Brad Pitt's Christmas Custody Agony: 'Fight Club' Star 'Desperate' to Spend Holiday with Estranged Kids As He Gets Set for 61st Birthday in December

Brad Pitt is said to be desperate to spend time with his children over the holidays.

RadarOnline.com can reveal insiders said the Oscar winner is really "missing" his kids and "wishes he had a closer relationship" with them as it appears he'll be spending the holidays and his upcoming birthday without them.

Pitt, 60, shares six kids – Maddox, 23; Pax, 21; Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 18; and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne – with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

While the holiday season is usually the time of year when families reconnect with each other, Pitt is reportedly continuing to deal with the fallout of his divorce with Jolie, 49.

Since the Maleficent star and Pitt split in 2016, his relationships with his children has deteriorated one by one as they seemingly sided with their mom in their parent's legal battles, including their ongoing war over French winery Château Miraval.

Recently, Shiloh became the latest from the Pitt-Jolie brood to drop her father's surname. Previously, her older sister introduced herself as "Zahara Marley Jolie" at an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. event at Spelman College – and her younger sister was listed as "Vivienne Jolie" in the Playbill for The Outsiders on Broadway, which she worked on with her mother.

When news of Shiloh's legal filing to change her name made headlines, sources said Pitt was left "feeling hurt" over her decision – and blamed Jolie for their rift.

The source added: "They used to have a good relationship but that's in the past and it breaks his heart.

"Brad feels like Angelina has turned his kids against him. He feels like Angelina knows exactly what she's doing."

Despite his kids' apparent attempts at distancing themselves from their father, sources claimed Pitt feels Christmas and his upcoming December 18 birthday "won’t be the same" if he's not able to spend one-on-one time with them.

Insiders revealed: "Brad is missing his kids and wishes he had a closer relationship with them, particularly with celebrating the holidays and his birthday this month."

While Pitt is said to be wishing he had a "closer relationship" with his kids, Jolie flaunted her tight bond with their children on the red carpet.

As RadarOnline.com reported, Knox made a rare red carpet appearance with his mom at the 2024 Governors Awards in Los Angeles.

Knox looked all grown up as he posed with his mom on the red carpet for the first time in three years, when he and his siblings attended the U.K. premiere of their mom's film Eternals.

After Knox's attendance made headlines, sources claimed Pitt felt the move was manipulated by Jolie to "push his buttons" in the aftermath of their latest legal ruling.

They added: "Brad finds it a bit coincidental that a judge signed off on the (Château) Miraval trial just days before Knox joined Angelina at the Governors Awards."

Meanwhile, a separate source pushed back and claimed it was Knox's decision to attend the star-studded event with his mom.

The insider said: "Angelina felt so proud having Knox by her side.

"He typically prefers to stay out of the spotlight and Angelina respects that decision, but he asked if he could join her, and of course she was thrilled that he wanted to be there.

"She couldn't be more proud of him, and they had a really memorable evening together."

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