Why Brad And Angelina's Relationship Was Doomed From The Moment They Met

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce has been anything but amicable. They haven't finalized their custody arrangement, with Jolie trying (and failing) to replace the judge overseeing their case, Us Weekly reported. Sure, they were Hollywood's golden couple, but, in retrospect, it seems like their romance was doomed from the start, at least according to Certified Divorce Coach Abby King. King remarked to Nicki Swift, "One of the most glamorous couples in the world has, in their breakup, wound up just like the rest of us mere mortals, slugging along and battling it out."

She continued, "As an outsider, with outside intel and little substantiated fact, it's hard to draw hard conclusions as to what went wrong. However, it is possible to pinpoint several crucial signs that things were not smooth sailing for this golden couple. We start at the beginning." King acknowledged that "the timing of their physical relationship was never confirmed." However, they did meet while filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2004 while he was married to Jennifer Aniston, who King described as "America's then (and still now) beloved friend."

King explained to Nicki Swift, "Falling in love and lust can be inconvenient with affairs seldom resulting in meaningful and healthy long-term relationships." She shared, "The few that make it past the initial and illicit exciting phase of deception, face a real issue that lurks in the background until dealt with head on." That is, in part, why they were never going to last forever. Additionally, other factors led to their inevitable split.

Certified Divorce Coach Abby King explained to Nick Swift how Brad Pitt jumping from Jennifer Aniston to Angelina Jolie might have cost the pair a solid relationship. She began, "When a marriage ends, both parties ideally enter into a stage of reflection, acceptance and understanding." King added, "Time taken to evaluate the breakdown of a relationship and mourn the loss is crucial and ultimately leads to proper healing." Pitt seemingly didn't have that time to evaluate in between romances with Aniston and Jolie. As a result, he dove "headfirst into the next without unpacking the last." King argued, "If you skip this critical stage, and your past baggage comes with you into your future."

King also addressed Pitt's social activity during his romance with Jolie. "It's been reported that Brad's active social life prior to 'Brangelina' came to a screeching halt and in a 2011 Marie Claire article Angelina states, "Well, I have a few girlfriends, I just... I stay at home a lot. I'm just not very social." 

Jolie also told the outlet (via Us Weekly), "I'll talk to my family; I talk to Brad ... But I don't know, I don't have a lot of friends I talk to. He is really the only person I talk to." King remarked, "Angelina relying on Brad to be her entire social connection, expecting him to be her everything, placed a heavy weight on his shoulders."

According to Certified Divorce Coach Abby King, "Healthy marriages are those in which both parties have meaningful friendships outside the relationship," which did not seem to be the case for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. She elaborated to Nicki Swift, "Social ties outside the marriage ease pressures within, by offering the opportunity for the pursuit of happiness without forcing one partner to join every one of those pursuits." Lacking these connections can make "partners can feel stifled, suffocated and the worst – lonely within a relationship." When it comes down to it, King said, "When you rely on one person to fill the role of many, you set yourself (and your loved one) up for a road of anger, resentment and guilt."

Throughout their relationship, Pitt turned to substance abuse, which he discussed during a 2017 GQ interview. The Academy Award winner admitted, "Personally, I can't remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn't boozing or had a spliff, or something." King said, "I can only speculate on the effect that Pitt's substance use had on his marriage. Yet, it's likely, as in most relationships that include an abuse of drugs or alcohol, there was a level of emotional distance between Brad and Angelina."

King pointed out, "Brad as much as admits this to be the case when he says in the same article, 'And I'm running from feelings.'"

Certified Divorce Coach Abby King related Brad Pitt's split from Angelina Jolie to his breakup from Jennifer Aniston, theorizing to Nicki Swift, "Perhaps, circling back to the beginning, he was running from feelings left on the table in the abrupt ending of his marriage to Jennifer Aniston. We'll never know, but what we do know is after his marriage to Angelina ended, in May 2017 Brad was embracing new sobriety. King observed, "It's clear that Brad is taking this post breakup process seriously, noting that he's now "looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street."

"I can't relate to the heavenly life and style of Brangelina, but as a Certified Divorce Coach® I can relate to what they're dealing with in the process of their divorce," King shared. The expert concluded, "At the end of the day their relationship ended just like ours do, down on earth, with anger, bitterness, lawyers and custody arrangements. Their fame, beauty, wealth and success weren't a match for mortal marital strife."