Angelina Jolie Felt Like ‘a Hostage’ Living in L.A., ‘Counting the Days’ Until She Can Move

Angelina Jolie is making moves! After years of saying she can’t wait to leave Los Angeles, the Oscar winner has put her historic 11,000-square-foot, six-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion on the market for a whopping $29.85 million. “Angelina is thrilled she’s finally getting to leave L.A. and start over elsewhere,” a source tells Star. “She’s been counting the days down for what seems like an eternity and the kids are right behind her.” Angie — who shares Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 19, and 17-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with ex-husband Brad Pitt — has been stuck in California due to the custody agreement she struck with the F1 star, 62. “I am here because I have to be here from a divorce,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “But as soon as [my kids are] 18, I’ll be able to leave.”

With Vivienne and Knox celebrating that milestone birthday in July, the Maleficent star is finally free to do just that. “It’s no exaggeration to say that Angelina has felt totally trapped and a hostage to her situation with Brad for many years now,” says the source. “She’s grateful for the opportunities that have come her way [from being based in Southern California] but ultimately it is not an environment that suits her in terms of culture or environment and she’s far happier abroad.”

Salt in the Wound

It’s been one battle after another for Angelina and her ex. Their 12-year romance came to a shocking end in 2016 following an altercation on a private plane that she alleges turned physical, NPR  previously reported. The Fight Club star has long denied claims of domestic abuse — an investigation led to no charges — but is reportedly estranged from his adult children, some of whom have dropped his surname.

While Angelina, who met Brad on the set of the steamy Mr. & Mrs. Smith while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston, has been branded a homewrecker, her ex did not seem tarnished by their yearslong, bitter split. “What people tend to overlook is that Brad’s influence and popularity… is enormous,” notes the source. “People hold him up as this beloved figure, he has a tremendous amount of sway and overall power with the studios and it’s patently obvious to Angelina that the poison has well and truly taken seed.”

After eight years, the pair finalized their divorce in 2024 but are still battling it out in court over the sale of her stake in their French winery, Château Miraval, to the liquor company Stoli, several reports, including People magazine, have reported. A judge recently denied a motion from Brad’s lawyers requesting that Angie turn over communications — “an important victory,” her attorney Paul Murphy declared in a statement to one news outlet. Even if Angie ends up winning the case, however, “she’s a pariah in so many people’s eyes [which is] totally unfair in her view, of course,” says Star‘s source. “But it is what it is and she’s had no option but to keep her head down, roll with the punches and bide her time before getting the hell out of dodge.”

Starting Over

In a few months, she will finally earn that right. “Right now, she’s figuring out her options in terms of a new base and crunching numbers to see what she can realistically afford,” shares the source. “In an ideal scenario, she’ll have a base in Cambodia as well as Europe, quite likely Paris but potentially London as well.” (Eldest son Maddox was born in Cambodia.) The Salt star also has an apartment in NYC’s Upper West Side neighborhood that she’d like to hold onto, says the source, “if only as an asset for the family down the line, as well as a place for the kids to stay when they’re based on the east coast.”

Knox and Vivienne are “currently looking at college programs,” reveals the source. “But ultimately home will always be with their mom.” The same goes for Angie’s older kids, adds the source, “even though they have busy lives of their own these days.” According to The Blast, via Yahoo, Maddox and Pax both served as production assistants on Maria and Zahara is enrolled at Atlanta’s Spelman College, where she’s majoring in psychology and minoring in educational studies. Shiloh is carving out a career as a professional dancer and choreographer. “Sometimes Angelina has to go long periods of time without them,” says the source. “That’s hard for her, but she knows it’s the natural cycle they need to follow and is tremendously proud of how they’ve all turned out.”