(NewsNation) — Forget “conscientious uncoupling”, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been contentiously uncoupling for almost seven years now… and insiders say it will likely last four more, and friends say the entire drawn-out process is hitting Pitt in the wallet to the tune of $14 million.
The once-power couple known around the world as “Brangelina” met on the set of “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” in 2005. Soon after, Pitt split with his then-wife, Jennifer Aniston and adopted Jolie’s daughter Zahara. The couple had five more children: Maddox, Pax, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne before marrying at their French winery Chateau Miraval in 2014.
Just two years later, the couple announced their divorce in 2016 after a fight on a private plane in which Jolie alleged Pitt hit and poured alcohol on both her and their children. Pitt, who is now sober, denied the claims… but the battle was on as the former lovebirds fought over custody and property — specifically over Chateau Miraval, purchased for $27 million in 2008, but is now worth $162 million according to Wine Spectator.
And according to friends of Pitt, the battle is nowhere near over.
“She is going to drag this divorce out until the twins (now 14) turn 18,” one friend told me. “Four more years.”
While Pitt and Jolie battle it out in California divorce courts, they’re also duking it out in European courts over Chateau Miraval.
In October 2021, Jolie sold her half of the winery to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group, which is owned by a Russian oligarch, Yuri Shefler — a claim Pitt says was “vindictive” and illegal. According to court papers, the couple “agreed they would never sell their respective interests in Miraval without the other’s consent.”
“At the same time Angelina was talking to (Shefler) about Miraval she was also negotiating in bad faith with Brad to sell him her share in the winery,” the friend said. “It’s in the original purchase agreement that if either want to sell they have to give each other the first right of refusal. She got angry because a judge awarded Brad 50/50 custody and (four months later) Brad finds out from the press she had sold her part of the business to the Russian!”
(In May 2021, Judge John Ouderkirk awarded Pitt 50/50 custody of the couple’s children. But in July 2021, the decision was reversed due to claims that Ouderkirk “violated his ethical obligations” by not disclosing previous ties to Pitt, according to People magazine).
Reports surfaced last week that the couple was said to have settled the Miraval fight but my insider says, “that’s absolutely not true. No one has settled anything.”
But as the two duke it out on two continents, the bills are racking up, especially for Brad. One source close to Pitt said the actor has spent “eight figures easily” so far
So how did he spend so much? Let’s break it down:
One friend of Brad’s told me he “loaned” Jolie $8 million in 2017 so she could buy a $24.5 million, six-bedroom, 10-bathroom home in Los Feliz.
In addition to the house, Pitt has plunked down nearly $2 million in legal fees fighting Jolie, and then there’s the child support.
At one point, Pitt was paying $1 mill a year to Jolie for child support for his 6 six kids. While 3 of the kids are over 18 now, “its still a substantial amount” a source said. “He has spent millions.” By the time the couple split, five of their six kids were under 18, meaning he spent $200,000 per child per year until they turned eighteen… which adds up to more than $4 million.
All of which brings Brad Pitt’s divorce expenses to over $14 million. And he isn’t even divorced yet.
Pitt’s rep declined to comment. Jolie’s reps didn’t return calls.
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