Angelina Jolie Defended by Miraval Winery Employee During Bitter Court Battle With Brad Pitt: 'She Was Very Gentle'
Their divorce also kicked off a dispute over ownership of the French winery they bought together.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been feuding in court for years over their divorce and custody of their children. Attention shifted from the former A-list couple's custody battle when Pitt, 59, sued his ex-bride, 48, after she sold her shares of their French winery, Miraval, claiming she did so illegally.
For the first time, those who worked with the exes — playfully coined Brangelina — at the winery are speaking out, including the man they bought the property from in 2007, who seemingly defended the Maleficent actress' character, RadarOnline.com has learned.
US Naval Academy engineering graduate Tom Bove bought Miraval in 1992. He recalled the day a helicopter touched down on his property and produced two of the world's biggest stars: Brad and Angelina.
Talking to Vanity Fair, Bove called Angie "gentle," revealing that she let Brad take the lead during their meeting.
“She let him talk,” he told the outlet. “From my side, she was very gentle. You read all this stuff now, but they were a very nice couple, very sweet and obviously in love with each other.”
According to Bove, Angelina had Shiloh in her arms and “asked for a place to change the baby" during one of their first interactions.
He also revealed the couple stuck around for lunch on the property, and Brad made a promise before leaving.
"We’ll be back," he told Bove. “It seemed like they wanted to buy it right then.” The winemaker also said the Hollywood actor disclosed vital information that made Bove confident they would purchase the property.
“This is the first place we visited where Angie is smiling," Brad allegedly told him.
Bove said it seemed like the couple wanted to move quickly on the purchase — before their twins, Knox and Vivienne, were born.
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Jolie and Pitt have six children (left to right): Shiloh, 18, Zahara, 19, Vivienne, 16, Maddox, 23, Knox, 16, and Pax, 20 (not pictured).
"They wanted to be in ahead of the birth,” Bove said. Another friend backed that up, revealing that Miraval was more than a winery to Brad.
Frank Pollaro, the furniture maker to the stars who later helped Pitt with the winery, told Vanity Fair, "Miraval was a love letter to his wife and his children, providing a beautiful life for Angelina and the kids and shielding them from the intense pressures of celebrity."
Ironically, Miraval would do the opposite in the end.
Brad and Angelina's bitter feud over the winery hurled them into the spotlight again, with their once-happy marriage turning into a "he said, she said" court battle with legal pit bulls pouncing from both sides.
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While the exes duke it out over the French winery, Brad has moved on in his personal life. The Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood actor was photographed with his new girlfriend Ines de Ramon in mid-November.
As for Angelina, sources told RadarOnline.com that she's still "traumatized" from her explosive split with Brad following the 2016 infamous plane fight.
“She’s cut off people she’s worked with for years and no longer speaks to any family other than her kids. She has almost no one else left. Her life is very lonely,” shared an insider.
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