What will happen to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's children now?
It was the news no one was expecting. The Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt divorce came as a rude shock on Tuesday, and while celebrity divorces are not new, this one had pretty much everyone wondering the same thing: what happens to their brood of six children? After all, Brangelina comes with baggage.
The fact: they were a couple unlike any other. With six children - Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Vivienne - of which three are biological, and the rest adopted from far-flung corners of the earth such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Ethiopia, they made the picture perfect family, waltzing in and out of airports and supermarkets, their ethnicities and cultural differences refusing to matter.
With rumours of a seventh child being added to the brood from Cambodia, they were almost like a mini United Nations, bringing to life the United Colors of Benetton advertisement all of us grew up admiring.
Of the 12 years they were together, married only for two, the couple stood strong and seemed almost invincible, spelling hope that some relationships do last, come what may.
But now, it's a different ballgame. With $400 million to be divided in property and the custody of six children at hand, things may just get ugly. And though Angelina is asking for physical custody of all the kids, who knows which way the tide will turn.
What I do know is this: as in almost all divorces, the kids are going to bear the brunt of the split. While some reports suggest Brad was having an affair with actress Marion Cotillard, others say Angelina was fed up of his anger issues, his substance abuse, and his parenting style.
 |
| Of the 12 years they were together, married only for two, Brangelina stood strong and seemed almost invincible. (Photo credit: Reuters) |
Friends of the couple say the cracks started to appear soon after the couple got married (they met in 2004 and wed in 2014), especially after Angelina got a double mastectomy in 2013 and began to focus on her health and prioritise her children. Brad, still seeking adventure and travel, was mostly out on one project after another and the chasm widened.
Whichever way the cookie crumbled, and we can all speculate till the cows come home, the kids stand to lose. Most children of celebrity parents find it very difficult to lead a regular life under the constant scrutiny of the paparazzi and the world at large, and theirs I'm afraid would be no different.
Recently, popstar Madonna was in the news because her 15-year-old son Rocco refused to head back to New York over Christmas to be with his mom and instead chose to stay at his father Guy Ritchie's home in England, apparently due to her controlling behavior.
Madonna went to court over the issue and it became a full-blown media spectacle. The singer and Guy (they have three kids) split in 2008 after eight years of marriage and apparently fought over adopting son David from Malawi in 2006 among other issues. It is reported that Madonna's yoga, strict diet, and Kabbalah religion came in the way of the couple's happiness.
Madonna's kids though aren't the only ones facing problems. In June 2013, Michael Jackson's daughter Paris attempted suicide (not her first attempt) and the reason was apparently all the online bullying and hate she was receiving.
While MJ's problems are well documented, the fact is Paris didn't have a stable family so to speak, and her mother, nurse Debbie Rowe, was married to her father for just three years before they divorced. The custody of both Paris and her brother Prince went to Michael.
Another recent case was that of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 23-year-old daughter of musicians Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. Bobbi was found unresponsive in a bathtub, and died after being in coma, in July 2015. Her death was apparently caused by immersion in water mixed with drugs in her system. Her parents were married for just two years.
I hope Angelina and Brad are able to maintain some semblance of stability and cordiality since the kids do seem to be a priority for both of them, but will the six kids manage to come out unscathed? One can only hope.