What happened with Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie? Split explained as Landman star clarifies blood necklace rumors

Billy Bob Thornton recently addressed the long-running rumor about sharing blood vial necklaces with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, published on November 17, Billy Bob Thornton shared that the vials of blood "never existed," and that the couple instead "had a little locket, literally with a drop of blood in them," which Billy described as a "romantic little idea."

"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," he added.

Thornton, who has been married six times, had previously addressed the rumor in 2014 while speaking at Loyola Marymount University's School of Film & Television.

During their marriage from 2000 to 2003, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton were famously known for wearing necklaces that contained vials of each other’s blood. pic.twitter.com/u5jZKpicdz

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) October 17, 2025

He shared that the Maleficent actress once came home with a kit which included "those lockets you buy that are clear and you put a picture of your grannie in it or something like that, and wear it around your neck? That's what it was", and thought that it would be "interesting and romantic" to slice their fingers with a "little razor blade" and "smeared a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck just like you wear your son or daughter's baby hair in one."

"Same thing. From that we were wearing quart jars of blood around our necks," he added.

Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton were married from 2000 to 2003. According to Billy, they broke up "because our lifestyles were so different." However, they are still "close friends," added Billy.

"Angelina and I had a great time together. That was one of the greatest times of my life. She and I are still very, very close friends. And that was the one that ended up being a really civilized breakup," added Billy.

Jolie echoed the same emotions in a 2008 interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"I still love him dearly and think the world of him," she said.

She added:

"I don't believe in regrets. It's a dangerous habit to get into—it makes you pause in your life if you start thinking back and questioning yourself."

"We couldn’t go anywhere": Billy Bob Thornton recalls life after marriage with Angelina Jolie

Furthermore, in the aforementioned interview with Rolling Stone, Billy Bob Thornton recalled being in the spotlight with Angelina Jolie.

"It was pretty weird. When we met, I was the more famous one. 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," said Billie.

Jolie, who got a tattoo of Billy (which she later removed after their divorce), met him in 1999 while filming Pushing Tin. After getting married in 2001, Jolie adopted a son, Maddox, from Cambodia on her own.

Billy, who has four children from previous relationships, has been married to Connie Angland since 2014. He shares daughter Amanda with ex Melissa Lee Gatlin, sons William and Harry, with ex-wife Pietra Dawn Cherniak and daughter Bella, 20, with wife Connie Angland.

Meanwhile, Jolie is a mother to six children, Maddox Chivan, Zahara Marle, Shiloh Nouvel, Pax Thien, Knox Léon, and Vivienne Marcheline, she shared with ex-husband Brad Pitt.