Angelina Jolie Has Been Focusing On ‘Healing’ Family After ‘Pretty Hard’ Few Years

The last few years have been rough for Angelina Jolie, who had to weather a nasty split from Brad Pitt in the public eye while coparenting their six children.

Though she only briefly referenced Pitt in a new interview with British Vogue, the 45-year-old actress did reveal the toll some of her family’s recent hardships have taken as she reflected on both the pandemic and getting older.

Jolie didn’t mention her ex by name, but when talking about her new home — Cecil B DeMille’s former estate — she noted she chose it, in part, because she wanted a house that was “close to [her kids’] dad, who is only five minutes away.” During Covid lockdown, she and her children have all gotten to spend plenty of time together in the house, with Jolie breaking down some of the unique “life markers” they experienced in 2020.

“We went into it having just gotten out of the hospital with Zahara, and we were so happy she was OK that we entered lockdown in a different state of mind,” she explained. “But, you know, there are also these other markers of life: Pax going into his senior year, but not being able to enjoy all that it is to be a senior; Zahara finally getting her driving license, but she’s taking the test with the driver wrapped in the full outfit with the masks. It’s not how you imagine these moments. But birthdays go on, and I think that for many people, it’s made us all feel very human together. There’s something beautiful about that.”

When asked whether she felt like she was “at a happy stage” in her life, Jolie wasn’t so sure how to answer. “I don’t know,” she replied, “The past few years have been pretty hard. I’ve been focusing on healing our family. It’s slowly coming back, like the ice melting and the blood returning to my body.”

“But I’m not there. I’m not there yet. But I hope to be. I’m planning on it,” she continued. “I do like being older. I feel much more comfortable in my forties than I did when I was younger. Maybe because… I don’t know… maybe because my mom didn’t live very long, so there’s something about age that feels like a victory instead of a sadness for me.”

She added that she was looking forward to her fifties, a time in her life where she believes she’s “gonna hit my stride.” She noted, however, that her kids have started to take stock in her aging as well and even warned her against her behavior on their trampoline.

“There was a day I was an action star, and now the kids are telling me to get off the trampoline because I’ll hurt myself,” she joked. “Even at their young age they know that what matters is to feel safe and loved and stable. To not see those you love harmed. To know your own mind and truth and not to live a lie.”

Jolie will be back in action star mode for Marvel’s “Eternals” — with the actress saying of the film that “running around in a gold bodysuit was not how I imagined my forties. But it’s good crazy, I think.”

That movie hits theaters, for now at least, on November 5, 2021.