BRAD & ANGELINA'S ONGOING LEGAL BATTLE - HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?

After nearly eight years spent duking it out in court, Angelina Jolie has asked ex Brad Pitt for a truce. Us reveals where Pitt stands - and why the war between them has raged on for so long

- JAIME HARKIN

Nestled among the rolling hills of the French countryside in the small village of Correns sits Château Miraval, the centuries-old 1,200-acre property Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie purchased for $28.4 million in 2008. For the A-list megastars, the sprawling estate was an idyllic escape from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. It was a place where their young children played with goats and chickens and rode dirt bikes and where, in August 2014, Jolie and Pitt exchanged vows in front of 20 guests in a private stone chapel.

A little more than a decade later, the winery is at the center of Pitt and Jolie's seemingly never-ending feud. A legal battle that initially began after Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016 over custody of their six children (they share Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne) shifted to a tug-of-war over the château when Pitt, 60, sued Jolie, 49, for selling her stake to a Russian billionaire in February 2022. The acrimonious exes have been going back and forth ever since, slinging mud through attorneys and legal filings, and dragging out what has become one of the nastiest celebrity divorces of all time.

On July 18, Jolie's lawyer Paul Murphy told Us the Eternals actress has asked her ex to withdraw his lawsuit "and end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing." While a source close to the matter says "all Jolie wants is peace," two additional sources tell Us it's unlikely Pitt will back down. "Brad has no plans to drop the suit," says one source, noting that the Bullet Train actor feels doing so will only prolong their legal drama in the end. "Brad knows there will be no resolution. He has nothing to gain by dropping it."