‘A Painful Decision’: Read Angelina Jolie's Emotional Email to Ex Brad Pitt Being Used as Evidence in $250 Million War
Aug. 23 2023, Published 11:43 a.m. ET
Angelina Jolie has submitted a private email she sent her ex-husband Brad Pitt as evidence to back up her claims in their bitter court war over a $164 million French winery.
RadarOnline.com has obtained the message that Jolie wrote to Pitt in 2021 explaining she wanted out of the business. The couple purchased the Chateau Miraval estate during their marriage with the plan to leave it to their kids.
Pitt sued Jolie after she sold her stake in the business to a third-party company named Stoli, which he said was run by a Russian Oligarch named Yuri Shefler. He claimed she had promised not to make any sale without his consent.
In addition, the actor claimed Stoli and Shefler had attempted a hostile takeover of the company. His lawsuit demands the sale by Jolie be voided.
Pitt was hit with a $250 million lawsuit by Jolie’s former company Nouvel, which she sold in the deal, that accused the actor and his team of misusing Chateau’s assets.
“Pitt has installed his own loyalists in management positions at Chateau Miraval, he has improperly blocked Jolie and Nouvel from obtaining information about or managing the company. The directors and managers of the business run all decisions by Pitt; nothing happens with respect to the company without his direct involvement and approval,” Nouvel said in the countersuit.
Now, Jolie, who denied there was ever a written agreement prohibiting her from selling her stake without Pitt’s approval, has introduced a series of documents to back up her position in the case.
One of the items is the January 21, 2021, email she sent Pitt informing him she wanted out of Chateau. The message was sent at 2:02 p.m.
“I am putting this in writing so as not to get emotional,” she wrote. “I have reached a painful decision, with a heavy heart, that I want to share with you. You know how much I wanted to buy Miraval, as a family business, as a place for us to visit together, and as a place to hold diplomatic and humanitarian meetings. Above all, it is the place we brought the twins home to, and where we were married over a plaque in my mother’s memory. A place that held the promise of what could be and where I thought I would grow old. Even now impossible to write this without crying. I will treasure my memories of what it was a decade ago.”
She added, “But it is also the place that marks the beginning of the end of our family — and a business that is centered around alcohol.”
Jolie said, “I have tried to stay open to the business, to see it as something that could be positive for our family, and have therefore not walked away. I had hoped somehow it could become something that held us together and we found light and peace. I see now how you really wanted me out and will most likely be pleased to receive this email.”
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The actress said, “In the past four years I have seen lots of inconsiderate behavior, money spent in ways that I would not have approved, and decisions made that I was not consulted on. I’ve been hurt by decisions that have been made that show no interest in sharing the business or changing it fundamentally into something that would be healthier for our children.”
“Most of all, I was shaken by the recent imagery that was released to sell the alcohol. I find it irresponsible and not something I would want the children to see. It reminded me of painful times,” Jolie said. “All of this tells me very clearly that the vision you and the others in the business have is not one I can share. I do not feel I can be involved, publicly or privately, in a business based on alcohol, when alcoholic behavior harmed our family so deeply."
"This case is not about NDAs in general, but about power and control," Jolie's attorney previously said.
The last line is Jolie referencing their infamous fight on a private jet that led to her filing for divorce.
She said, “I see two ways forward.” Jolie said she fully supported Pitt selling the company and moving “away from this hard and painful chapter in our lives.”
Jolie said if Pitt didn’t like that proposal, she would agree to a buyout of her share in the property and business. “In either case, I believe we need to move forward in order to heal and focus on where our family comes together, and where we have positives associates. And to do so quickly. I hope we can reach a decision on this privately, as I do not wish to expose family issues or harm the business of the families involved.”
“I cannot begin to express how upsetting it is for me to have to reach this point. Your dream for your relationship to the business and the alcohol is your own and you’ve made it painfully clear. I wish you all the best with the business, and sincerely hope that the children feel differently about Miraval when they are older, and visit you there. But Miraval for me died September 2016, and everything I have seen in the years since has sadly confirmed that.”
She ended, “I hope to receive an answer from you both within the next two weeks, as I have been very patient until this point in continuing to invest and support the business, and would prefer not to have to pursue other routes to divest myself or my share in it.”
The case remains ongoing. Sources tell RadarOnline.com that Pitt has remained unbothered by his ex-wife's antics in court and remains focused on shooting his new Formula 1 film.