Brad Pitt considers himself an “optimist,” but at one point in his life, the actor contemplated taking his life.
The two-time Academy Award winner expounded on his past grief in a new Esquire cover story, published Monday (August 10). Although Pitt didn’t name where his period of depression stemmed from, the actor has been in a lengthy legal battle with his ex-wife, actress Angelina Jolie in the years since their 2019 divorce after five years of marriage.
While their children, both biological and adopted, have petitioned to drop ‘Pitt’ as their surname, Pitt has filed to obtain records of Jolie’s income between 2017 to 2021. The conflict regards the sale of Jolie’s stake in their French winery company Château Miraval, which the ex-spouses co-owned from 2008 to 2021. Since 2022, Pitt, 62, has been in a relationship with jewelry entrepreneur Ines de Ramon, 33.
Pitt told Esquire that he was “never suicidal in any way” and that thoughts about taking his life were not in his “makeup.”
“In fact, if I have any afflictions, it’s probably being a congenital optimist. Which has helped many times, and it’s also gotten me—I’ve walked foolishly head-on into a Mack truck because of my optimism,” he continued. “Or, as my forever-funny friend David Fincher will say, Yeah, you see the glass as half full, but it’s half full of urine.”
Pitt added that he never had suicidal ideations except for “one little period” when he “couldn’t see a way out.”
“The pain was so oppressive that—I wasn’t going to act on this, but I could feel—I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief,” he recalled. “And I thought, 'Oh, okay, now I understand—I understand suicide, in the sense that it’s just relief. It’s just looking for relief from the pain. But I also think we have incredible survival instincts. And for me, that immediately kicked in, but it was just . . .”
“Yeah. Like, listen: This shit ain’t easy,” he continued.
When urged to share what he’s been dealing with, Pitt said, “Family stuff,” and wanted to “leave it at that.”
Prior to Pitt’s marriage to Jolie, whom he met while filming 2005 action film Mr and Mrs Smith, the actor was married to Jennifer Aniston from 2000 to 2005.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available. In the U.S. and Canada, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you are elsewhere, contact your local emergency services or crisis hotline.
