What really ended Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie's marriage? Actor reflects on "civilized breakup" and different lifestyles

Billy Bob Thornton has revealed details about his two-year marriage to Angelina Jolie. The Sling Blade actor, who has been married six times, told Rolling Stone that his marriage to the Maleficent actress was one of the greatest times of his life, but it ended because their lifestyles were so different:

"That was one of the greatest times of my life," Thornton  said. "She and I are still very, very close friends. And that was the one that ended up being a really civilized breakup. We simply split up because our lifestyles were so different."

Thornton added that the public was fixated on their marriage to the point that  it made it difficult for them to go out or have a normal relationship:

"When we met, I was the more famous one," he said. "And then when we got together, for some reason, the people and the media are very interested in celebrity couples, that seems to be a very popular thing. So it was weird. We couldn’t go anywhere. I mean, we did, and then of course we had times when we would say things that became sound bites or whatever."

Thornton and Jolie have admitted to still being good friends.

“We each had a little locket, literally with a drop of blood in them”: Billy Bob Thornton talks about the famous blood vial necklaces

In 1999, Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie met on the set of the Pushing Tin movie. A year later, the actor abruptly ended his engagement to Laura Dern and eloped to Las Vegas with Jolie. They announced in 2002 that they were adopting a son named Maddox from Cambodia. They got divorced in 2003. 

The celebrated actor told Rolling Stone that he and Jolie thought it romantic to put drops of their blood in a vial, but the media misinterpreted it:

"We each had a little locket, literally with a drop of blood in them. That's a romantic little idea, and that's all that was. But by the time it's over, we're vampires. We live in a dungeon, we drink each other's blood, and this kind of stuff."

Angelina Jolie, while attending the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February 2025, shared that she remained friends with Thornton. 

"But I do have a wonderful relationship with Jonny, and he and I have sons the same age, and I'm so happy."

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