Brad Pitt speaks about divorce from Angelina Jolie for the first time

Actor says divorce from Jolie has made him confront his emotions and role as a parent

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Brad Pitt has said he and his estranged wife Angelina Jolie are currently undergoing visitation arrangements for their six children in his first interview since the high-profile split last year.

Last year, Pitt and Jolie announced their divorce after a decade-long relationship and two year marriage sparking a media frenzy over the demise of 'Brangelina'.

Pitt remained notably absent from red carpet events since the split and has now addressed it for the first time in GQ magazine – where he features across three covers all shot in national parks across the United States.

In the interview, he says him and his estranged wife are currently working out the visitation rights for their six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10 and twins Knox and Vivienne who are eight.

“I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called,” he says. “And you know, after all that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out. We’re both doing our best.”

In November, the FBI said Pitt would face no charges over an alleged altercation with his son Maddox on a private plane days before Jolie filed for divorce. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services also reportedly probed the actor but closed the investigation with no finding of wrongdoing.

Pitt told GQ he did not want to drag their divorce and custodial agreements through the courts and that “fortunately” Jolie agrees.

“It’s just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart,” he said.

The 53-year-old said his divorce hit him “smack in the face” that he has to be more for his children and made him confront his emotions.

“I grew up with a Father-knows-best/war mentality - the father is all-powerful, super strong – instead of really knowing the man and his own self-doubt and struggles. And it’s hit me smack in the face with our divorce: I gotta be more for them. I have to show them. And I haven’t been great at it.”

Pitt also reveals he has started attending therapy which he “loves”. He told the magazine that in spite of the events of the past six months he would have ended up in a place seeking therapy regardless.

“For me, this period has really been about looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street,” he says.

Pitt denied he was experiencing a mid-life crisis saying he defines that as “a fear of growing old and fear of dying”, something he is not experiencing.

The Allied actor also says he gave up drinking alcohol around six months ago after finding he was “boozing too much” and it was becoming a problem. After deciding he “didn’t want to live that way any more”, he now replaces wine with cranberry juice and fizzy water.

“I enjoy wine very, very much but I just ran it to the ground,” he said. “I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Pitt says he has been listening to a lot of Frank Ocean recentl: “I find this young man so special,” he says. “Talk about getting to the raw truth. He’s painfully honest. He’s very, very special. I can’t find a bad one.”

Pitt said that in the immediate aftermath of news breaking of his impending divorce he stayed on his friend’s floor as he was “too sad” to be in his own home. In addition to listening to Frank Ocean, he has also taken up sculpting.