Jolie-Pitt split prompts separation of wax figures
September 21, 2016
Madame Tussauds London museums have separated two figures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt following news of their imminent divorce. Pitt has released a statement saying he is "very saddened" by the divorce filing.
Madame Tussauds famous wax museums in London decided to separate two life-like wax figures of the power couple. A museum spokeswoman said the figures' positions should reflect the actors' relationship in light of Tuesday's announcement.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt on Monday, citing irreconcilable differences. She is also seeking physical custody of their six children with visitation rights for Pitt. Later on Tuesday, Pitt released a statement on the situation. "I am very saddened by this but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids," Pitt said in a statement to People magazine.
Referring to the couple's children, Pitt said: "I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time."
Even celebrities closest to the couple were shocked to hear the news. George Clooney first learned of the split when a CNN reporter asked him to comment on the divorce while the Hollywood actor was at the United Nations General Assembly.
Clooney, a close friend of Pitt, was surprised by the news. "It's an unfortunate story about a family. I feel very sorry to hear that. That's the first I've heard of it," he told CNN.
British singer Adele was also saddened by the divorce announcement, bringing up Jolie and Pitt's split at her concert in New York City on Tuesday evening. She dedicated her performance to the couple, saying "it feels like the end of an era."
The rise and fall of Brangelina
After over ten years as one of Hollywood's most powerful couples, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have split. DW takes a look at their relationship from its steamy on-set beginnings to its surprising, sudden end.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Universal Pictures
Romance on the set of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
In 2004, Pitt and Jolie fell in love on the set of action comedy "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." The film made the relationship between the two actors public but stirred controversy as Pitt was still married to actress Jennifer Aniston at the time.
Image: picture-alliance/kpa
Brangelina's large family
The couple has a total of six children. Jolie adopted her Cambodian-born son Maddox and Ethiopian-born daughter Zahara prior to her relationship with Pitt. In 2006, Jolie gave birth to their daughter Shiloh in Namibia. One year later, the couple adopted a Vietnamese-born son named Pax. In 2008, Jolie gave birth to twins Vivienne and Knox in the French city of Nice.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/E. Pantaleo
Chateau de Jolie-Pitt
Pitt and Jolie relocate to the Chateau Miraval, a vineyard estate in southern France in 2008. The couple would later hold their wedding ceremony at the home.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Gangne
Marriage delay
Pitt said he and Jolie would not get married until "everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," in an interview with Esquire in 2006. He repeated this statement in 2009 and 2011. Marriage equality was finally achieved in the US in 2015, one year after the couple's marriage.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/H. Nebinger-Orban
Charitable couple
Pitt and Jolie started a foundation to focus on supporting aid organizations and has donated millions of dollars to charities such as Doctors Without Borders. In 2012, Jolie was named a special envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Image: Getty Images/T. Stoddart
Brave announcement
In 2013, Jolie announced that she underwent a voluntary double mastectomy as a precautionary measure against breast cancer. She urged other women to take preventative measures. "I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive," she wrote at the time.
Image: Getty Images/J. Merritt
French chateau wedding
Pitt and Jolie finally married in 2014 in a nondenominational ceremony in southern France. The couple's children helped to design the patterns on Jolie's wedding dress. The children also participated in the ceremony as ring bearers, flower girls, and escorts down the aisle.
Image: Imago/Levine-Roberts
Foreboding final film
The couple co-stared in the 2015 movie "By the Sea," a drama about the disintegration of a marriage. Jolie wrote and directed the film which received less a less than stellar response from critics. She filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016.
