A source close to Brad Pitt is shooting down the ongoing rumors that the actor ever had a serious drinking problem, instead placing much of the blame for his past struggles on his marriage to Angelina Jolie.
“Pitt never had a drink problem, he had an Angelina problem,” the source told the Daily Mail. “He’s worked hard on himself and he’s now, finally, in a really good place.”
The comments come after Pitt, 62, told Esquire that after seven years of sobriety, he was “back off the wagon” and could now “have a few” glasses of wine.
The source claimed Pitt “lost his way for a period in his life” as his marriage to Jolie deteriorated and said the fallout with his children was even more painful than the divorce.
“The divorce from Angelina was bad but the alienation from his children was the worst thing that ever happened to him,” the insider continued. “Now he’s gone from pain and hurt to acceptance.”
A second source offered a slightly different assessment, acknowledging that Pitt did have issues with alcohol.
“Did Pitt go through a period where he drank too much? Yes,” the insider added. “He had some issues with alcohol and he addressed them. He worked through them.”
That source also denied abuse allegations connected to the former couple’s 2016 private plane incident and took another swipe at Jolie, questioning whether she had “dealt with any of her issues.”