Angelina Jolie has broken her silence about her split from Brad Pitt, revealing her focus on the couple’s six kids is helping her cope with the pain of divorce.
Sitting on the floor, cross-legged for a BBC World News exclusive in Cambodia, where the actress and director premiered her new film, First They Killed My Father, on Saturday, Jolie fought back tears as she calmly talked about her 2016 marriage break-up, her divorce and custody battle with her estranged husband.
Taking a big deep breath, the Oscar winner said, “It was a very difficult time and we are a family; we will always be a family and we will get through this time…
“Many people find themselves in this situation… We’ve all been through a difficult time and my focus is my children, our children, and my focus is finding this way through…
“We are and forever will be a family and so that is how I am coping. I am coping with finding a way through to make sure that this somehow makes us stronger and closer.”
The interview lightened up when Jolie was asked about her family’s future as she smiled and revealed, “In five years, I would like to be travelling around the world visiting my children, hoping that they’re just really happy and doing really interesting things.”
And she made light of the chaos she waked up to every day at home in Malibu, California, revealing she, her kids, and their pets all sleep in the same room.
“Right now everybody’s in my room – two hamsters, two dogs… It’s wonderful,” she laughed, opening up about family life.
“Usually I just wake up trying to figure out who’s gonna get the dog out, who is gonna start the pancakes, and did anyone brush their teeth.”
The actress took all her children to the screening of First They Killed My Father at the Terrace of the Elephants in the ancient Angkor Thom temple complex in Siem Reap on Saturday.
The event was her first premiere since she filed for divorce from Pitt last year.
While in the presence of her family and the country’s King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, Angelina made an emotional speech referencing her deep connection to Cambodia, where she adopted her first child, Maddox.
“I cannot find words to express what it means to me that I was entrusted with telling part of the story of this country,” she said.
“This film was not made to focus on the horrors of the past but to celebrate the resilience, kindness, and talent of the Cambodian people.”
Angelina said the film was her way of saying thank you to the local people for their ongoing support.
“Without Cambodia I may never have become a mother,” she continued. “Part of my heart is and will always be in this country. And part of this country is always with me: Maddox.”
First They Killed My Father is based on the autobiography of Cambodian human rights activist Loung Ung, one of Angelina’s friends.
Her story documents the devastation inflicted on Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge communist party in the 1970s.
The film will be released globally via Netflix later this year.