'It was important to her to share the story - it doesn't have to be scary': Brad Pitt explains why Angelina Jolie spoke out about her double mastectomy

The actor spoke with pride about Jolie's decision to go public on her surgery

Brad Pitt has praised partner Angelina Jolie’s decision to have a double mastectomy, adding he has been “quite emotional” throughout the procedure.

“I’m emotional about it, of course,” the Moneyball star told USA Today. “She could have stayed absolutely private about it and I don’t think anyone would have been none the wiser with such good results.

“But it was really important to her to share the story and that others would understand it doesn’t have to be a scary thing. In fact, it can be an empowering thing, and something that makes you stronger and us stronger.”

Pitt revealed Jolie had continued her humanitarian work “literally just two weeks after she’d had truly major surgery” when she visited London for the G8 summit and went to New York to honour Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai.

The actor also said Jolie’s decision was a “wonderful relief” for his family, and said it had been an “emotional and beautifully inspiring few months”.

“It’s such a wonderful relief to come through this and not have a spectre hanging over our heads. To know that that’s not going to be something that affects us. My most proudest thing is our family. This isn’t going to get that,” he said.

Jolie revealed in an op-ed piece in the New York Times that she had chosen to undergo a double mastectomy because she discovered she had the “faulty” BRCA1 gene, which increased her chances of getting breast cancer by 87 per cent.

The BRCA1 gene also showed she had a 50 per cent risk of developing ovarian cancer, the disease that killed her mother.

People magazine has claimed that Jolie is planning to have surgery to remove her ovaries, although this has not been confirmed by the actress.