Angelina Jolie Opens Up About Her Separation From Brad Pitt And Her 'Difficult' Year

For years, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had what seemed to be the perfect relationship. After ten years together, the couple quietly tied the knot at their estate in France on August 23, 2014, uniting in what many believed to be a bond that would never be broken. With six kids, they traveled the world, made movies, and seemed to have a picture-perfect life together.

That changed in September 2016 when the Academy Award-winning actress filed for separation from her husband after only two years of marriage. The decision rocked the entertainment world, and to this point, Jolie hasn't spoken much about the painful process.

In a recent interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Jolie admitted she didn't want her marriage to end and that this has been an extremely hard time for her:

"It's been difficult. I don't enjoy being single. It's not something I wanted. There's nothing nice about it. It's just hard."

Break-ups are always heartbreaking but Jolie has had to manage hers in the public spotlight. Millions of Brangelina—as the couple have been coined—fans have flocked to tabloid magazines and entertainment sites looking for a morsel of news about their favorite pair.

Because of her celebrity status, Jolie puts on a face for the cameras but, beneath the surface, she's just trying to make it day by day:

"Sometimes maybe it appears I am pulling it all together, but really, I am just trying to get through my days. Emotionally, it's been a very difficult year, and I have had some other health issues. So my health is something I have to monitor."

Angelina Jolie is no stranger to health problems. In 2013, when she learned she had the BRCA1 gene that gave her an estimated 87 percent risk of contracting breast cancer, the actress opted for a preventative double mastectomy. A 50% risk of developing ovarian cancer followed by a cancer scare prompted the actress to have her ovaries removed in 2015.

But the health scares didn't end there. Just last year, Jolie developed Bell's Palsy, a temporary facial paralysis caused from trauma or damage to the facial nerves. Acupuncture helped the actress recover, but there is no recovery from the additional diagnosis of hypertension which only added to Jolie's laundry list of problems.

As concerned as she is for her health, she's more concerned about putting her family first as she told Vanity Fair:

“I actually feel more of a woman because I feel like I’m being smart about my choices, and I’m putting my family first, and I’m in charge of my life and my health. I think that’s what makes a woman complete.”

Part of putting her family first is working with Pitt to make sure their kids suffer the least from their divorce.

“We care for each other and care about our family, and we are both working towards the same goal.”

While the split began as acrimonious, both Jolie and Pitt have been attempting to meet each other in the middle so they can co-parent their children with as little animosity as possible. It's not easy, but when the happily ever after ends, there is always fallout. In the meantime, Jolie is hard at work promoting her upcoming documentary First They Killed My Father.

She also recently mentioned that the script for Maleficent 2 is coming along well, and she hopes to start filming it sooner rather than later. Hopefully her being so busy will keep her mind off the difficult times and back into creating.