No one was more surprised about the demise of Brangelina than myself. First, they did seem in love. Second, they had six kids, and one would think they’d work through their issues. Third, they have openly declared their love, most notably after Angelina Jolie underwent surgery to remove her ovaries and breasts in a preemptive effort to avoid cancer. And lastly, their relationship began with an affair, and though that is no indicator of long-lasting love, I simply assumed that if Mr. Smith wanted to leave America’s Sweetheart for Mrs. Smith, he’d have a damn good reason. And speaking of America’s Sweetheart, her new Prince Charming had something poignant to say, with Justin Theroux explaining that “As a child of divorce, all I can say is that’s terrible news for those children.” As for Jennifer Aniston, she has remained silent, but the meme-sphere is on overdrive, and the general implication is that Brangelina got what they deserved. After all, didn’t they endlessly brag about falling in love on set while Pitt was in fact married to another women? And let’s not forget their W Magazine spread touting their fake family in the name of art.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were a notoriously private couple. They had an air-tight team who never leaked stories, leading tabloids to use their typical guesses, such as “they’re on the verge of splitting,” with no additional details. At some point everyone is on the verge of splitting, so the more darts you throw, the more likely you are to ultimately hit a target. But now that they’re actually splitting, the leaks have become Niagara Falls.Suddenly Brad Pitt is an angry drunk that got physical with the children who are “now recovering” from an incident on a plane. The shocking revelation has one purpose and one purpose only: to tank his career. It serves her no favor in court, and it certainly is not helpful to the children, who now have an even more focused lens on their lives. Why does the public need to know about their personal problems? If the children need to be protected from their father, then keep that private. It also doesn’t help Angelina’s PR, because we all remember the pre-charitable woman who wore those vials of blood and said off-color remarks in nearly every interview. It’s possible she did not want to be blamed for the breakup, but this isn’t the way to circumvent that scrutiny. In fact, it escalates it.
Tabloids have long speculated that when Brad Pitt took up with Angelina, he lost all his friends, stopped filming sex scenes as per her demand, and used his nice-guy demeanor to make up for her cold temperament that was often noticed on the red carpet. George Clooney’s shocked reaction to the news of their split further confirms his estrangement with Brad, despite the fact that tabloids often tout the twosome as good friends. As for his non-public friends, who knows. All we know is that six children are in the mix, and I’m confused as to why Pitt’s perilous temperament didn’t surface earlier, perhaps before child number 3, 4, 5, or 6. For two people who once loved each other, one would think they could handle this with a tad more grace, integrity, and respect. I often tell people to leave their relationships with the same dignity with which they entered it. But since their relationship began sans dignity, perhaps they should have taken the opposite of my advice this one time.