Hollywood's favourite couple Brangelina shocked their fans last year when they announced their spilt after many years of marriage and six kids together.
Now, in a new interview with Vanity Fair (and for the first time since their separation), Angelina Jolie talks about what it's like being a single mum, how her kids are coping after the split... and new health conditions she now faces.
Image: Screengrab, by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
New house, new life
The Vanity Fair interview took place in the star's new six-bedroom home in California, where the reporter - Evgenia Peretz - was welcomed in to witness Jolie's life as a solo mum first-hand.
Here's what the Peretz had to say about the interior of the house, and the moment she saw Jolie walk out to greet her:
"Inside, the vibe is airy and calm: all open windows and cross-breezes, creamy-white unlit candles, soft creamy-white furnishings.
"Finally she emerges from the other side of the house and glides across the room in a creamy-white, floor-length caftan. Her hair is down, her feet bare, only a touch of makeup, her skin luminous. She smiles widely—a beneficent, ethereal wood nymph."
The Oscar-winning actress admitted that the months after the split have "just been the hardest time, and we’re just kind of coming up for air."
"[This house] is a big jump forward for us, and we’re all trying to do our best to heal our family,” she said.
Jolie hesitated to talk directly about her breakup with Pitt. However, she did mention that her children have been very brave through it all.
She continued, "We’re all just healing from the events that led to the [divorce] filing. ... They’re not healing from divorce. They’re healing from some ... from life, from things in life.”
The actress did say that she and Pitt "care for each other ... [and] are both working toward the same goal."
Jolie with four of her kids.
Jolie's new health challenges
She's a single mum to six kids, a guest lecturer at the London School of Economics, a full-time actor and director and immersed in humanitarian work.
It's no surprise that with such a fast-paced life and busy schedule, that two health challenges have emerged as a result: hypertension and Bell's Palsy.
Bell's palsy "causes sudden weakness in your facial muscles. This makes half of your face appear to droop."
Jolie believes the root cause of these conditions can be traced to her not putting herself first in life. She's now okay after treatment that included acupuncture.
"Sometimes women in families put themselves last," she said, "until it manifests itself in their own health."
“I actually feel more of a woman because I feel like I’m being smart about my choices, and I’m putting my family first, and I’m in charge of my life and my health. I think that’s what makes a woman complete,” she added about her life now.
Jolie is currently involved in a movie -“First They Killed My Father” - which is about the Cambodian genocide.
She says that her 15-year-old son, Maddox, is primarily how and why the movie came about in the first place. “He was the one who said, ‘It’s time to do it,” she explains.
The Vanity Fair article also reports that Jolie's kids “became close playmates with the child actors” in the film.
"First They Killed My Father" will be released on Netflix later this year.
What do you feel about Jolie's statement related to mums needing to looking after themselves first?
Featured image: Vanity Fair Instagram
*Republished with permission from theAsianparent Singapore
