Brad Pitt responds to Angelina Jolie divorce: ‘I am saddened’

Jolie files for divorce after two years of marriage

After Hollywood was blindsided by Angelina Jolie's decision to file for divorce from Brad Pitt, it appears her now estranged husband was too.

The news was confirmed on Tuesday, not in a statement from the couple affirming their determination to co-parent and reiterating their love, as Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were so careful to do, but in a statement from Jolie’s lawyer, who said the decision was made for the “health” of their family.

It broke early in California, then more details trickled in; Jolie, 41, had hired Laura Wasser, dubbed the ‘disso queen’ for dissolving high profile marriages and who recently represented Johnny Depp in his divorce from Amber Heard; TMZ, which claims to have seen a legal filing, said Jolie “was extremely upset” by Pitt's parenting methods; Jolie had listed their date of seperation as 15 September, citing irreconcilable differences, and asked for full physical custody of the children.

Pitt, 52, responded separately a few hours later, saying the wellbeing of their children is paramount.

In a statement to People magazine, Pitt said: “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids.

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

Her father Jon Voight, was surprised by the news: “Something very serious must have happened for Angie to make a decision like this,” as too was George Clooney, a long-time friend of Pitt’s, who was told during an interview with CNN: “This is the first I've heard of it.”

A source told US Weekly Pitt had only been made aware of her decision to file for divorce a day before.

The couple were together for 10 years, married for two. They have six children together: Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, eight.

Amid swirling speculation over their reasons for splitting, Paramount Pictures, in either awkward or impeccable timing, released the trailer for Allied, the turbulent love story of two resistance fighters starring Pitt and Marion Cotillard.

The couple successfully sued the News of the World in 2010 for undisclosed damages over false allegations they were separating.