Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Finally Settle Divorce After 8 Years of Legal Mess

Eight years after filing to end their two-year marriage, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have finally reached a divorce settlement. James Simon, a lawyer for the Maria star, confirmed Monday night that the former couple signed the settlement on December 30, bringing to an end one of Hollywood’s longest and most contentious divorces.

“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” Simon said in a statement to PEOPLE. “This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.”

Neither Jolie, 49, or Pitt, 61, have commented on the news at this time, but a source close to the actress told the outlet that Jolie “doesn’t speak ill of [Pitt] publicly or privately. She’s been trying hard to be light after a dark time.”

Pitt and Jolie were once considered a Hollywood power couple, making massive cultural waves in the early 2000s with their relationship, and even earning the celebrity nickname “Brangelina.” The pair first met in 2003 on the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, where they portrayed husband and wife, with Jolie telling Vogue in 2007, “Because of the film, we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened.”

The pair were together for roughly decade and became parents of six – Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, now 16 – before they tied the knot in 2014.

However, in September 2016, Jolie filed for divorce after two years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split. The divorce filing came just days after the couple were involved in an alleged physical altercation on a private plane. Pitt was accused of having “choked” one of his children and “struck another in the face.” Reports also claimed the actor “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her.” Pitt was not charged over the alleged incident.

In her divorce filing, Jolie requested sole physical custody of the couple’s then-minor children with visitation rights for Pitt, and four months later, the former couple said in a joint statement that they’d “signed agreements to preserve the privacy rights of their children and family by keeping all court documents confidential and engaging a private judge to make any necessary legal decisions.”

In the years that followed, the former couple, who had their divorce bifurcated and were declared legally single in 2019, remained locked in a contentious divorce battle. In 2018, Jolie accused her ex of not paying “meaningful child support,” and Pitt countered the claim by stating that Jolie was attempting to “manipulate media coverage.” The pair also battled over custody and the $164 million French estate and winery that they shared, Château Miraval, with Pitt in February 2022 suing Jolie over her sale of her Château Miraval stake. Jolie filed a countersuit, stating her ex was “waging a vindictive war against” her. The case involving French winery remains ongoing, with a judge in November ruling in favor of the Château Miraval case heading to trial.