Hollywood actor, producer, and director Brad Pitt claims that during their heated child custody dispute, his ex-wife Angelina Jolie “secretly” conspired to sell her portion of their French house, Château Miraval.
Pitt and Jolie, who purchased the $30 million house in 2008 without each other’s consent, say in court documents recently acquired by the entertainment website Page Six that they mutually agreed they would never sell their respective halves of the property.
Jolie, though, decided she wanted out following their divorce in 2019 and began negotiating a buy-out option with Pitt, 59.
The 47-year-old apparently even consented to divide the company 68 percent to 38 percent in favor of Pitt as the latter had put more resources and effort into the undertaking.
Pitt learned, however, through a press release in the summer of 2021 that the actress had sold her 50% ownership to a “Russian oligarch,” whom Pitt had earlier rejected.
Pitt alleges that in order to keep him “in the dark,” his “vindictive” ex-wife “collaborated in secret” with Yuri Shefler, who also controls Stoli Group.
The updated documents assert that Jolie “no longer wanted to sell to Pitt” as a result of the court’s unfavorable custody verdict, which gave Pitt shared custody of their six children but was later reversed.
“Her decision to terminate negotiations with Pitt was intentional and pretextual,” the document filed in LA Superior Court states. “As will be demonstrated at trial, Jolie’s actions were unlawful, severely and intentionally damaging Pitt and unjustly enriching herself.”
Not only that, Pitt believes his ex-wife specifically chose Shefler because she knew it would be bad for business given his ties to Vladimir Putin — specifically his “invasion of Ukraine and homophobic legislative agenda.”
“Stoli and Jolie have sought to force Pitt into a partnership with a stranger, and worse yet, a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions,” the document alleges.
Pitt claims that the decision to purchase Miraval as a “loving home for their six children” in the first place has been defeated now that half of the property has been sold to a third party.
The most recent court documents were submitted nine months after Jolie sued Pitt for $250 million in retaliation for his alleged attempt to “seize control” of the French vineyard in order to “ensure… [she] would never see a dime” of its enormous revenues.
Pitt sought to get Jolie to sign a “hush-clause” that would prevent her from talking about the details of their divorce, according to the lawsuit Jolie’s firm, Nouvel, filed.
“In retaliation for the divorce and custody proceedings, Pitt embarked on a multi-faceted, years-long campaign to seize control of Chateau Miraval and appropriate the company’s assets for his benefit and that of his own companies and friends.
“Appointing himself the rightful owner of Chateau Miraval, his twin objectives were to usurp the value of Jolie’s company, Nouvel, and to obtain sole ownership of Chateau Miraval.”
You can find the Miraval estate near the southeast French province of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, near the town of Correns.
Rich gardens with a moat, fountains, aqueducts, a pond, a church, and a vineyard surround the 35-room palace. Even their small wedding took place at Chateau Miraval in 2014 for the couple.
