Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Their Love in Their Own Words
The couple had gushed over each other for years.
— -- On Monday, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, sending shockwaves across the Internet.
The couple, who had been married for two years and together more than a decade, often spoke lovingly of one another to the press, dating back to the early days of their relationship.
When asked about their relationship, both stars praised each other for being good parents to their six children and credited each other for being solid partners.
After they married in 2014, Pitt told ABC News that the ceremony "solidified something."
"It was an amazing day. And I think there's an added security that comes with it," Pitt told ABC News of their decision to marry in 2014. "We got six kids. I thought we were way past it. But I was surprised how much it meant to me, too. It's not just a piece of paper."
August 2007: "I’m in love with Brad as a father ... It’s hot, there’s nothing sexier than a man who is a great father," she told Marie Claire U.K. "He’s a great combination of what I think a father needs to be: He’s very strong, he’s a caretaker who will teach them right from wrong. You can tell, just the way the children miss him, that they love daddy."
July 2008: Years before she and Pitt actually tied the knot, Jolie told Vanity Fair that they "certainly feel married." "After my last divorce, I said I was absolutely going to marry somebody in another field, an aid worker or something. Then I met Brad, everything I wasn’t looking for, but the best man, the best father I could possibly wish for, you know? I don’t see him as an actor. I see him very much as a dad, as somebody who loves travel and architecture more than being in movies.”
August 2009: "I have love in my life, a soulmate -- absolutely. When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it -- hate mail from religious groups," Pitt told Parade. "I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment."
July 2010: "The children certainly tie us together, but a relationship won't hold if it's only about the kids," Jolie told Parade. "You also must be really interested in each other and have a really, really wonderful, exciting time together. We do. Brad and I love being together. We enjoy it. We need it, and we always find that special time."
October 2011: “I feel like the richest man alive since I've become a father," Pitt told Psychologies magazine. "I worry about them all the time. That's the emotional bond and responsibility that sweeps over you when you have a family to look after. You see past yourself and become more generous and giving, and wanting only the best for your family."
December 2011: "He has expanded my life in ways I never imagined," Jolie told Marie Claire magazine of her relationship with Pitt. "We built a family. He is not just the love of my life, he is my family. I hold that very dear. I suppose what I've learned from Brad is to be able to have the kind of family whose happiness and well-being comes before your own. I'm very, very grateful to have such a loving family, and I wouldn't have that without him."
January 2012: "We’d actually like to,” Pitt told the Hollywood Reporter of marriage. "It seems to mean more and more to our kids. We made this declaration some time ago that we weren’t going to do it till everyone can. But I don’t think we’ll be able to hold out. It means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment.”
July 2013: "He's such a wonderful man and a wonderful father, and I'm very, very lucky," Jolie, who at the time had recently gone through a double mastectomy, said of her partner to E!.
May 2014: Just a few months before she married Pitt, Jolie told "Good Morning America" that they had begun wedding planning. "You know, I think the important thing is that whatever we do it's that the kids do have a great time, and we all - you know, take seriously the love, and the connection between all of us," she said. "But also just get silly and do something memorable."
October 2015: The Jolie-Pitts were open about their peripatetic lifestyle. “We travel often to Asia, Africa, Europe, where they were born,” she said to Vogue. “The boys know they’re from Southeast Asia, and they have their food and their music and their friends, and they have a pride particular to them. But I want them to be just as interested in the history of their sisters’ countries and Mommy’s country so we don’t start dividing. Instead of taking Z on a special trip, we all go to Africa [where she was born] and we have a great time."
November 2015: "What was really, really nice was to, say, after 10 years of marriage, and anybody who's married and in a long-term relationship knows this, is that you cannot just keep things in, and you can't play it safe," she told the Associated Press. "You're going to have a long life ahead of you and you've got shake it up and, sometimes, it's really wonderful to test yourselves, to push each other."
November 2015: According to Jolie, she and Pitt enjoyed a relatively typical domestic life. "We’re dorky Mom and Dad!" she told the Wall Street Journal. “When Angie has a day off, the first thing she does is get up and take the kids out. This is the most important ‘to do’ of the day. No matter how tired she might be, she plans outings for each and all," Pitt added. "She has an incredible knack for inventing crazy experiences for them, something new, something fresh. I may be the bigger goof of the pair, but she invents the stage.”
November 2015: Last year, Jolie opened up about the darker side of her relationship with Pitt when she was promoting their new movie, "By the Sea." "To be clear: we have fights and problems like any other couple," she told the Telegraph. "We have days when we drive each other absolutely mad and want space, but the problems in the movie aren’t our specific problems."
December 2015: "I’m surprised how much our history -- Angie’s and mine -- means to me. That we have this story together. That we know each other. That we watch each other getting older, through amazing moments, joys, pains. That we know each other. It means so much to me," Pitt told the Telegraph last year. "I don’t know. I’m just surprised, because you hear people talking about the old ball and chain, and people trying to recapture youth, as if that’s the impulse -- but it’s not the impulse, it’s not the impulse at all."