Acclaimed celebrity biographer Ian Halperin accurately charted Brad and Angelina’s troubles in his best-selling book about the pair long before break-up reports hit world headlines last week. Here he exclusively writes for Woman’s Day about the troubled couple’s disintegrating relationship, and Ange’s ugly exit plan.
While Brangelina fans are mourning the news that a split seems imminent between the Hollywood golden couple, people in the stars’ inner circle tell me the break-up has been long in the making. One of Brad Pitt’s closest friends said hours after the news broke last week that Pitt is deeply traumatised about the future of the couple’s six children – much more than losing the imagined future he had with Jolie.
“Brad’s certainly showing more signs of relief than acting as a person who just had his heart broken,” the friend, a longtime Hollywood industry veteran, told me.
Many Brangie insiders point to Angie’s filming Salt in New York as the key turning point in the couple’s relationship. With their first-two-year honeymoon seemingly over, the couple were rarely spotted together in New York during summer 2009. There was a point when they weren’t together for over 45 days.
Rumours of a split consumed the couple back then. Other vexing issues soon awaited them, including rumours of Jolie being addicted to the designer drug crystal meth, commonly used by Hollywood actresses who want to lose weight rapidly.
Although Jolie constantly stated her drug days were long behind her, those close to the former user were worried she had fallen back into her old atrocious habits. Many people, including her close friends, were blindsided by Jolie’s sudden weight loss. When she showed up on the set of Salt she had lost over 20 pounds (9 kilos), looking like she had not eaten a meal in weeks.
It all hit a crescendo when she collapsed on the set of the film, spurring rumours she was doing drugs as a result of her relationship with Pitt hitting a rocky patch. “That episode was something the couple has never rebounded from,” said Kristen Young, an LA business entrepreneur who has known them for three years.
“After that incident I don’t think Brad has ever trusted Angelina again. He seems to always fear she’s going to lose herself and go completely out of control. I don’t think there’s any trust left between them any more.
“It’s so sad, because they have such amazing children. But I don’t think either of them realised how stressful having six kids can be, especially if there’s adopted kids from war-torn countries involved. It’s a huge adjustment for the kids, and the parents have to be there every step of the way to help them through it.
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