Brad Pitt will seek joint custody of children after Angelina Jolie files for divorce and physical custody

Source confirms actor was only told of divorce day before it became news

Brad Pitt will seek joint custody of his children with Angelina Jolie after the actress filed for divorce and physical custody.

In a filing cited by TMZ, Jolie reportedly expressed concerns over the way Pitt, 52, was “parenting the children“. Jolie 41, has filed for physical custody and joint legal custody of their six children and asked for Pitt to be granted visitation rights.

A source familiar with the actor and his family confirmed to the Independent Pitt only found out about Jolie’s decision to file for divorce a day before. “He found out very soon before it happened,“ they said.

“He is just trying to just work on making sure the kids are ok and being appropriately cared for.“

Speculation surrounding the reasons for their divorce have been mounting amid claims in tabloids Pitt had an issue with anger and was a strict parent in comparison to the more bohemian Jolie. A report by TMZ quoted a source as saying Jolie was concerned by her estranged husband drinking and smoking cannabis.

But the source denied the claims about his parenting as "baseless" and said both Pitt and Jolie's primary concern was to avoid being “negative” and reach a resolution as quickly as possible for the sake of their children.

“Ange is a great mother and Brad is a very committed father and they both just want what is best for the kids. Unfortunately, people are introducing baseless allegations as a way of trying to ratchet up negativity when in fact the two of them want to resolve this for their children.

“The point is that from him - and both of them - he went out of his way to make sure people around him are not being negative.”

The source dismissed reports linking Pitt with his Allied co-star Marion Cotillard as “totally untrue”. “It’s disgraceful that someone would introduce a completely innocent third party into an issue and that has nothing to do with them.”

There is no suggestion Cotillard had any involvement with Pitt other than professionally or in his divorce, and a source quoted by the Mail Online says Cotillard is "devastated" by the reports. Cotillard did not respond to a request for comment from the Independent.

Marion Cotillard will be starring in the film version of video game Assassin's Creed (Getty Images)

Pitt said he was “saddened” in a statement released hours after Jolie’s lawyer confirming his client had filed for divorce for the “health” of the family. “What matters most now is the well-being of our kids,” his statement continued.

“I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”