Brad Pitt is getting candid about a low point in his life. Shortly after his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, filed for divorce, Brad turned to Alcoholics Anonymous for support. At that point, he knew he needed help and would take any help he could get. Going to AA meetings ended up being an “incredible” experience for the actor.
Angelina filed for divorce after an argument over Brad’s drinking problem.
In 2019, The New York Times reported that Brad’s drinking habits contributed to the demise of his relationship with Angelina. After Angelina filed for divorce in September 2016, Brad went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for a year and a half. He told the publication that the group felt “really freeing” because “it was this safe space where there was little judgment.”
During a recent conversation, Brad revealed what drove him to open up.
Brad shared more details about his experience with AA during a recent appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. The two men participated in the program at the same time. While Brad was a bit nervous to open up at first as both a newbie and a high-profile celebrity, he was “desperate” to get help. This desperation motivated him to speak up.
At that point, he knew something had to change.
During their conversation, Dax hinted at being a bit surprised by Brad’s honesty during AA meetings. “You were so f—ing honest,” Dax told Brad. Brad explained that he essentially felt like he had no other choice because he had to do something to get better.
“I was pretty much on my knees, and I was really open,” he said. “I was trying anything and everyone. Anything anyone threw at me. It was a difficult time. I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the f— up in some areas. And it just meant a lot to me.”
He actually looked forward to AA meetings.
After he got used to the environment, his AA meetings became something he really valued. Overall, the experience was “incredible” and “really special.”
“It was when I first was getting sober,” Brad explained. “I just thought it was just incredible, men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humor with it. I thought it was a really special experience.”
At one point, Brad was a bit too open about his sobriety journey.
Clearly, opening up about his challenges had a positive impact on Brad. But in 2024, the actor revealed that AA didn’t exactly love how he spoke about the group he was in. During a conversation with George Clooney for GQ, Brad revealed that AA reminded him the group was supposed to be anonymous. In 2022, Brad had told GQ about the “really cool men’s group” he was part of that was “really private and selective.”
Though Brad specifically chose the group because of how private and safe it felt, he didn’t feel that he was “outing anyone” by describing the group in vague terms. However, AA reportedly said something to him about his openness. “You know they came down on me for that? AA did,” Brad said. “They were like, ‘It’s anonymous.’”
But Brad didn’t understand what the problem was given that everyone has heard of Alcoholics Anonymous before. “Everyone knows you exist. What’s the issue?” he wondered.
