The past year has been rather tough for Angelina Jolie; first her divorce from Brad Pitt and then her health challenges. The actress revealed what it’s been like for her this past year during an interview with Vanity Fair.
She told of how her children have been coping with her split from their father, how she’s been managing her health, and the changes that has taken place in her life. Jolie and her kids spent the first nine months after her separation living in a rental home out of suitcases. Now she’s purchased a $25 million home in Los Angeles and their lives are beginning to settle back to normal.
The Oscar-winning actress said: “It’s 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 as our family.”
Jolie refused to give details of what led to her split with Pitt but she explained that “things became difficult” last summer so she decided to pull the lug on their marriage. She dismissed claims that her and Brad’s hectic lifestyle is what tore their family apart.
“(Our lifestyle) was not in any way a negative. That was not the problem. That is and will remain one of the wonderful opportunities we are able to give our children…They’re six very strong-minded, thoughtful, worldly individuals. I’m very proud of them,” she said.
Jolie added that her children have been “very brave…in times they needed to be.”
She continued: “We’re all just healing from the events that led to the filing…They’re not healing from the divorce. They’re healing from some…from life, from things in life.”
Asides the breakdown of her relationship, Jolie’s health also suffered in the past one year. The 42-year-old actress revealed that she has developed hypertension and Bell’s palsy. She also noticed extra grey hairs and dry skin.
“I can’t tell if it’s menopause or if it’s just been the year I’ve had,” she shared. “Sometimes women in families put themselves last until it manifests itself in their own health.”
However, the mother-of-six is handling her health issues with optimism.
She said: “I actually feel like more of a woman because 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 continued, “I’ve been trying for nine months to be really good at just being a homemaker and picking up dog poop and cleaning dishes and reading bedtime stories. And I’m getting better at all three.”
All the same, the world renowned actress said she’s beginning to get an itch for travel and adventure in the near future. She said that she had a conversation with her son Knox some days before her interview with Vanity Fair and she joked that things in their household will never fully be “normal.”
“He said, ‘Who wants to be normal? We’re not normal. Let’s never be normal.’ Thank you—yes! We’re not normal. Let’s embrace being not normal.”
