It was a now infamous flight which served to end Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s two year marriage, plus a 12 year relationship which had seen them weather multiple storms, and welcome six children. That private jet journey from France to Los Angeles in September 2016 has been picked over many times in various legal documents, first when Jolie filed the court documents which sparked an investigation by the FBI into her former husband (although they dropped the investigation and did not press any charges) after Jolie, 48, claimed Pitt, 60, had been violent in front of and to her children.
In those papers, it was reported that Jolie - named in the documents only as AJ - had been taken to the back of the plane by Pitt, where he grabbed her by the head and shoulders and shook her while yelling, ‘You're f---ing up this family.’ Pitt also allegedly punched the ceiling of the plane four times. Per the report, when Jolie opened the door, two of her children, whose names are redacted, were ‘outside the door and crying and asked, “Are you okay mommy?”. Pitt, who Jolie suspected was inebriated, allegedly yelled, ‘No, mommy's not okay. She's ruining this family.’ He also allegedly poured beer on Jolie while she was under a blanket with the kids.
This was, until now, thought to be something of an isolated incident which had pushed Jolie to seek a shock separation, and ultimately a divorce (although seven years since first filing, the divorce itself is still yet to be officially finalised).
And yet, as the couple’s seven year divorce case painstakingly inches to a close, there is one final legal sticking point between the couple: the battle over Jolie’s decision to sell her part of the French vineyard Chateau Miraval to a Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler without telling Pitt. The case - which is separate to the divorce - is the reason that explosive new documents have emerged which suggest that Pitt had been physically and emotionally abusive to Jolie long before that infamous flight.
In papers filed this month, Jolie’s attorneys detail, 'Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family's plane trip from France to Los Angeles,’ although they add that ‘this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well.’
The court papers claim that Jolie has evidence of 'Pitt's history of physical abuse of the family and abuse of Jolie' and claims the children continue to experience 'significant and ongoing post-traumatic stress'. Indeed an Instagram story thought to have been posted by the couple’s son Pax, 16 at the time, said the Hollywood star made his four youngest children ‘tremble in fear’ and ‘made the lives of those closest to Pax a constant hell’, according to a screengrab revealed in November last year.
In the most recent papers, attorneys for Jolie refer to a ‘history of abuse, control and cover-ups' and claim she has 'testimony, emails, photographs, and other evidence' which, they say, will show how Pitt tried to conceal his behaviour if they come to trial. The actor's denials of physical abuse are described in the court documents as 'gaslighting'.
The papers also claim that Pitt exerted 'coercive' financial control over her via their dispute over the Miraval wine-making business as their divorce has dragged on. Pitt, meanwhile, has denied all allegations of physical abuse and was not charged following an FBI probe into the incident on the flight.
Sources in Pitt’s camp, however, have said he sees this as a direct response to his recent win in the LA courts in their ongoing Mirval battle. Pitt secured a crucial victory regarding the Chateau in February when the judge, Los Angeles Superior Court's Judge John W. Ouderkirk, determined that Jolie's move to sell her share without Pitt's consent breached their original agreement. The agreement explicitly required authorization for such transfers, and the judge deemed Jolie's attempt a "strategic business decision" necessitating Pitt's approval.
Separate legal documents, referenced by DailyMail.com earlier this month, had previously shown that the actress claimed she walked out of talks to sell her part of the vineyard to Pitt for $54 million because of standard NDA clause in his proposed contract for the sale. Jolie claimed that it was an 'unconscionable' attempt by her ex-partner to 'control her' after their split.
Pitt's lawyers told LA Superior Court earlier this month that Jolie's NDA objection was really just a cover story which she cooked-up to 'rationalize' her betrayal of Pitt.
The Fight Club star's attorneys also claim that she asked for Pitt to sign a broader NDA just six months later as part of their divorce settlement talks. 'It's unclear why she finds this so unconscionable when her own lawyers suggested a mutually binding gagging clause as part of their divorce just a few months later,’ they said. Pitt's lawyers also argued that disclosure of her NDAs would ultimately discredit Jolie's arguments over why she abandoned the talks with her estranged husband.
Now, as the increasingly messy Miraval case continues, it is still thought that the divorce case itself could be nearing a denouement, after each party submitted its financial disclosures - often the very final stages of a divorce. It’s thought by sources close to the former couple that a battle for joint custody by Pitt had been settled - with four of their six children soon to be 18 or older, Pitt is now thought to have visitation set up with his 15-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox, though he is thought to be estranged from adopted sons Pax, 20, and Maddox, 22, and adopted daughter Zahara, 18.
There are outside motivations for the divorce to be resolved now, says a source close to the former couple, who claims that the Once Upon A Time in Hollywood star is growing ever serious with his girlfriend Ines de Ramon, the 31-year-old jewellery designer he has been dating since last summer. ‘Ines is a permanent fixture at Brad’s Los Feliz home these days,’ said the source. ‘It wouldn’t be at all surprising if he wanted to settle down with her - and tying up this huge emotional and financial drain of a divorce is becoming a priority for both Brad and Angelina.’
Meanwhile Jolie has been spending more time in New York (being able to travel freely was something the actor recently said was going to be a highlight of the divorce finally being settled), where she was photographed this week for an event celebrating the opening night of The Outsiders on Broadway (which Jolie has worked on as a producer) alongside her daughter Vivienne. A new tattoo summed up Jolie’s state of mind amidst the ongoing legal turmoil she has been living through in recent years. ‘Stay Golden’ it reads, a phrase echoing the words of Pony Boy, a character from The Outsiders, but also something which Jolie herself must have been living by as she moves slowly from dark times back into the light.