Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have pretended to be married a few times. Once for a "Domestic Bliss" photo spread in W magazine (the very one that made ex Jennifer Aniston accuse Pitt of being short an emotional chip). Another time, the Hollywood power couple faked marriage to each other for their roles in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the film on which they met and fell in love. Now it seems like pretend time is over. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are talking about getting married. For real.
At least Brad is.
In an interview with this weekend's USA Today, Brad says that he and Angie (that's what all her close friends call her) might be tying the knot.
The reason is ridiculous.
Brad says he and Angie are considering getting married -- because of their six kids. He said,
The kids ask about marriage. It's meaning more and more to them. So it's something we've got to look at.
I'm sorry -- WHAT?
Brad and Anglina are going to get married because it will "mean" something to their kids? Wait a second, isn't this the guy who famously told the media -- more than once -- that he and Angie would consider tying the knot only when gay marriage was legal in the United States? And didn't Angie tell Vogue that marriage doesn't keep people together and who needs a piece of paper to prove you love someone and no one's going to pressure us into getting married and we're a happy family without marriage and so on ... and so on.
Brad and Angelina have their reasons for not getting married. And it really doesn't matter if we agree with those reasons or not. The point is, if everything they've told us about what they believe is true and they do get hitched, they will be failing their children. As parents, it's their job to instill values and beliefs in their kids. By reneging on their promises and compromising their integrity, Brad and Angelina are selling Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox, and Vivienne short. If they get married, the couple is essentially telling their kids that it's totally cool to wimp out on a cause (in this case, gay rights) whenever you feel like it.
And what of their message that love, not a piece of paper, keeps couples together? Brad and Angelina's kids seem concerned that their parents aren't "married," in the very technical sense of the word. Yet why should they be? Are all those paparazzi photos we see of that big, happy family just a lie?
Maybe instead of getting married, Brad and Angie should be demonstrating their love for each other -- and their children -- every day. Because that and teaching their children the importance of standing up for they you believe in are the things that will "mean" the most to their kids in the long run.
Image via W Magazine
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Comments 35
A lot of people stay together yet remain unmarried, there's actually many people I know, and some other famous people. But if they want to set up this example for their kids I think they should. It might just be a piece of paper to them, but for their family they realize it means a lot to them.
And Gay marriage is legal in California, which is in the US.
I think getting married because your children want you to is a great reason to get married. It really is more than just a piece of paper ~ imho. Showing loyalty and commitment to your childrens' mom or dad through marriage is teaching your children values. And I know that a lot of my opinions about life and love have changed through the years as I have changed and matured. I'm sure that happens to a lot of other people too. So what if they didn't want to make it official a couple of years ago and now they do. Good for them.
I say way to go, Brad and Angie. Their marriage would have ore of a positive impact than their public sound bytes.
I think getting married for their children is a beautiful thing. They obviously love each other and their children. I'm so over everyone all "Angie is a husband stealer" - that was like 6 years ago. EVERYONE is over it!
Having kids with someone is NO reason to marry them. This is why we have so many failed marriages today: because people get married for the wrong reasons (i.e., getting married because you have a child together to make a 'real' family) or for various other reasons, like being too young, not taking enough time to really get to know each other and rushing into a commitment.
BUT if people actually got married BEFORE they had kids, wow, then maybe family would start to mean something again. Whatever happened to the way things were done in the old days? No, a piece of paper doesn't really mean anything. It's the commitment BEHIND that piece of paper that means everything. And too many people are just too selfish, self-involved, unable to compromise, and unwilling to really give their life to the other person - and THIS is why so many marriages fail.