Brad Pitt is finally opening up about the past six months in a new interview with GQ Style. When it comes to his messy, public divorce from Angelina Jolie, Pitt says he's committed to accepting his responsibility in the situation and focusing on keeping the peace.
"I see where the one spouse literally can't tell their own part in it, and is still competing with the other in some way and wants to destroy them and needs vindication by destruction, and just wasting years on that hatred," he said. "I don't want to live that way."
Still, he admits that the last six months have been rough—especially when he was being investigated by Child Services (the investigation ended with him eventually cleared of all child abuse allegations).
"I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called. And you know, after that, we've been able to work together to sort this out," he said of how he and Jolie are handling things now. "We're both doing our best."
Pitt and Jolie would like to avoid court, he says.
"I heard one lawyer say, 'No one wins in court—it's just a matter of who gets hurt worse.' And it seems to be true, you spend a year just focused on building a case to prove your point and why you're right and why they're wrong, and it's just an investment in vitriolic hatred. I just refuse," he said. "And fortunately my partner in this agrees. It's just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart."
Pitt also opened up to GQ about other changes he's been through this year, like giving up alcohol, which he felt had become a problem for him.
"I enjoy wine very, very much, but I just ran it to the ground," he explained. "I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good."
As for what he's focused on now: Family, plain and simple.
"Family first. People on their deathbeds don't talk about what they obtained or were awarded. They talk about their loved ones or their regrets—that seems to be the menu. I say that as someone who's let the work take me away," he said. "Kids are so delicate. They absorb everything. They need to have their hand held and things explained. They need to be listened to. When I get in that busy work mode, I'm not hearing. I want to be better at that."
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