Brad Pitt reportedly "isn't ready to give up on his children" amid reports of their name changes

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been separated since 2016, with Jolie filing for divorce after an alleged altercation on an aeroplane in September of that year.

Jolie alleged that Pitt physically assaulted her and two of their children during a flight from France to Los Angeles. Pitt has denied the allegations.

Eight years later, the former couple's divorce is still ongoing, with Pitt and Jolie yet to reach a settlement agreement.

Part of the legal disagreements have centred around the custody of their six children - Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, both 15.

While the legal disputes appear to be ongoing, Pitt's relationship with his children has returned to the headlines this week, as daughter Shiloh filed to legally drop "Pitt" from her surname.

On the date of her 18th birthday, the actress reportedly submitted a petition to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, applying to shorten her surname to just her mother's name "Jolie".

Shiloh is not the first of the Jolie-Pitt children to change her name, with her sisters, Vivienne and Zahara, appearing to go by the surname "Jolie" too. However, Shiloh is reportedly the only one to have taken legal action so far.

"After years of legal battles, Brad still isn’t ready to give up on his children,” a source reportedly told Us Weekly after news broke. “But knowing his children are dropping his last name is upsetting."

“He wishes their relationship was stronger and wants to work on that,” another source previously told the publication, adding that Pitt “doesn’t see the kids” as much as he would like.

"[It has been] a sad situation for years", another insider explained to PEOPLE back in 2022. "Many times, there have been long gaps where [Pitt] didn't see the kids at all."

We will continue to update this story.