Inside Brad Pitt's Battle to Win Back Kids From Angelina Jolie After 'Violent' Argument On Private Plane – 'He’s Never Given Up Despite Years of Fighting'
Pitt has faced years of custody battles with Angelina Jolie while fighting to reunite with his kids.
Dec. 16 2024, Published 8:30 p.m. ET
Brad Pitt has his ex Angelina Jolie continue to duke it out years after their split as both stars attempt to get the upper hand.
In 2016, Pitt lost Jolie and his connection with their children after a heated, alcohol-fueled argument on their private plane led the Girl, Interrupted star to file for divorce and wage a relentless war for sole custody amid claims he was abusive, which he's long denied, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Pitt’s heartbreak has deepened as Jolie plans her next move abroad during the nasty post-marriage battle.
A source confirmed: "Since the split eight years ago, his relationship with his kids has never recovered. It's been a very hard road, but Brad is not giving up on his fight – he wants to save his family."
With the holidays now here, Pitt is "praying for a Christmas miracle", said the insider.
They added: "He's continued to reach out to the children" – Maddox, 23; Pax, 21; Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 18; and twins Knox and Vivienne,16 – "to let them know he loves them. He can't stop hoping this could be the year they come around."
The Once Upon a Hollywood star has been patient for more than eight years.
The insider recalled: "After Brad and Angelina split, he gave the children some time and tried to prove to them that he'd worked on himself. He went to therapy on his own, quit drinking and slowly tried to make amends."
Most of the ex couple's children have distanced themselves from Pitt.
The Hollywood star was previously monitored during his visitations, and the family attended group counseling sessions.
The source noted: "The process felt very forced and clinical."
Pitt scored a huge win when he was finally granted joint custody after a lengthy private trial in 2021. However, the ruling was overturned after Jolie got the judge disqualified for what Pitt's team branded a "technical procedural issue", leaving the desperate father defeated.
The insider said: "His behavior and the divorce caused so much pain for everyone. He's still working to heal that. He's just worried time is running out."
The older siblings have distanced themselves, dropping Pitt from their lives.
The exes' older kids, particularly Pax and Maddox, "have been extremely adamant that they don't want a relationship with him", said the source, noting how Pax, in a scathing 2020 Instagram Stories post, tore into Pitt, calling him a "world class a--hole" who "made the lives of those closest to me constant hell".
Though Pitt "was always very close to Shiloh", added the insider, "she's also pulled away". In August, Shiloh legally dropped Pitt from her surname after Zahara and Vivienne publicly stopped using it.
The adult children are not obligated to see him. Meanwhile, court-mandated visitation and contact is swiftly coming to an end for the Academy Award winner's two remaining minor children, who turn 18 in just 20 months.
Pitt hopes for reconciliation as Jolie counts down to her freedom.
The source explained: "Now Brad is worried about losing his relationship with the twins, too. This could be his last chance for a reconciliation."
Jolie – who has referred to her kids as "my close friends" – has already made it clear she's counting down the days until she can flee Los Angeles.
She told RadarOnline.com: "I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as [the twins are] 18, I'll be able to leave."
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Pitt refuses to give up hope, praying for a miracle with his kids this Christmas.
However, Pitt is still moving forward, as a source said: "He believes Angelina's resentment toward him will never improve, though all isn't lost with their kids if they take a different cue from their mom."
"Growing up, Angie had a tumultuous relationship with her own dad", referring to to Oscar winner Jon Voight, 85.
"Yet she's attempted to work on things with him over the years."
As for Pitt, he just wants the same opportunity, said the insider: "He will never give up hope."
