Angelina Jolie vs Brad Pitt via Chateau Miraval
© Getty ImagesThe couple were married for two years
It took almost a decade of legal back-and-forth to settle the divorce between actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt when a judge finally signed off on the dissolution of their two-year marriage in December 2024. “More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. Since that time, she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” Angelina’s lawyer James Simon told PEOPLE at the time. “Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.”
The ‘one part’ in question relates to the fact that the legal woes for the pair are far from over, as the battle over Château Miraval, the former couple’s home, vineyard and winery in France, continues. “Dubbed as the ‘war of the rosé’, it’s a lesson as old as time about the challenges of going into business with a spouse,” Rachel Spencer Robb, Partner in Family Law at Clarion told HELLO!. “What starts out as a positive venture with a shared outcome and unwavering support of the other, sometimes falls apart when one party is wronged outside of the marriage or differences of opinion arise over skill sets, work ethics, company direction and so on.
“When a business is created together during the marriage rather than owned by one party beforehand and therefore able to be included in a pre-nup, this can be far more complicated. The parties have often not taken any legal advice from any solicitor as to how best to set up the company so that it might be protected against a fall out.”
© AFP via Getty ImagesThe profitable wine business is the subject of much contention
In 2021, Angelina sold her 50 per cent stake in the winery to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of the Stoli Group, known for its luxury wines and spirits. Brad sued his ex-wife for breach of implied contract, on the basis that the sale violated a prior agreement requiring mutual consent before selling stakes in the property.
Angelina then retaliated with a countersuit that argued she sold her stake in the company after she was shut out of operating or profiting from the wine business. The court filing stated that Angelina had planned to sell her ownership stake to Brad, but talks disintegrated after she refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would have prevented her from speaking about Brad’s alleged abuse outside of court.
© WireImageThere has been a reported rift in the family ever since
“While Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce process has been toxic to say the least – with allegations of abuse – these are what we call ‘conduct arguments’ and so unlikely to have an effect on the handling of the Chateau Miraval estate,” said Rachel.
“In addition to the ‘no fault divorce’ that was brought into English law in April 2022, the way that one party behaves towards the other during the breakdown of the marriage (and prior to that ) are not usually taken into account when splitting assets and deciding on financial settlements unless it’s very extreme or there has been a detrimental financial impact, such as mishandling of funds.
“It will be interesting to follow the outcome of the case as Pitt claims a verbal agreement with Jolie prevented her from selling her shares, however the finer details surrounding shared ownership will need to be explored by the courts.” The legal battle continues at the time of writing.