Billy Bob Thornton has shared insights into the reasons behind the end of his marriage to Angelina Jolie, and also addressed the unique aspect of their relationship where they wore ‘vials’ of each other’s blood.
Thornton, now 70, has been married six times, with his union to Jolie beginning in 2000 after they connected on the set of the film *Pushing Tin* in 1999. Their relationship was highly publicized and often captured by the media.
During their time together, the couple famously wore vials containing each other’s blood around their necks, a detail Thornton has since explained further.
The couple also adopted a son, Maddox, from Cambodia in 2002, but their marriage ended the following year.
In a conversation with Rolling Stone, the *Bad Santa* actor reminisced about their time together, describing it as a period full of happiness.
“That was one of the greatest times of my life,” he remarked in the interview.
Thornton noted that their split was amicable, emphasizing that it was a ‘civilized breakup’ and that they remain ‘very, very close friends’.
The reason for their separation, according to the *Indecent Proposal* actor, was their ‘different lifestyles’.
Despite the calm nature of their divorce, their marriage was a constant subject of media attention.
At that period, Thornton was enjoying a high point in his career, following his Oscar win for the 1996 film *Sling Blade*, which he wrote, directed, and starred in.
Reflecting on their fame, Thornton told Rolling Stone, “It was pretty weird. When we met, I was the more famous one.” Their combined celebrity status soon made them a high-profile couple.
“So, it was weird,” he added. “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.”
Previously, Thornton has spoken about feeling inadequate during his marriage to Jolie. In an interview with ABC, he admitted, “I didn’t think I was good enough for her. She has one way she wanted to live her life and I had another way to live mine and I was just too insecure.”
He reiterated this sentiment on the *HFPA in Conversation* podcast in 2018, explaining that their split was due to ‘different lifestyles’.
“Hers is a global lifestyle and mine is an agoraphobic lifestyle,” Thornton shared. “So, that’s really—that’s the only reason we’re probably not still together, maybe, because of a different path in life we wanted to take.”