Angelina Jolie Says She ‘Lost’ Her ‘Fighting Spirit’ During Years-Long Brad Pitt Divorce Battle

Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016 and almost a decade later, she revealed that she’s beginning to feel like her old self again.

“I think my fighting spirit is finally back,” Jolie, 51, told Variety in an interview published on Wednesday, June 17. “I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it.”

She and Pitt, 62, share five children – Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17 – and the Girl, Interrupted star said they played a role in gaining her confidence back.

“My kids are almost all 18, so now they want to see me traveling the world, they want me to get out and do things,” Jolie explained to the publication. “They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot. I think they’re very encouraging of me kind of getting back to aspects of myself that maybe I hadn’t felt as free to do.”

The Maleficent actress also revealed that before she and Pitt went their separate ways, she considered retiring from acting.

“I was focusing on directing, and I thought I’d be doing my international work,” she shared. “But then suddenly the only way to be home more and for short periods of time being away or to make a good amount of money, was to go back to acting. I was only taking things that were short or close by or I could take [my children].”

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star and Jolie had a contentious divorce that started in 2016 and lasted more than eight years. During that time, they faced a lengthy custody battle and multiple legal disputes before their divorce was finalized in December 2024.

Pitt also seemingly has a rocky relationship with several of his children. As In Touch previously reported, Maddox, Zahara and Shiloh have all legally petitioned to drop “Pitt” from their last name.