Brad Pitt says Angelina Jolie split was ‘like a death’ as he admits ‘boozing became a problem’

The Hollywood star has finally broken his silence on the breakdown of his marriage
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Jennifer Ruby3 May 2017
The Weekender

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Brad Pitt has compared his split from Angelina Jolie to a ‘death’, admitting that he developed a ‘problem’ with alcohol during his marriage.

Speaking about his divorce for the first time, the Hollywood actor said that he has just started going to therapy as he tries to rebuild his life.

“You know, I just started therapy. I love it, I love it. I went through two therapists to get to the right one,” he told GQ Style.

When asked whether his very public split from Jolie in August 2016 felt like a ‘death’, the actor simply replied: “Yeah.”

Brad Pitt opens up about his marriage split for the first time
Ryan McGinley

“If you love someone, set them free.' Now I know what it means, by feeling it," he said.

"It means to love without ownership. It means expecting nothing in return. It doesn't mean f***-all to me until, you know. Until you live it.”

Discussing his rumoured battle with alcohol, Pitt said that that he “couldn’t remember a day since college” when he hadn’t’ been drinking.

Read the full interview with brad Pitt in GQ
Ryan McGinley

“I mean, we have a winery. I enjoy wine very, very much, but I just ran it to the ground. I had to step away for a minute,” he said.

“And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”

Pitt revealed that he couldn’t remain in the family home following the breakdown of his marriage, saying that it was “It was too sad” to be there.

“So I went and stayed on a friend’s floor, a little bungalow in Santa Monica. I crashed over here a little bit, my friend [David] Fincher lives right here,” he said.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt - In pictures

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Jolie first spoke about the split in February during an interview with the BBC, saying: “I don’t want to say very much about that, except to say it was a very difficult time and we are a family, and we will always be a family.

“It was very difficult. Many people find themselves in this situation. My whole family have all been through a difficult time,” she said.

“My focus is my children, our children. We are and forever will be a family and so that is how I am coping.

“I am coping with finding a way through to make sure that this somehow makes us stronger and closer.”

Jolie adopted son Maddox, 15, from a Cambodian orphanage back in 2002, and she later went on to adopt children Zahara and Pax with Pitt.

The former couple welcomed their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006 and Jolie gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne in 2008.

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