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Slowly but surely, she’s coming back out of her shell.

For the past decade, Angelina Jolie’s life has existed under the specter of her miserable split from her miserable ex.

Between the financial cost and the excruciating mental anguish, her career was partially on hiatus.

Now, she’s healing and acting and living again. And she credits her amazing children for encouraging her.

‘I kind of got taken down a little’

In an interview with Variety, Angelina shared that her “fighting spirit” is back in multiple ways.

She did acknowledge that much of her energy had been “lost for a bit” over the past decade.

“I kind of got taken down a little,” Angelina acknowledged.

That is, perhaps, a bit of an understatement.

Angelina and Brad married in 2014 after roughly a decade together and began divorcing in 2016. Their divorce lasted a full eight years — ending in December 2024.

Notably, Angelina left out some key words — such as “Brad Pitt” and “marriage” and “divorce” — from this statement.

We’re sure that there were both legal and personal reasons behind that omission.

Angelina focused, rather than upon the awful man who turned her life upside down, upon her amazing children.

She shared that her kids have helped her to heal and are “encouraging” her to get her groove back.

Angelina warmly stated that “know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot.”

It’s fantastic seeing comeback

In addition to her acting career, Angelina’s role in humanitarian work may be her best known quality.

However, her divorce (and litigation over the chateau where she and Brad tied the knot a dozen years ago) has been expensive.

Additionally, she explained that humanitarian work keeps her away from her kids for too long.

Acting, on the other hand, provides ample pay and allows her to see her children with a freer schedule.

Very soon, the twins will turn 18. Not only will this sever an important legal link with Brad, but it will make her an empty-nester — with more personal freedom of movement.

For years, reports seemed to try to frame the Jolie-Pitt divorce with Jolie as some sort of bitter ex who was maliciously keeping the children from Pitt.

Hey, that does happen. Not in this case, but sure, some divorces have cruel exes who play twisted games with custody, finances, and more.

The reality is that child after child has moved to drop the Pitt name, informally with classmates and peers or formally through court documents.

Knox and Vivienne were born in 2008. Their shared birthday is in mid-July, which will make them both 18.

Right now, it appears that Pitt has successfully alienated all of his children. And he has no one to thank but himself.