Brad Pitt sought out the phone number of his first wife, Jennifer Aniston, after Angelina Jolie began bitter divorce proceedings against him last year, and has been finding solace in texting her since then, according to reports.
Us Weekly claims that although Pitt had lost Aniston’s cellphone number after their divorce in 2005, he tracked it down through what a source describes as “a tangled web” of contacts so he could send his good wishes for her 48th birthday on Feb. 11.
Aniston was humiliated when Pitt left her for Jolie, and then starred in a multi-page shoot by Steven Klein for W magazine portraying a happy suburban family with Jolie. The not-so-make-believe showed Brad and Angelina saying grace at the dinner table with five kids (a slight underestimate), Brad and Angelina making cocktails, and Brad and Angelina filling a kiddie pool on the scorched grass of a front lawn.
The supposed peg was that the two were the co-stars of the spy rom-com Mr. & Mrs. Smith, however many interpreted it as a gratuitous swipe at Aniston.
Aniston admitted throwing herself “a pity party” after the divorce, however she found love again and has been married to Mulholland Drive actor Justin Theroux since 2015. (Theroux is reportedly “OK with them being friends,” according to Us Weekly’s insider because he knows, “Jen just wants to be nice.”)
The magazine reports the former couple “started talking once he wished her a happy birthday,” and that since then there have been regular contacts between the exes; “Brad told her he’s having a hard time with his split and they exchanged a few texts reminiscing about the past,” the source says.
Pitt has found himself in headlines since Angelina abruptly called time on their marriage in September 2016, citing the “health of my family” as the reason. It has been widely reported that Jolie was moved to action after Pitt physically squared up to Maddox, 15, on a private jet, however an investigation by the authorities cleared Pitt of abusive behavior toward his child.
The couple have since been in the throes of a bitter breakup and are battling for custody of their children Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and 8-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.
In an emotional interview with the BBC last month, Jolie said of her marital breakdown, “It was very difficult. Many people find themselves in this situation. My whole family have all been through a difficult time. My focus is my children, our children.”
Apparently close to tears, Jolie said: “We are and forever will be a family and so that is how I am coping. I am coping with finding a way through to make sure that this somehow makes us stronger and closer.”
Pitt has accused Jolie of violating their six children’s privacy, saying she and her legal team released confidential information about their children in a document known as the “October Stipulation,” which sought to lay down visitation rights for Pitt.
Angelina responded by saying in court papers, “There is little doubt that [Pitt] would prefer to keep the entire case private, particularly given the detailed investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dept. of Children and Family Services into allegation of abuse.”
