Washington, USA – Maddox, the eldest son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has formally applied to legally change his name and remove his father Brad Pitt’s surname, in a move that reflects the continuing tension within the family years after his parents’ separation.
Following in his sister Zahara’s footsteps
Maddox’s move came months after his sister Zahara attracted attention during her graduation ceremony from Spelman College in Atlanta, where she introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie” without using the surname “Pete,” in a move many considered an expression of her stance on the current relationship with her father.
According to the official documents submitted, Maddox’s new legal name will be “Maddox Shivan Joly” after the name “Pete” is completely removed from his surname.
The eldest son in the family
Maddox, 24, is the eldest of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s six children. Jolie adopted him in 2002 before marrying Pitt. The couple’s other children include Pax (22), Zahara (21), Shiloh (20), and twins Knox and Vivienne (17).
Ongoing disagreements since the split
These developments are not new within the family, as the roots of the disputes go back to 2016 when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced their separation, which sparked a series of legal and media battles concerning custody and the relationship between the father and his children. Since then, numerous reports have indicated that the majority of the children side with their mother, while the relationship between some of them and their father has noticeably cooled over the past few years.
The end of the custody battle
Nearly eight years after their divorce, Brad Pitt dropped his legal efforts to obtain joint custody of his minor children, ending one of the longest legal battles that accompanied the famous couple’s split, while the family relationship remains a subject of interest and scrutiny from the media and the public around the world.
