Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have signed off on their divorce more than eight years after the actress initially filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
According to California family lawyer Scott Weston, who does not represent either party, the length of time this took is “absolutely” not the norm — and several factors likely contributed.
For one, Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, who wed in 2014 and share six children, did not see eye to eye from the outset, setting the stage for a drawn-out showdown in what Weston calls “probably the most congested superior court in the country.”
Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016, citing irreconcilable differences and asked for physical custody of Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18 and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, who were all minors at the time.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 2015.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
She said in a statement that she made the decision “for the health of the family.”
Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Pitt was investigated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services over allegations he got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with his children on a private plane just before Jolie filed for divorce. A lawyer for Pitt previously said he would accept responsibility for some past actions but not for things he didn’t do.
John Lambros, a family law attorney licensed in Florida, Michigan and Massachusetts, notes DCFS’s involvement “can seriously slow the progression of a case.”
The DCFS and the FBI, which also looked into the matter, concluded their investigations without filing any charges against Pitt, and Jolie declined to press charges. But Lambros notes that Jolie and Pitt — who was only granted visitation with his kids at the time — continued to disagree on custody and other matters involving their children.
Angelina and Brad Pitt in 2015.
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Animosity between the exes was apparent in court documents both sides filed, as Pitt sought to seal the divorce proceedings, a move Jolie’s camp objected to, calling it “a thinly veiled attempt to shield himself, rather than the minor children, from public view” in a court filing of her own.
The acrimonious back and forth “doesn’t help things” regarding speed, says Lambros. “It’s not moving the case forward.”
In 2017, Jolie and Pitt indicated they were trying to be amicable. They both “signed agreements to preserve the privacy rights of their children and family by keeping all court documents confidential and engaging a private judge to make any necessary legal decisions,” according to a statement at the time.
But a year later, things grew ugly again. The private judge the couple had hired to preside over the case, John Ouderkirk, issued a ruling that outlined more visitation for Pitt. The judge also warned Jolie she could be in danger of losing full custody “if the Minor Children remain closed down to their father.”
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their kids Maddox and Zahara in 2014.
GONZALO/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
In 2019, their divorce was bifurcated — both Jolie and Pitt were declared legally single even though the rest of the issues, like custody, were not yet settled. Lambros believes that could have removed some of the exes’ incentive to wrap things up quickly.
“What does everybody want to do when you’re in a divorce? You want to get divorced,” he says. “When you bifurcate that case and you grant them their divorce, well, a lot of the pressure of ‘I’m still married’ is gone.”
Jolie and Pitt hit another speed bump in 2021 when Judge Ouderkirk was removed from the case. An appeals court found that Ouderkirk did not properly disclose business dealings he had with Pitt’s attorneys. The court called his actions “an ethical breach.”
“Anytime there is an appellate procedure in a matter, you are going to reduce the speed,” says Lambros. Adds Weston, “It slows down the case to a craw until that subject matter is ruled upon.”
Recently, they’ve also been battling over Miraval, the multimillion French winery they jointly owned. In 2022, Pitt sued Jolie for breach of contract, claiming she kept him in the dark about selling her share of the business to a Russian oligarch.
Taken all together, the issues created a “perfect storm,” says Lambros.
But on Dec. 30 both Pitt and Jolie signed the divorce settlement. “Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over,” her divorce lawyer James Simon of Hersh Mannis told PEOPLE in a statement. A rep for Pitt declined to confirm or comment.
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