F1: The Movie star Brad Pitt has opened up about his experience in Alcoholics Anonymous after it was revealed that he went for over a year amid his divorce from Angelina Jolie
Actor Brad Pitt has opened up about his “really special” experience in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He’s recalled attending a group at a “difficult time” after it was previously shared that he went to sessions amid his second divorce.
Brad, now 61, has previously spoken about the group, which he said he found to be a “safe space”. It was once revealed that he spent a year and a half in AA after Angelina Jolie, now 50, filed for divorce, which made headlines in 2016.
He’s now discussed the support group further, though didn’t specify when the sessions took place, whilst on the latest episode of the podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. Brad said that it was an “amazing group” and shared that he “needed rebooting” at that time in his life.
Brad said: “It was a men’s group. It was AA. It was when I first was getting sober. I just thought it was just incredible. Men sharing y’know their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches and a lot of humour with it.”
The F1 star said it was a “really special experience”. Later on the podcast, Brad said: “I was pretty much on my back … y’know on my knees. I was really open to … I was trying anything and everyone. Anything anyone threw at me.”
He said: “It was a particular difficult time. I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the f*** up in some areas.” Brad said that “everyone was so open” at the meetings, which “gives you permission” to do the same, and he “grew to love it”.
Brad’s comment about “rebooting” has led to the resurfacing of a comment made about him by his first wife Jennifer Aniston, now 56, with it suggested that he could have been making a cryptic reference to her remark. She had similarly used an analogy related to computers when describing him after they split.
Jennifer made the comment to Vanity Fair in 2005, the year that they got divorced. Although she told the outlet that he was “not mean-spirited,” she said: “There’s a sensitivity chip that’s missing”.
Brad previously spoke about AA in an interview with the New York Times in 2019. Speaking about his sobriety, the Oscar winner reflected at the time: “I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges.”
The outlet added that after Angelina filed for divorce, Brad spent over a year in AA. Brad said about the recovery group that he attended: “You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard.”
He described it as a “safe space,” saying that there was “little judgement” from others, which then influenced how he treated himself. He added at the time: “It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself.”
If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction, advice and support can be found at alcoholchange.org.uk.
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