In 2016, actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt officially separated after 12 years together, with two of those years spent as husband and wife.
The split came after an inflight incident that forced the private plane Pitt, Jolie, and their children were traveling on to make an unscheduled landing and prompted an FBI investigation. Pitt later shared that he was struggling with an alcohol addiction.
In Monday's episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, Pitt shared with host Dax Shepard:
"I was pretty much on my back, on my knees. I was trying anything anyone threw at me. It was a particular difficult time."
"I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the f*ck up, in some areas."
Shepard shared:
"Yeah. You don't come into AA because everything's working out fantastic."
"It's not the winner's club. Your hair has gotta be on fire before you go like, 'Yeah, I'll go hang with a bunch of dudes and talk about emotions.'"
Pitt spent a year attending all-male Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings which, the pair shared with cohost Monica Padman and the audience, was how Shepard and Pitt first met.
They also discussed the reasons for AA to remain anonymous for most people's safety, but they felt they were in a position to promote the 12-step program's benefits and how it helped them get sober.
Pitt stated:
"I just thought it was just incredible men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humor with it. I thought it was a really special experience."
He added:
"When I've stepped in sh*t, I'm pretty good at taking responsibility for it and owning up to it. And now it's a quest to, you know, ‘What do I do with this? How can I right this?’ And make sure it doesn't happen again."
People appreciated their candor.
But longtime fans of the podcast took exception to some portions.
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
r/ArmchairExpert/Reddit
You can watch the full 2.5 hour podcast episode here:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
