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In 2016, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt after alleging that he engaged in violent and abusive behavior while he was drunk aboard a private jet.
Pitt quit drinking shortly thereafter. The effort came too late to save his marriage, but in interviews that touched on the matter, the Oscar winner was adamant that he was grateful to be sober.
So Pitt’s revelation that he’s now “off the wagon” after seven years of sobriety has come as a shock to many fans.
In a profile published by Esquire today, interviewer Ryan D’Agostino notes that Pitt offered him wine and then asks the actor-pp if he keeps a bottle on hand for the benefit of his guests.
“No, I got — I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon,” Brad clarifies with a “little laugh,” adding:
“In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.”
“You can have a glass of wine,” D’Agostino ventures, leading Pitt to remark:
“Yeah. Well . . . I can have a few. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.”
The revelation comes as a surprise, as Pitt publicly thanked Bradley Cooper for helping him get sober while speaking at a 2020 award ceremony.
And he opened up about the joys of a booze-free existence as recently as June of 2025, when he discussed his sobriety journey on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast.
News of his relapse (or whatever you wish to call it) comes on the heels of reports that all of Brad’s kids have legally dropped “Pitt” from their names.
Brad and Angelina’s divorce has been one of the messiest in Hollywood history, with insiders claiming that Pitt blames Jolie for “alienating” his children from him.
At one point in the Esquire interview, Pitt referred to a period in which he felt such intense pain that he could imagine viewing death as a relief.
Whet D’Agostino asked if he was referring to the situation with his children, Pitt demurred, saying:
“Family stuff. We could leave it at that.”
“This s–t ain’t easy,” Pitt added, noting that in most areas of his life, he’s “won the lottery.”
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