Still reeling. Brad Pitt was caught off guard when Angelina Jolie sold her stake in Château Miraval winery amid their ongoing legal battle.
The Fight Club actor, 58, tried to purchase Jolie’s stake in the company, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly, but the Maleficent actress, 46, “made the negotiations difficult and was not being fair.”
While Pitt was hoping they’d come to an agreement, he was “blindsided” when he learned in October 2021 that Jolie sold her share in the winery allegedly without his knowledge.
“He assumed they’d work it out because she knows how important the winery is to him,” the insider says, noting that when the Kung Fu Panda actress sold it “out from under him” allegedly “out of the blue,” Pitt was “devastated.”
The Ocean’s Eleven star — who shares Maddox, 20, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 13, with Jolie — had a “passion for the business,” which is why he held out hope that he could purchase the California native’s shares without going to court.
“It’s been a part of his life and she had no interest,” the source tells Us of the winery, claiming that Jolie sold her part of the establishment “just to punish him. She did it to hurt him.”
Earlier this month, Us confirmed that the Oklahoma native is suing the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider actress for allegedly selling her winery shares to a third party without giving him any warning. Pitt further accused Jolie of attempting to gain profits that she did not earn and breaching their initial agreement to only sell their stakes with mutual consent, according to court documents obtained by Us on Thursday, February 17.
The Salt star allegedly stopped contributing to the Château Miraval loan in 2013, while Pitt continued to put money into the business. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor further claimed that after dedicating time to the winery, he helped make it profitable for the first time since they purchased it together in 2008.
A second insider close to the situation tells Us that Pitt had a “right of first refusal,” which Jolie allegedly “did not follow through with.” The Moneyball star was “not given the chance to push it,” the source says.
“She knew he wanted it and sold it to get back at him,” the insider adds, noting the sale also means that Jolie’s half of the winery is no longer in the family. “She had no interest [in the business].”
Pitt filed a lawsuit against Jolie in September 2021 claiming that she was trying to cut him out of a lucrative sale of Château Miraval shares. One month later, a press release confirmed that the Girl, Interrupted star, who split from the Ad Astra actor in 2016, sold her stake in the estate and winery.
The exes, who were declared legally single in April 2019, tied the knot at the French estate in August 2014. However, the property has now become collateral damage in their messy divorce.