EXCLUSIVE :Heartbreaking pictures that expose true pain of Brad Pitt’s divided family as his parents react to Angelina Jolie’s children dropping his name

Pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s children enjoying quality time with his family reveal just how close they were before the couple’s bitter divorce sparked close to a decade-long lack of contact

Brad, 60, has been estranged from his daughter Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16, as well as his three adopted children Maddox, 23, Pax, 20 and Zahara, 19, since an explosive fight on their private jet in 2016 resulted in Angelina, 49, filing for divorce.

The estrangement has not only crushed the actor, but also his parents William and Jane Pitt, who have desperately tried to maintain a relationship over the years, sending birthday and Christmas cards to no avail.

Now, insiders have shed light on how the lack of contact has been felt by members of Brad’s wider family, including his nieces and nephews, who are also mourning the close bond they once shared with their cousins.

‘When it went down with Brad, his family was hyper focused on him getting help for his alcoholism,’ an insider told DailyMail.com.

‘The Pitt’s tried their best to keep in touch with the children but some members of his family struggled to contain their frustration with the fallout and as a result, Angelina cut the kids off.
‘The kids were young, so any contact had to go through their mom. And now, almost nine years later, they have no relationship.’

Shortly after their split, Brad admitted he had a drinking problem and entered therapy, spending a year-and-a-half in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Then in 2020, he publicly thanked pal Bradley Cooper for helping him to get sober.

For William, also known as Bill, 83, and Jane, 84, all their attempts to try and maintain a relationship with their beloved grandchildren has so far been in vain.

‘His parents still send cards at Christmas and for birthdays even though they get no response,’ the insider continued.

Bill and Jane, who was incredibly fond Brad’s first wife Jennifer Aniston, are also parents to Doug Pitt and Julie Neal, whose children they are close to.

Doug has Sydney, Landon and Regan with his wife Lisa, while Julie is mom to Caleb, twin daughters Josie and Rylie, as well as adopted sons Caden and Cruz, whom she shares with her husband Scott Neal.

The close knit family regularly share images with their cousins and grandparents on Instagram, with Brad’s children featuring frequently in past posts – something that stopped in the wake of his split from Angelina.

Brad’s niece Sydney appeared to voice her sadness at the lack of contact with her cousins in February 2017 when she shared a picture of Knox and Vivienne in Santa Barbara and wrote: ‘Missing my babies & this place a little more than usual today.’

Revealing how close the family had once been, the source added: ‘They would go to Missouri for family gatherings several times a year and spend weeks together at Brad’s California home in the summer.

‘It was so important to Brad for the kids to know their cousins especially when Angelina is estranged from her dad and brother.’

Images taken over the years show the children spending time at Brad’s $20million oceanfront estate with their cousins during family vacations.

They were dealt fresh heartache when Zahara dropped ‘Pitt’ from her last name in November 2023, before Vivienne followed suit in June this year. Shiloh joined them in August when she paid for her own lawyer to officially ditch ‘Pitt.’