Brad Pitt Will ‘Never Give Up Hope’ for Reconciling With His Kids: ‘He Wants to Save His Family’

Brad Pitt has admitted he was already in love with Mr. & Mrs. Smith costar Angelina Jolie as he grappled with ending his marriage to Jennifer Aniston, 55, in 2005 following a long period of feeling adrift. Six years and six kids later, he’d finally found real contentment.

“I’m satisfied with making true choices and finding the woman I love, Angie, and building a family that I love so much,” the actor told Parade in 2011. “A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss.… That’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all.”

At the time, he couldn’t have imagined that his high-stakes gamble would lead to such heartbreak. In 2016, Brad lost his partner and his connection with their children after a heated, alcohol-fueled argument on their private plane led Angelina, 49, to file for divorce and wage a relentless war for sole custody amid claims the 60-year-old was abusive, which he’s long denied.

“Since the split eight years ago, his relationship with his kids has never recovered,” a source exclusively tells In Touch. “It’s been a very hard road, but Brad is not giving up on his fight — he wants to save his family.”

Brad Pitt Longing to Reconcile With His Kids

With the December holidays approaching, Brad is “praying for a Christmas miracle,” says the source. “He’s continued to reach out to the children” — Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16 — “to let them know he loves them. He can’t stop hoping this could be the year they come around.”

The F1 star has been patient for more than eight years. “After Brad and Angelina split, he gave the children some time and tried to prove to them that he’d worked on himself. He went to therapy on his own, quit drinking and slowly tried to make amends,” recalls the source.

In the beginning, Brad’s visitation was monitored and the family attended group counseling sessions. Notes the source: “The process felt very forced and clinical.”

But he was willing to do anything as he fought for more time. In 2021, Brad scored a huge win
when he was finally granted joint custody after a lengthy private trial. Then the ruling was overturned after Angelina got the judge disqualified for what Brad’s team branded a “technical procedural issue,” leaving the desperate father defeated.

“His behavior and the divorce caused so much pain for everyone. He’s still working to heal that,” says the source. “He’s just worried time is running out.”

Brad Pitt’s Growing Rift With His Kids

The older siblings, particularly Pax and Maddox, “have been extremely adamant that they don’t want a relationship with him,” says the source, noting how Pax, in a scathing alleged 2020 Instagram Stories post, tore into Brad, calling him a “world class a–hole” who “made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell.”

Though Brad “was always very close to Shiloh,” adds the source, “she’s also pulled away.” In August, she legally dropped Pitt from her surname after Zahara and Vivienne publicly stopped using it. The adult children are not obligated to see him. Meanwhile, court-mandated visitation and contact is swiftly coming to an end for the Academy Award winner’s two remaining minor children, who turn 18 in just 20 months.

“Now Brad is worried about losing his relationship with the twins, too,” says the source. “This could be his last chance for a reconciliation.”

Angelina — who has referred to her kids as “my close friends” — has already made it clear she’s counting down the days until she can flee L.A. “I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as [the twins are] 18, I’ll be able to leave,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in August.

Brad’s keeping the faith. “He believes Angelina’s resentment toward him will never improve,” says the source, though all isn’t lost with their kids if they take a different cue from their mom. “Growing up, Angie had a tumultuous relationship with her own dad,” Oscar-winner Jon Voight, 85, notes the source, “yet she’s attempted to work on things with him over the years.” Brad just wants the same opportunity, says the source: “He will never give up hope.”