Angelina Jolie’s children ‘wanted her to speak up for herself’ during eight-year divorce battle with Brad Pitt

Angelina Jolie’s six children reportedly encouraged her to stand up for herself during the eight years it took to finally sign her divorce from estranged third husband Brad Pitt on Christmas Day.

“She’s doing her best to stay light after a dark time,” a source said People on Wednesday.

‘The children have grown up with the realization that some people have so much power and privilege that their voice no longer matters. Their pain doesn’t count.’

The insider added, “They wanted her to stand up and defend herself in recent years, but she reminds them that they need to focus on changing laws instead of telling public stories.”

The 49-year-old Maria actress still has primary custody of her only remaining minor children – 16-year-old fraternal twins Vivienne and Knox – with the 61-year-old Wolf’s producer-star.

Five of Angelina and Brad’s children appear to be estranged from him, including his daughters: Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 18; and Vivienne – all of whom have publicly dropped his surname Pitt from their names.

Pitt reportedly got into a physical altercation with his son Maddox, 23; aboard a private jet in 2016 with his son Pax, 21; called him a ‘world class asshole’ and a ‘despicable person’ in an explosive Instagram rant revealed by DailyMail.com.

“None of my kids want to be in front of the camera right now,” Jolie said GMA on November 21.

“They’re pretty private. Shiloh is extremely private. They weren’t born with privacy, right? So I hope they can get that as they grow.”

The couple formerly known as ‘Brangelina’ – who did not sign a prenup – were technically only married from 2014-2016, despite falling in love on the set of spy film Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2004, which spawned his 2005 film divorce from Jennifer Aniston.

However, Angelina and Brad are entering the fourth year of their legal war over their 1,200-acre Château Miraval winery in Correns, France, where they married, which is reportedly worth $164 million.

Jolie and Pitt bought the 35-room estate together for $28.4 million in 2011, but he sued her in 2021 after she sold her interest in the property to the Stoli Group without his approval, prompting a countersuit.

The Oscar-winning actress had initially offered to settle, but she reportedly went against the mandatory non-disclosure agreement and withdrew.

For her role in Pablo Larraín’s biopic about legendary opera singer Maria Callas, Angelina was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, airing this Sunday on CBS/Paramount+.

Jolie faces stiff competition against The Last Showgirl’s Pamela Anderson, Babygirl’s Nicole Kidman, The Room Next Door’s Tilda Swinton, I’m Still Here’s Fernanda Torres and Lee’s Kate Winslet.

A source told People on Wednesday: “She has done her best to be light after a dark time. The children have grown up realizing that some people have so much power and privilege that their voice no longer matters. Their pain doesn’t count’ (pictured in 2019)

The insider added, “They’ve wanted her to stand up for herself and defend herself in recent years, but she reminds them that they should focus on changing laws instead of telling public stories” (pictured with Pax and Zahara on December 10)

The 49-year-old Maria actress still has primary custody of her only remaining minor children – 16-year-old fraternal twins Vivienne and Knox (L, pictured November 17) – with the 61-year-old Wolf’s producer-star

Five of Angelina and Brad’s children appear to be estranged from him, including his daughters: Zahara (L, photo in 2021), 19; Shiloh (R), 18; and Vivienne – all of whom have publicly dropped his surname Pitt from their names

Pitt reportedly got into a physical altercation with his son Maddox, 23; aboard a private jet in 2016 with his son Pax, 21; called him a ‘world class asshole’ and a ‘despicable person’ in an explosive rant on Instagram (pictured)

Jolie told GMA on Nov. 21, “None of my kids want to be in front of the camera right now. They are quite private. Shiloh is extremely private. They weren’t born with privacy, right? So I hope they can get that as they grow.”

The couple formerly known as ‘Brangelina’ – who did not sign a prenup – were technically only married from 2014-2016, despite falling in love on the set of spy film Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2004, which spawned his 2005 film divorce from Jennifer Aniston

However, Angelina and Brad are entering the fourth year of their legal war over their 1,200-acre Château Miraval winery in Correns, France, where they married, which is reportedly worth $164 million (stock shot 2008)

Jolie and Pitt bought the 35-room estate together for $28.4 million in 2011, but he sued her in 2021 after she sold her interest in the property to the Stoli Group without his approval, prompting a countersuit ( photo in 2015)

For her role in Pablo Larraín’s biopic about legendary opera singer Maria Callas, the Oscar winner was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, airing this Sunday on CBS/Paramount+.

Angelina faces tough competition against The Last Showgirl’s Pamela Anderson, Babygirl’s Nicole Kidman, The Room Next Door’s Tilda Swinton, I’m Still Here’s Fernanda Torres and Lee’s Kate Winslet

The Tony-winning producer will next compete against Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mikey Madison and Demi Moore for the Best Actress trophy at the 30th Critics’ Choice Awards airing January 12 on E!/Peacock .

The 122-minute drama currently has a 75% approval rating from critics (out of 163 reviews) and a 66% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Maria was the third and final film in Pablo’s trilogy of iconic women, following Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021), which scored both Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart Oscar nominations.

Angelina – who had never sung on screen or in public – trained for seven months with singing coach Eric Vetro and prosthetic designer Arjen Tuiten gave her a slightly larger, but still negligible, nose.

Jolie – who has reprized her role in Alice Winocour’s drama Stitches in Paris – has not yet announced a release date for her sixth directorial effort Without Blood, which will be distributed worldwide by Fremantle.