Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt divorce: A relationship timeline of Hollywood’s golden couple

After 12 years together and two years of marriage, the film stars are set to divorce. Here is a timeline of the rise and fall of their relationship...

The couple married in the south of France in 2014 (Getty Images)

2004 Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt met on the set of action comedy film Mr & Mrs Smith, while Pitt was still married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston. Jolie had recently divorced Billy Bob Thornton. Both movie stars denied rumours that they had begun an affair during filming, insisting their romance began later.

January 2005 Pitt and Aniston announced their decision to split after nearly five years of marriage.

March 2005 Aniston then filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences”.

April 2005 Pitt, Jolie and her adopted son Maddox were pictured holidaying together in Kenya, fuelling rumours of a relationship.

July 2005 Pitt and Jolie posed for a photo shoot entitled “Domestic Bliss”, but did not confirm their relationship officially. Later that month, Jolie adopted daughter Zahara Marley from an orphanage in Ethiopia.

October 2005 Pitt and Aniston finalised their divorce.

January 2006 Jolie confirmed she was pregnant with her first child with Pitt. Her children's surnames were changed to Jolie-Pitt and her film star partner legally adopted Maddox and Zahara.

May 2006 The couple welcomed their first biological child, daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.

October 2006 Pitt told Esquire magazine that he and Jolie would only marry “when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able”, backing same-sex marriage. Pitt reaffirmed this in 2011, when New York passed marriage equality legislation.

March 2007 Jolie adopted three-year-old Pax from an orphanage in Vietnam.

July 2008 Jolie gave birth to twins - a son Knox Leon and a daughter Vivienne Marcheline - completing their family.

July 2010 The couple won a privacy case against the News of the World over false allegations that they were separating.

December 2011 Jolie revealed to Christiane Amanpour that the couple's six children were keen for her to get married. She said: “We've explained to them that our commitment when we decided to start a family was the greatest commitment you could possibly have. Once you have six children, you're committed.”

January 2012 Pitt indicated he would be open to marrying, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “It seems to mean more and more to our kids. We made this declaration some time ago that we weren't going to do it till everyone can. But I don't think we'll be able to hold out. It means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment.”

February 2013 Jolie underwent a double mastectomy after discovering that she carries a genetic mutation dramatically increasing her chances of cancer. She later had her ovaries removed.

August 2014 The couple wed at their estate in the south of France in a private ceremony. Jolie wore a dress covered in drawings by their six children.

November 2015 Brangelina made their final official public appearance at the premiere of their movie By the Sea, which flopped. It told the story of a couple - played by Pitt and Jolie - as they tried to repair their troubled marriage. She told The Telegraph: “Brad and I have our issues, but if the characters were even remotely close to our problems we couldn't have made the film. “To be clear: we have fights and problems like any other couple. We have days when we drive each other absolutely mad and want space, but the problems in the movie aren't our specific problems.“

September 2016 A lawyer for Jolie confirmed she had filed for divorce.

PA