Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's court battle reaches a critical juncture

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's years-long divorce and custody battle is entering a decisive phase. The couple, who met on a film set and were together for over a decade, filed for divorce in 2016. The legal proceedings have already lasted nearly a decade.

Hollywood's most famous former partners Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are once again in the spotlight as their protracted divorce process enters a critical stage. The couple met on a film set and built a family together, but in 2016 Jolie filed for divorce, initiating one of Hollywood's longest and most complicated custody disputes.

From romance to courtroom

In 2011, Angelina Jolie spoke warmly of Brad Pitt, saying: "I've been very fortunate with Brad. He's a real gentleman, yet at the same time a real man. He has a wonderful balance: he's an exceptionally good and loving father, a very, very intelligent man and physically he's a real man." Just five years later, however, she filed for divorce, triggering years of legal conflict.

The two actors share six children, and the question of their custody has been one of the major points of contention. The court battle has also involved their joint French vineyard, Château Miraval, over which separate legal disputes have been fought.

A decade of disputes

The family feud, lasting nearly a decade, has been emotionally and financially draining for both parties. The former couple, affectionately known by fans as "Brangelina," has become one of the most notable examples of how a celebrity relationship can end in a prolonged and painful divorce process.