Other celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, have also opted to become legally single before finalizing their divorces.

While it has benefits, like letting couples move forward with their lives as they figure out their settlements, it can also incentivize couples to prolong proceedings.

Divvying assets can get contentious

Sexton previously told BI that vindictive behavior could make divorce a nightmare, particularly if clients are willing to fight over every asset.

Despite initially trying to keep proceedings private, Jolie and Pitt's divorce process became more public and turned contentious several times. In an August 2018 court filing, Jolie alleged that Pitt hadn't paid any "meaningful child support" over the span of two years. In response, Pitt said he had paid more than $1.3 million in child support and accused Jolie of wanting to "manipulate" the media.

Pitt also sued Jolie in 2022, accusing her of selling her shares in their winery, Château Miraval, to the Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler without telling him — his lawsuit said they'd agreed to avoid selling their stake in the company without the other's consent. Jolie filed a countersuit arguing there was no such agreement, The New York Times reported.

David Lister, a family lawyer for 37 years who is a senior partner at the law firm Vardags in London, told Business Insider that divorcing couples often want to sort out similar external factors, like shared businesses, before completing a divorce. He added that it's not always clear how smooth — or bumpy — each external case will be. Pitt and Jolie's winery case remains ongoing.

Investigations delayed the Jolie-Pitt divorce

A few legal proceedings also delayed the Jolie-Pitt divorce.

Outlets, including the BBC, reported that John Ouderkirk, the first judge presiding over their divorce, awarded Pitt more time with their children in May 2021. The decision was reversed a few months later.

Outlets reported that an appeals court deemed it an "ethical breach" because Ouderkirk had previously worked with Pitt's lawyers.

By 2022, Jolie filed court papers alleging that, shortly before she filed for divorce, Pitt verbally and physically abused one of their six children on their private jet.

The FBI investigated Pitt in 2016; he wasn't arrested or charged.

Jolie alleged that a federal agent who investigated the incident had concluded that the government "had probable cause" to charge Pitt over the incident.

Pitt's representatives denied the abuse occurred, telling CNN in 2022 that Jolie's story "continues to evolve each time she tells it," continuing: "Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn't do."

Correction: January 2, 2025 — Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie finalized their divorce. It was December 30, not January 31.

• Before settling their divorce, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were legally single since 2019.
• Being legally single allows divorcing couples to change their names and remarry.
• It can give couples more freedom as they decide on custody but can also draw out divorces even more.

After eight years, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reached a divorce settlement on Monday.

While their separation process was lengthy and complicated, their lives were made a little simpler years earlier when they were declared "legally single" in 2019. Through a bifurcated judgment — a case separated into multiple phases — Jolie could legally restore her last name to "Jolie" instead of "Jolie Pitt" before becoming officially divorced.

Jolie and Pitt aren't the only celebrities who've opted for legal singlehood before divorce. In 2022, Kim Kardashian became legally single before divorcing Kanye West later that year.

Nancy Chemtob, a New York City family law attorney, previously told Business Insider that bifurcated judgments allow couples to move forward with their single lives while sorting through the more complex details of their divorces, which can take years.

She said celebrities like Kardashian popularizing the term could lead to more people requesting to be legally single.

It grants couples more independence

Divorce can be a nightmare. In cases like Pitt and Jolie's, which involved splitting child custody and shared homes, the process can take years.

Being legally single doesn't give couples the ability to fully go their separate ways. In Jolie's case, she had to stay in Los Angeles because of her divorce proceedings, but it allows couples to change their names and legally remarry even if their divorce isn't settled yet.

It can draw out divorce even more

Most divorces don't involve bifurcation — it's granted on a case-by-case basis, and not all state laws permit it. Legal singlehood is often granted in California compared to other states, which require more specific reasons like complicated financial issues or infidelity.

The pros are clear: It gives spouses more autonomy in a process that isn't fully in their control. Kardashian asked to become legally single after West ignored her divorce requests.

While it can help couples emotionally move on faster, it has some drawbacks. It can provide incentives to delay custody or asset decisions, ultimately making the divorce more expensive. Jolie and Pitt didn't finalize their divorce until five years after becoming legally single.

• For 12 years, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were one of Hollywood's most iconic couples.
• They met around 2003 and wed in 2014 — Jolie filed for divorce in 2016.
• The pair reached a divorce settlement in December 2024, after eight years of legal battles.

For 12 years, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were one of Hollywood's most prominent couples. 

But what started as a pairing of two mega powers, who met on the set of "Mr and Mrs Smith" while Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston, dissolved into eight years of legal fighting. Jolie accused Pitt of physical abuse (no charges were filed) and Pitt sued Jolie for selling her stake in their French winery.

Here's a timeline of their relationship.

2004: Pitt and Jolie met on the set of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston and Jolie had recently filed for divorce from Billy Bob Thornton at the time of filming around 2003.

People reported that in a 2006 interview, Jolie confirmed to Vogue that they began developing feelings for each other. She said, "I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened. I think a few months in I realized, 'God, I can't wait to get to work.'"

She added: "It took until, really, the end of the shoot for us, I think, to realize that it might mean something more than we'd earlier allowed ourselves to believe. And both knowing that the reality of that was a big thing, something that was going to take a lot of serious consideration."

January 2005: Pitt and Aniston announced they were separating.

After months of rumors that Pitt and Jolie had an affair on the set of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Pitt and Aniston released a statement about their separation to People: "For those who follow these sorts of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any of the speculation reported by the tabloid media."

March 2005: Aniston filed for divorce from Pitt.

Shortly after the announcement, People reported that Aniston filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences."

April 2005: Pitt and Jolie were photographed on vacation together in Kenya.

A month later, Us Weekly published photos of Pitt and Jolie with Jolie's son, Maddox, in Kenya. 

In September 2005, Aniston told Vanity Fair: "The world was shocked, and I was shocked."

July 2005: Pitt and Jolie were featured in a W magazine spread titled "Domestic Bliss," and Jolie adopted Zahara.

The now-iconic spread included many photos of the two as a couple with a family. 

That same month, People reported that Jolie adopted 6-month-old Zahara from Ethiopia with Pitt by her side.

January 2006: The pair confirmed they were expecting a child.

Less than a year after Pitt's divorce from Aniston was finalized, People confirmed Jolie and Pitt were expecting a child.

That same month, a judge granted a request to change Maddox and Zahara's last names to Jolie-Pitt.

May 2006: The couple's first biological daughter was born in Namibia, Africa.

In May, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was born in Namibia. Their obstetrician told People that Pitt was in the operating room the whole time.

 

March 2007: Pitt and Jolie adopted Pax from Vietnam.

In March, Pax, 3, became the newest member of the Jolie-Pitt family, after the couple traveled to Vietnam to adopt him.

Reuters reported that Jolie supposedly filed the papers without Pitt because Vietnamese law does not allow unmarried couples to adopt children, but single individuals can. 

May 200: Jolie revealed she was pregnant with twins.

Jolie announced she was expecting twins at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival,

She told Access Hollywood, "We weren't expecting twins. So it did shock us."

July 2008: The twins were born in Nice, France.

Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline were born in Nice, France in July.

A month later, they appeared on the cover of People. Jolie talked about their family life in an interview with the magazine, saying, "It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time."

February 2010: The couple sued News of the World for reporting they had split.

In February 2010, News of the World reported the couple had split. The couple later sued the publication for the false report.

In July, BBC News reported that the couple was paid damages from the company that owns the newspaper and planned to donate it to their charity, the Jolie-Pitt foundation. 

April 2012: Pitt and Jolie's engagement was confirmed.

Pitt's manager confirmed to People that the couple was engaged, saying: "It is a promise for the future and their kids are very happy. There's no date set at this time." 

May 2013: Jolie revealed she underwent a preventative double mastectomy.

Jolie wrote a New York Times op-ed about undergoing the surgery, writing: "I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive … Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries."

She added: "We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has."

August 2014: Pitt and Jolie secretly married in France.

Pitt and Jolie privately wed at their Chateau Miraval in France and all of their six children were involved in the ceremony.

Maddox and Pax walked their mom down the aisle, Zahara and Vivienne were flower girls, and Shiloh and Knox were ring bearers. Jolie wore an Atelier Versace gown and a veil that featured designs from her kids' drawings embroidered into the fabric.

2015: They worked on their first movie together since "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

Pitt and Jolie starred in their second film together, a relationship drama called "By The Sea" which Jolie directed.

That same year, Jolie wrote another op-ed about having her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

After an annual blood test showed markers that could be "a sign of early cancer," Jolie decided to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventative measure.

July 2016: Pitt and Jolie were seen together in public for one of the last times.

One of the last times Pitt and Jolie were publicly spotted together as a couple was in July 2016, when they were photographed with Shiloh.

Prior to this, they had been apart for months while working on various projects.

September 2016: Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt.

Citing irreconcilable differences, Jolie officially filed for divorce. She petitioned for primary custody of the six children.

Shortly after, in September 2016, Pitt was accused of physically abusing one of his children. He was later cleared by authorities.

In September, during a family flight on the couple's private jet, Pitt was reportedly "drinking heavily." Early reports alleged that Pitt physically hurt 15-year-old Maddox Pitt-Jolie during the flight, but later reports stated that Jolie separated Pitt from their kids.

Pitt was later investigated by The LA Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI, but both cleared Pitt of all charges in November.

 

 

January 2017: the couple hired a private judge to keep their divorce proceedings quiet.

The couple then hired a private judge and reportedly signed agreements to keep the details of their case private. After that, they were relatively quiet about their split for a while. 

August 2018: Jolie's camp accused Pitt of not paying "meaningful" child support.

Jolie's attorneys said in a court filing that Pitt hadn't paid any "meaningful" child support since they split. It was not clear at the time of the filing what constituted "meaningful" support.  

Pitt's lawyers said in return that Pitt had in fact paid Jolie more than $1.3 million in contributions over the past two years and that Pitt gave Jolie an $8 million loan to buy a new property. Her camp denied that he was meeting his legal obligations for child support. Pitt's attorneys also accused Jolie via court filing of trying to "manipulate media coverage" of their divorce. 

 

 

 

April 2019: both Pitt and Jolie became legally single.

Though their divorce was still in progress, Judge John W. Ouderkirk entered a judgment saying the couple was no longer married. Her name was also restored to Jolie, not Jolie Pitt.

May 2021: Pitt was reportedly granted "significantly" more "time with the kids."

Business Insider reported that the private judge hired by both stars awarded Pitt more custody of his children following months of witness testimony.

"Pitt has always been seeking the opportunity to have more time with his children and prioritized their well being while the other side did everything to try and stop that," a source familiar with the situation told BI in May 2021.

February 2022: Pitt sued Jolie for selling her stake in their $28 million coowned French winery.

Pitt and Jolie purchased a controlling stake in Château Miraval and its vineyard behind the popular wine in 2008. The two were also married on the estate in 2014. 

According to court documents, lawyers for Pitt say Jolie sold her stake in the Château to the Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler without her ex-husband's knowledge.

"She sold her interest with the knowledge and intention that Shefler and his affiliates would seek to control the business to which Pitt had devoted himself and to undermine Pitt's investment in Miraval," the lawsuit claimed.

The lawsuit continued to state that Jolie's sale was intended to cause Pitt "gratuitous harm" after he had "poured money and sweat equity" into the business. Pitt's lawyers also said that the pair had previously agreed to never sell their respective financial interests in the Château without the other's consent.

According to August 2022 reports, Jolie told the FBI that Pitt "grabbed her by the head" in a 2016 altercation aboard a private jet.

According to a leaked FBI report obtained by Rolling Stone and Puck, Jolie alleged in an interview with the FBI that Pitt "grabbed her by her head," shook her, "pushed her into the bathroom wall," and repeatedly punched the ceiling of the private plane during an "outburst" about 90 minutes into a flight from Paris to Los Angeles on September 14, 2016.

The report added that Jolie alleged Pitt was intoxicated during the flight, saying that he poured beer on her at one point. Jolie told the FBI that by the time the plane landed, there was $25,000 worth of damage from Pitt spilling red wine, Rolling Stone reported.

Rolling Stone reported that Jolie alleged her children were scared at the time of the incident. She told the FBI that one child called Pitt a "prick," prompting him to lunge at the kid, only to be stopped when Jolie grabbed him from behind "like in a choke hold."

As previously mentioned, BI reported in 2016 that the FBI cleared Pitt of child abuse allegations regarding that incident.

December 2024: The two reached a divorce settlement.

Jolie and Pitt signed off on their divorce on December 30, 2024, People reported.

No details of the divorce settlement were revealed.

"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family," Jolie's lawyer James Simon told BI in a statement. "This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over." 

Pitt's representative declined to comment when contacted by BI. 

 

• Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement after eight years.
• Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, two years after the pair got married.
• Her representative said in a statement to BI that she was exhausted but relieved it was over.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement.

"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family," Jolie's lawyer, James Simon, told Business Insider on Tuesday.

"This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago," Simon said, adding that Jolie was "exhausted" but "relieved this one part is over."

Jolie and Pitt signed off on the settlement on Monday, Simon told People.

Pitt's representative declined to comment when contacted by BI.

Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, became an item after working together on the 2005 film "Mr and Mrs Smith." At the time, Jolie was in the process of divorcing actor and director Billy Bob Thornton, while Pitt was married to "Friends" actress Jennifer Aniston.

Pitt and Aniston were idealized as Hollywood's perfect couple, which made rumors that Pitt and Jolie were having an affair all the more shocking.

A month after Aniston filed for divorce in March 2005, Pitt and Jolie were photographed on vacation in Kenya.

In the years that followed, the couple built a family: Jolie adopted her son Maddox in 2002 and her daughter Zahara in 2005 while she was with Pitt. In 2006, their first biological child, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, was born, and they adopted Pax a year later. In 2008, Jolie gave birth to twins: Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

The couple got engaged in 2012 and secretly married in France in 2014.

They were photographed together for the final time in July 2016, and Jolie filed for divorce later that year, citing irreconcilable differences and requesting primary custody of their six children.

That September, Pitt was accused of physically abusing one of his children. After an investigation, the FBI agency said no charges had been filed and it would not pursue the case further.

What followed was what is widely regarded as a messy split, with the couple disagreeing over child support, custody, and how to divide their respective stakes in a winery that they bought in 2008, and where they married in 2014.

In 2022, in an FBI report obtained by Rolling Stone and Puck, Jolie alleged Pitt assaulted her on the 2016 flight, was intoxicated, and caused $25,000 worth of damage to their private jet.

At the time, spokespeople for Jolie, Pitt, and the FBI did not respond to BI's requests for comment.

A divorce lawyer for Pitt told the New York Times at the time that while he accepted responsibility for some things in his past, he would not accept responsibility for what he did not do.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.