LOS ANGELES: Brad Pitt has admitted heavy drinking helped ruin his marriage and revealed he is now a teetotaler and in therapy in his first interview since his shock split from Angelina Jolie.
Jolie, 41, filed for divorce in September, citing irreconcilable differences. She accused Pitt of hitting their teenage son on a flight from France to Los Angeles, sparking tabloid gossip and an FBI probe.
The 53-year-old was cleared by the FBI and social workers and wants joint legal and physical custody of Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 8, while Jolie is demanding sole guardianship.
“It’s (alcohol) just become a problem. And I’m really happy it’s been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but I’ve got my feelings in my fingertips again.”
Pitt, who has three Oscar nominations for acting and one win for producing “12 Years a Slave,” said he was able to swap alcohol for cranberry juice and fizzy water after deciding he did not “want to live that way anymore.”
Pitt, who has a new movie, “War Machine,” on Netflix later this month, said the past six months had been about “looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street.”
He voiced fears over the toll the public custody battle might be taking on his children and said he and Jolie were trying to keep proceedings out of the courts.
“I heard one lawyer say, ‘No one wins in court — it’s just a matter of who gets hurt worse.’ And it seems to be true,” he said.
Brad Pitt opens up about Jolie split
Brad Pitt opens up about Jolie split
