EXCLUSIVE: How Brad Pitt Got Sober and What Angelina Jolie Is Doing to Help His Relationship With Their Kids
Brad Pitt revealed he stopped drinking alcohol in his recent tell-all with GQ Style, and sources tell ET the 53-year-old actor sought counseling to get sober, as opposed to entering rehab.
"He made decisions for himself," a source tells ET.
A separate source says Pitt sought counseling for his drinking by attending meetings at a discrete location in Los Angeles.
"Pitt has worked very hard to get his kids back and the whole family is in a much better place," the source says.
It appears Pitt and 41-year-old Jolie are actively making it work for their six children -- 15-year-old Maddox, 13-year-old Pax, 12-year-old Zahara, 10-year-old Shiloh and 8-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. ET has learned that Jolie dropped around $25 million and is currently in escrow on a mansion located less than two miles from Pitt's Los Feliz, California, home. A source tells us Jolie wants their kids to be closer to Pitt so that they can see both parents easily.
"Angelina has said in the past she wants the kids to have a relationship with Brad," the source notes. "It just makes sense for them to be closer in location to him."
Pitt told GQ Style that he's been sober for six months -- around the time his split from 41-year-old Angelina Jolie was announced.
"I can't remember a day since I got out of college where I wasn't boozing or had a spliff, or something," the actor candidly told the magazine about his past. "Truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good."
Pitt said he was using substances to avoid his feelings.
"You realize that a lot of it is, um- cigarettes, you know, pacifiers," he shared. "And I'm running from feelings. I'm really, really happy to be done with all of that. I mean, I stopped everything except boozing when I started my family. But even this last year, you know -- things I wasn't dealing with. I was boozing too much. It's just become a problem. And I'm really happy it's been half a year now, which is bittersweet."
The actor later opened up about going to therapy.
"I love it, I love it," he enthused. "I went through two therapists to get to the right one."
Pitt was spotted earlier this month leaving his art studio in Los Angeles, appearing to be in good spirits after the release of his revealing tell-all interview.
Watch below:
-- Reporting by Carolyn Greenspan, Whitney Wallace and Rande Iaboni