Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s divorce just got extremely messy

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Angelina Jolie is one of the most talked-about women in the world, making viral news for everything from her new Marvel role to her work as a philanthropist, recently donating $1 million to a charity helping underprivileged children during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is her separation from Brad Pitt that is still making headlines however, despite filing for divorce almost four years ago.

From their ‘bifurcating’ their marriage to their custody arrangements over their six children – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne, ‘Brangelina’ is still all anyone can talk about.

Earlier this month, it emerged that Angelina is unhappy with how the case is progressing and wants the private judge handling the divorce to step down.

According to the Associated Press, Angelina presented a filing to Los Angeles Superior Court, requesting that judge John W. Ouderkirk be removed, after he was reportedly late disclosing information that linked him to Brad Pitt's attorney, Anne C. Kiley, in past cases.

Court documents state that during Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce case, John W. Ouderkirk 'failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship between the judge and Respondent's counsel.'

The filing reportedly notes: 'It doesn’t matter if Judge Ouderkirk is actually biased. Under California law disqualification is required so long as a person aware of the facts "might reasonably entertain a doubt" about Judge Ouderkirk’s ability to remain impartial.'

This week, sources commented on Angelina Jolie's latest actions, telling The Post that on some level she doesn't want the divorce 'to end'.

'The longer she does this, the more damage she does to the kids,' a source told The Post about stretching out their divorce proceedings. 'This is a game she’s playing. She still has the kids for more of the time than he does and she’s trying to maintain that as long as possible.'

The source continued: 'On some level she doesn’t want this [the divorce] to end. She’s trying to hold on.'

Sources close to Angelina Jolie however dispute the claims, announcing: 'She’s the one who filed for divorce. There is no one more than her that wants it to be done.'

We will continue to update this story.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.