Power Couple
Throughout Hollywood’s history, there have been so many stars getting together and then breaking up. In the process, sometimes, scandals arise and they’re fed to the media for attention or even for profit. But unlike so many others, the power couple in this story works differently.
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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are one of the most popular couples to date. Despite their current divorce being finalized, there is no denying that this modern-day Bonnie and Clyde were a force to be reckoned with. Over the years, they have been constantly under the limelight showing glimpses of their ever growing and diverse family.
Angelina’s Past
People may have been very familiar with Angelina’s life together with Brad but very few know about her past. She used to be married to Billy Bob Thornton. She had her first child back in 2002 while undergoing the divorce. She adopted the then six month old Maddox Chivan, an orphan from Cambodia.
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She raised Maddox on her own and was basically a single mother. Three years later, she decided she wanted to have another child. She heard of this child from Ethiopia so she headed to the country to meet the little girl together with Brad, and just like that, she fell in love and proceeded to adopt her. She named her Zahara Marley.
Building A Family
Jolie has expressed so many times that she was in favor of a big family because it was more fun that way. Even though Maddox was adopted by Angelina prior to her relationship with Brad, he was still regarded as the couple’s first child since Brad was ever so willing to take on the fatherly role and adopted him.
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People were taken by surprise when they decided to adopt Zahara Marley at such an early stage in their relationship. The rumor mills were still swirling amidst Brad’s separation with Jennifer Aniston but they decided to just let it be. And later in 2005, the couple found out they were expecting a child of their own.
Escaping The Media
It is no surprise to us that regular celebrities are always hounded by the paparazzi and the media – especially for this couple. Angelina was a big Hollywood star and Brad also was a league of his own. This made both of them very much sought after. But despite being celebrities, Angelina had other plans.
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Friends and family of Angelina know very well how much of a private person she is. She has always wanted a life that was off-limits to the media but unfortunately, that was one big disadvantage to being a top star. Everywhere she went, the paparazzi would follow.
Hideaway
Both Brad and Angelina wanted to have their first biological child in private and having the child anywhere in the US was just a way to attract more paparazzi. So, they travelled to South Africa and settled to have the child in Namibia. This was the perfect location.
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Their fans were already so excited to see the baby and although they wanted to share that with the world, they wanted their first moments with the baby privately. They did divulge to the public what they decided to name their baby – Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt born on May 27, 2006.
All Good Things
It was a point of contentment for the couple. They were extremely happy at all the good things that were happening to and for them. Their careers were at an all-time high, they were a stable couple and they also had a growing family. Everything was falling into place.
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Because the couple was so expressive at the fact that they wanted to have a big family, they then announced that they’re wanting to adopt another child. So after a few months of searching for the new addition to their family, they took on a little boy from Vietnam in 2007 and named him Pax Thien.
Becoming A Father
One of the reasons why Brad had easily clicked with Angelina was their love and want for a big happy family. They wanted the same things and so it was easy for them to talk about what they wanted out of life. And in 2005 fans of the power couple were rejoicing at Brad’s decision to take on custody of Angelina’s two adopted children.
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Albeit the adoption process in Namibia was strict and they were offered no leniency despite their social status, they were able to make things work. Brad was now the father of three children and in the years following, the couple would add more children to their diverse brood.
Where It Began
The beginnings of Angelina and Brad’s love story wasn’t exactly smooth sailing in the beginning. The couple of met while taping their first movie together called Mr. and Mrs. Smith. To the whole cast and crew of the film, it was obvious to them how much chemistry was going on between both actors.
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At the time of filming the movie, Angelina had already been divorced and Brad was still married to Jennifer Aniston. However, the spark was undeniable. As weeks pass of working together, their attraction for each other grew. They both knew that they were treading dangerous waters.
Affair Rumors
While Brad’s attraction for Angelina grew, troubles were brewing behind closed doors when he came home to Jennifer. And shortly after, it was beginning to get a little obvious to everybody else that he had fallen head over heels for Angelina. This did not bode well for either of the two.
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As soon as the media caught wind of this, cheating accusations went viral all over the internet. People were flocking and bombarding the couple with questions. Brad stayed mum however, Angelina got the shorter end of the stick. In one ambush interview, she denied the rumors and said she would never have an affair with a married man because she knew that situation all too well.
All For Charity
When news broke out that both the Hollywood stars were dating, people had mixed emotions. It wasn’t long after they announced that they were going to adopt a child together, and that’s when the media went crazy hungry for details on their relationship.
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When Angelina gave birth to their first biological child together, they wanted to keep things private at first, never sharing more than what they named the baby. However, out of the blue, people were shocked to know that the couple had sold photos of their newborn daughter to the media. But, it’s not what you think. They weren’t going to benefit from the sale as they had all the money from the proceeds to charity in Shiloh’s name.
Little Boy From Vietnam
It wasn’t long after Shiloh was born that Angelina and Brad decided to add more to their already growing brood. They heard of a little boy from Vietnam who was looking for a forever home. So, without any questions asked, the couple immediately flew to Vietname to adopt their fourth child, Pax Thien.
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When Brad and Angelina got to Vietnam, they didn’t want to wait at all. They scheduled for a visit at the orphanage where Pax was staying and immediately told the admin that they wanted to adopt him. However, Vietnam had a strict policy that only allowed one child to be adopted either by married couples or single parents. So, Angelina had to take him under solo custody.
Diversity And Change
As soon as the couple returned to the States with Pax in tow, they immediately took care of papers that signified Brad’s intent to share custody and adopt Pax. When fans heard of this, they were in awe and utterly amazed at just how much the family was growing. There was also one other thing that was very obvious.
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Because the couple wanted a big family, they reckoned that it was best to share this gift of family to children in need. Although not able to adopt every single child in need, they settled with what they can achieve themselves and that is to help other kids from other countries. People noticed just how diverse the family was and later on, other celebrities followed.
Continued Blessings
It was as if everything was a fairytale when it concerned Brad and Angelina. They now had four kids under their wing and they could not be any happier. Even through stolen photos of them from the paparazzi when they would go out, only shows nothing but great parenting dynamics and joy.
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It was only a year after that the whole world would be taken by surprise again when the couple announced that they were expecting. The couple was going to have twins. And in July 12, 2008, Angelina gave birth to Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline. And just like what they did with Shiloh’s photos, they sold them to the media and donated every single cent to charity.
Issues With Parenting
As Shiloh grew and matured, people were beginning to notice something about Shiloh. Yes, the fans went wild at just how much Shiloh resembled a young Brad. However, there was something else that bothered them and this involved the parenting choices of both Brad and especially Angelina.
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At first, when these issues arose, the family didn’t pay any mind to these false accusations and conclusions saying there was something wrong with the couple’s parenting skills. And it wasn’t long before Angelina had to speak up about the issue and give some type of clarity to everyone begging for answers.
The Reason Why
The internet was in chaos over Shiloh’s wardrobe choices and Angelina had to take the blame for everything. Fans who disliked what they saw took to Twitter, Facebook and all other media outlets to express their concern and judgment at how Angelina was raising her kids.
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After a few weeks, Angelina decided that it was time to speak up on the issue. The rumors were going way overboard and she did not want Shiloh to be hearing any of it. So as a mother, she scheduled for an interview and clarified what she had wanted to say all along.
Speaking Out
When Angelina went on to do the interview, she had discussed it with Brad to see if it was finally time to reveal the real reason why Shiloh was dressing up uniquely. She then went on to say that she and Brad allowed Shiloh to dress however and whatever she wanted.
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She further elaborated that Shiloh usually wanted to do boys’ things. Later on, the family would go on to say that Shiloh was indeed a transgender child. However, most of the people watching would also completely disregard that statement and say that this was only a phase and that when she gets older, she will eventually overcome it.
Love And Support
As soon as the rest of the world heard about Angelina’s revelation, there was an outpouring of love and support from fans all over the world and especially from the LGBTQ+ community. Other celebrities were also quick to send love and reassurance to Shiloh and because of that, Angelina felt like she had made a difference in her child’s life.
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While other people had so many negative things to say about the whole issue, a vast majority of the family’s fans were quick to defend them and that included celebrities like Amber Rose who also took to Instagram to post how proud she is of Shiloh for staying true to herself.
Fairytale Coming To An End
The couple’s love story wasn’t all sunshine and daisies and what was once a perfect and ideal family, turned into a drastic fight to overpower the other. When Angelina filed for divorce, the whole world was stunned. They had not seen it coming. And because of Angelina’s first step to file divorce, rumors of abuse and infidelity were about.
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One rumor stated that Brad had gone into an altercation with their eldest, Maddox because he was trying to defend Angelina. People were quick to guess but for whatever reason that was, it’s still unknown. It could be a drinking problem, drug abuse or not at all. Another rumor also said that it may have been Brad’s infidelity as he may be cheating on Angelina with his costar, Marion Cotillard.
Challenging Time
There were a lot of accusations being pointed and at the end of the day, all of them were debunked. Plus, there was no proof that Brad did any of those things and Angelina refused to elaborate further on what was going in behind closed doors with her family.
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However, it was undeniable that there was pressure on their children. They were once a happy family and just like that, they had to go through the notions of their parents divorcing. Shiloh took it especially bad because she wanted her parents together.
Kids First Above All
Despite there being issues with one another, Angelina knew that it was in her children’s best interest for them to remain in touch with their father. She also said in an interview that she ensured that no weakness was shown to her children, saying that she would never cry before them and just cry it out alone.
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Angelina admitted that it wasn’t an easy thing to go through but because she wanted to remain strong for her kids, both she and Brad worked through their differences to make sure that their children grew up healthy in body and in mind. Shiloh took it hard but she has later on discovered that both her parents weren’t going anywhere.