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angelina jolie maria venice film festival 2024© Getty Images

Angelina Jolie opens up about 'betrayal' amid ongoing Brad Pitt divorce

The Maria star still hasn’t finalized her divorce after eight years

Jenni McKnight
US Lifestyle Editor
August 31, 2024
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Angelina Jolie has revealed there are few people she trusts after being "betrayed a lot".

The Maria star, 49, reflected on some of the personal experiences she's had that led to her having a very small circle of friends who she can turn to in times of need.

In a revealing new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Angelina was asked which "close friend" she would call in the middle of the night – but the actress admitted she didn't have many.

"I don't really have those kinds of relationships," she stated. "Maybe it's losing your parent young. Maybe it's working."

She added: "Maybe it's being somebody who's been betrayed a lot.

"I don't have a lot of those warm, close relationships as much that I lean on. But I have a few, and a few is enough." 

Angelina Jolie attends a photocall for the movie "Maria" during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at  on August 29, 2024 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)© Getty
Angelina has been 'betrayed a lot'

One of those "few" is Cambodian-American human rights activist Loung Ung.

"Loung is one of my closest friends. My mother was very close to me. I lost her," she added, referring to her mother Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007 from ovarian and breast cancer. 

"I've had a few friends over the years not be there for my family in their hour of need."

Angelina Jolie is seen at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2024 in Venice, Italy. © Getty Images
Angelina keeps a very small circle of friends

Angelina has no problem keeping her circle of friends small. "I have a couple of people that I trust. What did Maria Callas die with? Two trusted people," she added, referring to the late American-Greek soprano who she portrays in Maria.

The Maleficent star also shared her preferred way to relax, revealing: "If somebody wants to watch bad TV and order Thai food, I'm the first one to put the fuzzy socks on and sit next to them. I like to be with people I love. I'm not somebody begging to be alone."

angelina jolie venice film festival 2024© Getty Images
Angelina has been let down in the past

She explained: "I'm not that person that feels like, 'Oh, I wish I could just be alone so I could have my guilty pleasures.' Because usually my guilty pleasure is being with somebody. I love doing something that makes them happy. That really does make me happy."

While she declined to discuss her divorce from Brad Pitt, she did share that she is currently residing in Los Angeles because of it.

Brad and Angelina have been embroiled in court proceedings since their 2016 divorce© Getty Images
Brad and Angelina have been embroiled in court proceedings since their 2016 split

Angelina and Brad's legal battle over their divorce and shared assets has gone on for several years now, despite first filing in 2016 and being declared legally single in 2019.

"I have to be here from a divorce. But as soon as they're 18, I'll be able to leave," she said, referring to her and Brad’s 16-year-old twins, Vivienne and Knox.

Sharing an insight into her family dynamic, Angelina continued: "When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety. 

L to R: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt © Getty Images
Angelina is staying in Los Angeles until her twins turn 18

"I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be … that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here."

Sharing her future plans once she becomes an empty nester, she said: "[After Los Angeles,] I'll spend a lot of time in Cambodia. I'll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world."

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