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Ange at breaking point: I can’t keep pretending

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie fears she can’t keep up her façade of happiness with Brad much longer. Jackie Brygel reports.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie act for a living, but the strain of also pretending off-camera took its toll on Ange last week. In a break from filming The Tourist on the streets of Paris, the normally composed 34-year-old was fighting back tears.

The star quickly covered her face with her hand, but it was clear she was struggling to cope with the publicity spin she’d set in motion.

Since news broke seven weeks ago that Ange’s relationship with Brad was in trouble, the pair have orchestrated public displays of unity.

They appeared at the Directors Guild Awards in Los Angeles and had a make-out session at the Super Bowl. But their most obvious PR exercise came last week when they took their six kids to Venice for a working holiday.

“All Angelina cares about is not having anyone find out what a terrible state her relationship with Brad is in,” an insider has told In Touch magazine.

“They have made more public appearances in the last few months than they’ve made in five years together – and especially with all six children,” a friend agreed.

Arriving in Venice on February 16, the Jolie-Pitts piled their luggage into two water taxis and sped to the ritzy Palazzo Mocenigo, a grand house right on the water.

Followed by hordes of paparazzi, Brad and Ange were all smiles and – for the first time since January 27, 2009, when the whole family were spotted at an airport near Tokyo – all eight of them made the photo call.

Twins Knox and Vivienne, who’ve only appeared twice publicly since their birth in July 2008, were suddenly front and centre as the world watched. Two days later, Ange’s estranged father, Jon Voight, emerged too.

More cynical observers claim these weren’t chance encounters.

“It was suggested that Angelina try to repair her public image before filming started,” a friend told In Touch magazine. And Brad just had to tag along.

“She pretty much knew that he wouldn’t want to be away from the children for weeks, if not months. That’s why she decided to uproot the family to Italy.” While they are all kisses and hugs for the cameras, things are different behind closed doors.

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