Brad Pitt reveals he has battled suicidal thoughts and ‘couldn’t see a way out’ as he opens up on ‘family stuff’ amid estrangement from his children with Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt has revealed he battled suicidal thoughts as a result of the estrangement of his children and ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

Last month, the actor’s daughter Vivienne, 18, followed in the footsteps of her three older siblings and filed a petition to drop Pitt from her name.

Pitt, 62, addressed the topic in a rare interview, explaining that while he would never act on his suicidal feelings, the ‘oppressive’ pain left him feeling like he had no way out.

He told Esquire UK: ‘I was never suicidal in any way. It just was not my makeup. In fact, if I have any afflictions, it’s probably being a congenital optimist. Which has helped many times, and it’s also gotten me – I’ve walked foolishly head-on into a Mack truck because of my optimism.

‘Or, as my forever-funny friend David Fincher will say, “Yeah, you see the glass as half full, but it’s half full of urine.”

Anyway, I’ve never been suicidal except for one little period. And in that one little period, I just thought – I just couldn’t – just didn’t see a way out. The pain was so oppressive that – I wasn’t going to act on this, but I could feel – I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief.

And I thought, “Oh, okay, now I understand” – I understand suicide, in the sense that it’s just relief. It’s just looking for relief from the pain.

‘But I also think we have incredible survival instincts. And for me, that immediately kicked in, but it was just… Yeah. Like, listen: This s**t ain’t easy… And you’re talking to a guy who won the lottery.’

When quizzed by the interviewer, Pitt confirmed he was talking about ‘family stuff’.

Pitt also described the ‘gaping hole’ he felt after the loss of his mother, Jane, who passed away a year ago aged 84.

He said: ‘Grief, if you survive it, leaves a gaping hole, but it also leaves profound beauty. It’s an aching beauty, but it’s beauty.’

Pitt and Ms Jolie met on the set of the 2005 film Mr and Mrs Smith and later married in a secret ceremony in the South of France in August 2014.

They have three children together, with Siloh, now 20, being born in 2006 and twins Vivienne and Knox, who are both 18, arriving in 2008.

Pitt and Ms Jolie’s marriage ended after a volatile plane incident in 2016 and allegations of abuse, which Pitt has adamantly denied.

He has never been charged with a crime and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services cleared him of physical abuse allegations.

The A-listers went on to battle it out in a gruelling eight-year divorce battle that was concluded in 2024.

The dispute has also seen the pair attack each other in legal filings ever since Pitt sued Ms Jolie in 2022 for selling her stake in their Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé wine.

Most recently, Vivienne followed in the footsteps of her three older siblings and filed a petition at Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting that her legal name be changed from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie.

The reason behind the change is listed as ‘personal’, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. An official hearing is scheduled for November 2.

The actor’s daughter Zahara and son Maddox also published notices revealing their intentions to drop Pitt from their last names.

The advertisements were both published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal throughout June and July.

Last year, Shiloh, who was born Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, legally changed her name to Shiloh Jolie. Aside from Pax, Vivienne’s twin brother Knox is the only other sibling who has yet to formally drop the actor’s surname.

Elsewhere in the interview, Pitt revealed he was sober for seven years but now has the occasional drink.

The actor went to Alcoholics Anonymous after the breakdown of his marriage but now has the occasional drink.

He said: ‘I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon… In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.’

In 2020, Pitt credited Bradley Cooper with helping him to overcome his battles with addiction.

While accepting Best Supporting Actor from his pal at the National Board Of Review gala, the performer revealed Cooper helped him ‘get sober’ and ‘every day has been happier ever since’.

Now in his sixties, Pitt shows no signs of slowing down. His next film, Heart of the Beast, a man-and-his-dog story, will be coming out this autumn followed by Quentin Tarantino’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth in which he stars as a Hollywood stuntman.

He just wrapped up the thriller The Riders a few weeks ago.

The actor is now happily in a relationship with jewellery executive Ines de Ramon, who resides with him in Los Angeles.

But Pitt says he longs to be in his fifties again.

He said: ‘God, I want my fifties back…I would do more. Your fifties are just – man, anything that’s on your mind, go. Go attack it. Go attack it now.