Brad Pitt is one of the most popular actors of our time. His breakout role came in the 1991 hit Thelma & Louise, and he hasn’t stopped working since. However, his personal life has gotten as much attention as his acting. He stopped drinking in 2016 after an alleged verbal and physical altercation with Angelina Jolie and their children. Yet, seven years later, he’s no longer sober. Keep reading to find out why he started drinking again.
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Plane Altercation
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship made headlines from day one. Rumors of an affair began to swirl when they were filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2004. He was married to Friends actress Jennifer Aniston at the time, and Angelina Jolie was fresh off her divorce from Billy Bob Thornton.
The actors initially denied that anything was going on between them. But Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston separated in early 2005, a few months before he was photographed with Angelina Jolie and her adopted son, Maddox. Brad Pitt later adopted the boy.
“Brangelina” welcomed their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. They adopted Pax in 2007 and welcomed twins Knox and Vivienne in 2008. However, the couple didn’t marry until 2014. Two years later, they were reportedly involved in a violent altercation on an airplane.
Neither Brad Pitt nor Angelina Jolie has ever addressed the incident. However, legal documents revealed some of the details. Brad Pitt was allegedly drunk when he pushed Angelina and poured beer on her. He allegedly got physical with two of their children, choking one when they tried to intervene and slapping another. Four of the couple’s six children have legally filed to remove “Pitt” from their names.
Brad Pitt Breaks Silence On Relapse After 7 Years Sober
Brad Pitt revealed in 2017 that he stopped drinking a year earlier after the reported altercation. However, in a new interview, he revealed that he’s relapsed, but he didn’t “fall off” the wagon. He told Esquire magazine that he “got back off” the wagon.
“I can have a few. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it,” he said about the end of his sobriety. The Interview with the Vampire star admitted that he got “overconfident” in how much alcohol he could handle. He now allows himself to have a glass of wine or two.
Beloved Actor Opens Up About Suicidal Thoughts
Brad Pitt revealed to Esquire that his brother passed away five years ago. He said that while he never thought of suicide before, the grief of losing his brother gave him a new understanding.
“I’ve never been suicidal except for one little period. And in that one little period, I just thought—I just couldn’t—just didn’t see a way out. The pain was so oppressive that—I wasn’t going to act on this, but I could feel—I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief,” the actor shared.
The Esquire writer asked if the suicidal ideation was caused by “kid stuff,” meaning Brad Pitt’s rumored estrangement from his kids. “Family stuff. We could leave it at that,” he replied. Share your thoughts on Brad Pitt ending his sobriety in the comments.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger