RIP Brangelina: A photo timeline
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie call it a day after 12 years as a couple
In other circumstances, 2005's pedestrian remake of spy romcom Mr and Mrs Smith would have quickly passed into obscurity. However, for celebrity gossip fans, the movie is a byword for one of Hollywood's greatest scandals, for it was on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith that Brangelina was born.
Brad Pitt and co-star Angelina Jolie's on-screen romance spilled into real life and when Pitt announced he was leaving his wife of five years, Jennifer Aniston, for Jolie, the media frenzy was intense.
Jolie and Pitt insisted there was no extramarital affair, but TeamAniston fans accused Jolie of being a homewrecker - while TeamJolie camp saw her as the victim of a sexist compulsion to blame "the other woman".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The furore around their relationship wore off over the years, especially after they married in 2014. Jolie's high-profile humanitarian work seems to have distanced her from the "man-stealer" label, and the couple's growing family of adopted and birth children further cemented their settled image.
However, the dream was destroyed when it was announced yesterday that Jolie had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
Although rumours as to the reason for the break-up range from infidelity to clashes over parenting, a spokesperson for Jolie simply said the 41-year-old had taken the decision "for the health of the family" and asked for privacy.
Here's a look back at the couple's 12-year relationship.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How safe are cruise ships in storms?
The Explainer The vessels are always prepared
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
What message is Trump sending with his Cabinet picks?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION By nominating high-profile loyalists like Matt Gaetz and RFK Jr., is Trump serious about creating a functioning Cabinet, or does he have a different plan in mind?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Motherhood: why are we putting it off?
Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
By The Week Staff Published
-
Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?
Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
By The Week Staff Published