How Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt's Ex Bodyguard Rocked Their Reputation
Although Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were once one of Hollywood's most celebrated couples, the luster of their union has long worn off, and the salacious secrets shared by their former bodyguards certainly haven't helped matters. In case you're not caught up on your Brangelina news, you should know that their downfall started around the middle of the 2010s. After just two years of marriage, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. And while Jolie initially cited "irreconcilable differences," according to ABC News, accusations of abuse, substance use, and infidelity on Pitt's end have since entered the public's collective knowledge. Pitt and Jolie's kids have also reportedly suffered emotionally at the hands of their parents' divorce.
Unfortunately, Pitt and Jolie's messy divorce and subsequent custody battle isn't the only thing that has tarnished their reputation over the years. In October 2016, the couple's short-lived bodyguard, Mark Billingham, spoke with The Sun and exposed unflattering secrets about the pair. For starters, Billingham claimed that Pitt was too good-looking to survive in his show, "SAS: Who Dares Win," which sought to put contestants through physically demanding challenges. "Brad wouldn't last long because he wouldn't have any cream to put on his face," said Billingham. "It would be too sweaty and uncomfortable for him. He's too pretty!" Interestingly, Billingham was more complimentary of Jolie. "But Angie could do it," he continued. "She'd probably be the only one with balls at the end. She would stick it out."
However, Billingham wasn't the power couple's first or last bodyguard to speak negatively about them.
Brad and Angie's bodyguard says they weren't socially savvy
While Mark Billingham expressed how deeply Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie cared for their children, many of his comments about them were negative. Billingham even claimed that the public's dislike of Pitt made guarding them a challenge. "People love her but hate him," Billingham told The Sun. "You have to figure out a way of protecting them from all that. It was challenging, but interesting." Billingham also claimed that they weren't a socially savvy couple. "What surprised me was their low level of common sense," added Billingham. "I found it crazy when they would ask me questions like, 'How do I go down to that bar?' and 'What do I need to do to get there?" Billingham, however, stressed that the couple wasn't stupid — just super out of touch.
2016 wasn't the only time that Billingham has spoken about the couple. In July 2022, Billingham publicized his former salary from the since-divorced couple during an interview with This Is Money. "Yes, when I eventually left the military in 2007 and got a proper job I ended up as a bodyguard to celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe and Michael Caine," said Billingham about whether he'd ever earned "silly money." He continued, "I earned really good money — three times as much as I was earning in the military. I think it was more than £10,000 a month."
Other bodyguards have come forward
Similar to what David and Victoria Beckham have dealt with over the years, Mark Billingham isn't the only former bodyguard who's spilled secrets about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Mark Behar, who guarded Pitt and later Jolie around the time they worked on "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," spoke with InTouch and spilled some dirt about the scandalous romance that kicked off while Pitt was still married to "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston. Behar described the co-star's chemistry to high schoolers passing notes. "They didn't want anyone to know, and I thought it was really cool," said Behar. He also claimed that Pitt confided in him about marital problems between himself and Aniston. "He told me that the relationship wasn't going that great and it was like a tornado came in and swept him away [with Angelina]."
Kris Herzog, another ex-bodyguard, also spoke to The Sun in 2016, claiming that Angelina Jolie had an incriminating file on Brad Pitt, which documented poor behavior and helped give her leverage during their divorce proceedings. "There is not going to be a long, drawn-out battle — they've already agreed on everything," said Herzog. "It's been sorted quickly because Angie has kept a file on Brad over the years. And they both know if she decided to make that file public, his career would be over. He would never be sponsored by a major studio again."
Pitt's team, however, has denied ever employing Herzog.