Stressed Angelina Jolie Opens Up About Being an 'Uncomfortable' Workaholic Who Can’t Relax — After Her 'Boyfriend' Akala Shuts Down Romance Rumors
Nov. 29 2024, Published 7:45 p.m. ET
Angelina Jolie has confessed she doesn't know "how to relax" and is most happy when she's working.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the self-described workaholic actress opened up about her creative process and being "uncomfortable" as her rumored boyfriend shut down romance rumors.
While Jolie, 49, was romantically linked to British rapper Akala, 40, he showed up a party in London with another woman – and introduced her as his "girlfriend" to fellow guests.
Akala turned up to Rosewood London's Christmas party with producer Chanelle Newman, whom he referred to as his girlfriend.
The move effectively put to bed any relationship rumors between the rapper and Jolie, who was also said to be friends with Newman.
After months of speculation, a source said Akala, Newman and Jolie "all work together" and the producer goes to "every event" with them.
Meanwhile, Jolie – who hasn't publicly dated since her 2016 split from ex-husband Brad Pitt – gave a telling interview about immersing herself in her work.
She told Vogue Mexico: "I think a creative person always wants to be growing. I always want to be challenged, I want to feel that.
"I think it’s also about the relationship I have with myself and feeling like I’m not growing."
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The Maleficent star further confessed: "So if I'm working, I'm doing something that's not easy, something I don't understand. I always put myself in situations where I'm not the smartest person in the room, or I don't understand everything that's going on, but I know that so much creativity and human growth comes from being completely uncomfortable, but working hard.
"So I think that's where I'm happy."
Between raising six children and working, Jolie has kept herself busy for years.
She spoke about her inability to simply "relax" while comparing herself to opera singer Maria Callas, who she portrays in the upcoming Netflix biographical psychological drama Maria, adding: "I don't think I'm very different from Maria, although we are completely different people, we are not that different.
"I can also blame myself for not knowing how to relax. I can't always take a vacation.
"I remember that I worked from the age of 14 to help my mother (Marcheline Bertrand) pay the bills... I don't ever remember not working or doing something."
Jolie's latest film comes as she continues to battle Pitt, 60, in a legal showdown over their multi-million French winery, Chateau Miraval.
As a judge rejected Jolie's motion to dismiss her ex-husband's lawsuit over her sale of the winery, setting the stage for the case to go to trial, an insider said Pitt has reached the point of "begging" her to let him see their kids, most of which have dropped his surname amid their parent's legal fight.
The source said: "Brad has not given up on his kids and it's been incredibly tough for him to be so alienated from them. The longer it goes, the more painful it gets.
"With the holidays coming, he's feeling the heartbreak even more and he's now saying he's willing to do whatever it takes to get some time with them even if it means swallowing his pride and asking Angelina to show some mercy."
The source added: "Brad is weary of the endless court battles and is appealing to Angie to end the bitterness, not only to bring peace but to draw a close to the senseless spending on legal fees.
"He's willing to put an end to the lawsuit and be more agreeable in other matters if she lets him see his kids."
Of Pitt and Jolie's kids – Maddox, 23; Pax, 21; Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 18; and 16-year-old twins Knoxw and Vivienne – he only has visitation rights to the minor children.
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