Angelina Jolie's VERY Emotional Email To Brad Pitt About 'Painful' Decision To Sell Winery Resurfaces!

Angelina Jolie stated exactly why she wanted to leave the family business — and it’s such a difficult read!

The actress and her ex-husband Brad Pitt have been battling it out in court recently over her decision to sell her shares of Chateau Miraval, a mansion and winery in France they purchased for tens of millions (!!!) in 2008. In a now-deleted TikTok, a resurfaced letter Angie penned in January 2021 details exactly why she wanted out of the alcohol company!

The heartbreaking email catching attention on the internet this week, which ET confirmed was found in a court document as well, began:

“Dear Brad, I am putting this in writing so not to get emotional. I have reached a painful decision, with a heavy heart, that I want to share with you. You know how much I wanted to buy Miraval, as a family business, as a place for us to visit together, and as a place to hold diplomatic and humanitarian meetings. Above all, it is the place we brought the twins home to [Knox and Vivienne], and where we were married over a plaque in my mother’s memory. A place that held the promise of what could be and where I thought I would grow old. Even now impossible to write this without crying. I will treasure my memories of what it was a decade ago.”

But even all those lovely memories couldn’t get her to stay, particularly because of the way alcohol ruined their family, she added:

“But it is also the place that marks the beginning of the end of our family – and a business that is centered around alcohol.”

While she tried to stay “open” to the business, she ultimately felt distraught by certain advertising campaigns and didn’t want to be involved in an alcoholic company considering Brad’s history with substance abuse. The Maleficent star was also put off after seeing “lots of inconsiderate behavior, money spent in ways that [she] would not have approved, and decisions made that [she] was not consulted on” over the last few years. She continued:

“I’ve been hurt by decisions that have been made that show no interest in sharing the business or changing it fundamentally into something that would be healthier for our children. Most of all, I was shaken by the recent imagery that was released to sell the alcohol. I find it irresponsible and not something that I would want the children to see. It reminded me of painful times.”

It’s unclear what imagery she was discussing, but this was one of the ads released at the time of the email (below):

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A post shared by Miraval (@miraval)

The 47-year-old mother noted she could not “be involved, publicly or privately, in a business based on alcohol, when alcoholic behavior harmed [her] family so deeply.”

As Perezcious readers know, Angelina has been open about a September 2016 incident in which she claims Brad became abusive to her and their children on a flight from France to California. The Eternals lead claimed he “poured beer” on her and “poured beer and red wine on the children” during an altercation, shortly before she filed for divorce. It seems this was a massive turning point for her, and after many failed attempts to get the business to change, she felt it was time to sell.

Angelina presented Brad with two options — either they both sell their shares or she could sell her portion to Brad and the other business owners. She wrote:

“I see two ways forward. What might be best for our whole family would be an outright sale. I would completely support you in seeking to sell the company and move away from this hard and painful chapter in our lives. The alternative is that a complete buy out of my share in the property and business by you, the Perrin family or your associates. In either case, I believe we need to move forward in order to heal and focus on where our family comes together, and where we have positive associations. And to do so quickly.”

She even suggested she had been forced to come to this decision after Brad pushed her out of the business, noting elsewhere in the letter:

“I had hoped somehow it could become something that held us together and we found light and peace. I see now how you have really wanted me out and will most likely be pleased to receive this email.”

Perhaps most heartbreaking for Brad to hear, she called out the 2016 flight incident as the moment her love for Miraval “died,” concluding:

“I cannot begin to express how upsetting it is for me to have to reach this point. Your dream for your relationship to the business and the alcohol is your own and you’ve made it painfully clear. I wish you all the best with the business, and sincerely hope that the children feel differently about Miraval when they are older, and visit you there. But Miraval for me died September 2016, and everything I have seen in the years since has sadly confirmed that.”

Yeesh. So sad.

As we’ve reported, last year, Jolie sold her shares to the Stoli Group (owned by a Russian oligarch, Yuri Shefler) — but the sale resulted in a lawsuit by Pitt who alleged his ex-wife couldn’t sell without his consent. It was reportedly a “mutual understanding” they’d come to when they got a divorce.

Last month, Nouvel, a company founded by the Tomb Raider alum to retain her stake in the winery, also filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star, claiming he was attempting to wrestle away control of the winery and that he was using it for his “personal fiefdom.” It remains a very tense court battle, but it’s definitely interesting to read Angelina’s letter! It really rings true to a lot of what she and her team have claimed in court thus far. Check it out in full (below).

This is so heartbreaking.
Angelina Jolie still behaves gracefully, civilly & politely despite how she's badly treated by #BradPittIsAnAbuser. In one of her emails to him, she still wants peace & hopes someday when their children are older maybe feels differently about Miraval. pic.twitter.com/sao8Ophyfp

— a.n.g.i.e. Moi_ (@_Moi_angie) October 9, 2022