REPORT: Brad And Angelina Hire Divorce Attorneys, Break-Up Imminent!
Jan. 23 2010, Published 8:45 a.m. ET
According to a bombshell report In Sunday's English newspaper The News Of The World, Hollywood golden couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are set to announce their break-up "soon".
The News of The World reports that the couple, who have never legally wed but have six children together as well as several businesses and homes, have secretly consulted with divorce lawyers and signed a $322 million split deal.
The report says that the megastar couple have agreed to equally divide their immense fortune and to equally share custody of their children, although they will live full-time with Angelina.
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The News of The World claims that preparations for the split began in early December when the couple met with a top Los Angeles divorce firm to thrash out the details of their split deal. They go on to report that an announcement of their split is expected to be made soon.
A source told The News of The World, "The document was signed in early January. Both Brad and Angelina had signed it.
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"The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple's split.
"It seemed clear they want the world to know they'll both play a part in the upbringing of the children.
"But Angelina will actually be the one who lives with them full-time."
The News of The World says that the divorce lawyer they consulted is "regarded as the best in the business", is based in Beverly Hills and has worked on a string of celebrity divorces and splits.
The source added, "There's no date for when the contract would come into effect.
"But the paperwork is already organized for a break- up - and for it to be as un messy for them as possible. It is clear it's a case of when they break up rather than if."
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Speculation of a break-up has been rife for months and the pair have not been photographed together in public in recent days. Usually the famed philanthropist, Angelina was noticeably absent from George Clooney's Hope For Haiti telethon on Friday night, where Brad made an impassioned plea for help for the Haitian people, and rubbed shoulders with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston.
Last month the couple failed to show at The Golden Globes despite Brad's movie Inglorious Basterds being nominated for several awards. Instead Brad went to watch The New Orleans Saints play, while Angelina stayed in California.
In a recent interview Angelina said that she believed fidelity was over-rated, telling German magazine Das Neue, "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.
"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."
And in his scandalous tell-all book, biographer Ian Halperin gave insight into the fiery couple's relationship, saying that when they first met they had 20-hour sex sessions, but that "sex soon wears off".
"She has brought a lot of good things to him - the children, for example," Halperin wrote. "But he didn't know what he was getting into, and that's why I think they're going to split."