Assessing celebrity marriages: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – Part 3

I remember seeing a photo of Brad Pitt during the period of speculation about his relationship with Angelina Jolie that seemed to sum up the man perfectly.

He was on a trip to Africa and he was embracing a child. Now we all know Brad is a great actor, but he wasn’t faking this – his hands were spread out protectively around the child and he had a look of pure joy – he might have been holding his own son.

When the news broke that he and Jennifer Aniston were divorcing, it became common currency that Angelina Jolie was nothing more than a man eating home wrecker, causing the erstwhile wholesome Brad Pitt to fall by the wayside.

But I remembered that photograph of a man hungry for the love of a child. Jolie didn’t wreck his home and family – she gave him one. The first pictures of them together showed him bonding with Maddox. How could she not love him when he loved her child so much?

Now he is surrounded by children, by so much love you can see the man visibly loosening up and becoming happier by the day. This is what he truly wanted from life, and if Angelina gives him that, who are we to deny him? Brad has given many fans a great deal of joy through his movies, surely we should be glad that his private life is now all he wishes it to be.

Only their friends know them intimately all we have to go on are interviews and photographs. After Shiloh was born, the official portrait showed the three of them together Brad was looking in wonder at his daughter, but Angelina was looking at him, with so much love in her eyes that it was clear she would do anything for him.

Happiness is such a rare thing, I am amazed at the bold attempts made by the media to destroy what these two are building together. But then, why should it surprise anyone. This is the media that mauled Princess Diana in a feeding frenzy while her two sons looked on if they cared nothing for the feelings of two young boys, why should they care for the feelings of this family?

Still, it is time they got over it. Brad has become a deeper person since he became a father, and he and Angelina have shown that their love does not stop at their own children, but extends to all children everywhere.

The fact is, of course, that they are not married, yet they have a relationship that is stronger than most marriages because they are focused outside themselves, to their children, and to the disadvantaged of the world. As a couple, they share common goals, and this is important for any relationship to last.

I hope they do build a long and happy life together for themselves and their children. I hope they can stay glued together, no matter what the media does, because the sight of two happy people, surrounded by their beautiful children, is such a great thing to see in a world that thrives on bad news.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Live On TV At Golden Globe Awards 2009