Angelina Jolie Calls Brad Pitt Divorce A 'Very Painful Situation,' Says Kids 'Are Getting Better'

Angelina Jolie and her kids are taking things one day at a time.

The Maleficent star opened up about her divorce from Brad Pitt during an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. "None of it's easy. It's very, very difficult, a very painful situation, and I just want my family healthy," Jolie said. "They're getting better."

"I never expect to be the one that everybody understands or likes," the 42-year-old, who has been busy promoting her new Netflix film First They Killed My Father, continued. "And that's OK, because I know who I am, and the kids know who I am."

As Nicki Swift previously reported, the mother of six filed for divorce from Pitt, 53, in September 2016. She cited "irreconcilable differences" following her ex's infamous on-flight argument with their eldest son Maddox, which resulted in a nasty custody battle. The couple had originally met while filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2003. After getting together the following year, the two married in August 2014. Following the breakup, Jolie and her children — Maddox, 16, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, Vivienne, 9, and Knox, 9 — moved into the former Los Angeles residence of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille.

"It took me a few months to realize that I was really going to have to do it. That there was going to have to be another base regardless of everything," she told the Times. "There was going to have to be a home, another home." Jolie added that their new home is "happy and light, and we needed that." 

"They really help me so much. We're really such a unit," she said of her kids. "They're the best friends I've ever had. Nobody in my life has ever stood by me more."

The Changling star had previously spoken out about her new single status in an interview with The Telegraph. "It's been difficult," Jolie said. "I don't enjoy being single. It's not something I wanted. There's nothing nice about it. It's just hard."

While we wait for more news on the former It couple's divorce, read up on what went wrong between Pitt and Jolie.