There has long been speculation about Brad Pitt’s involvement in his children’s lives following his split from Angelina Jolie.

Their breakup was bitter and contentious, and it appeared that some of their children had taken the actress’s side.

Of course, Shiloh Pitt’s recent decision to drop her last name has not gone unnoticed, and a recent report has revealed why the teenager made the decision.

Shiloh now goes by Shiloh Jolie (and no longer as Shiloh Jolie Pitt) and she was the one behind the decision.

“Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself,” a source told People, and they claim the “abuse history” allegations her father faces are part of the reason.

Brad Pitt’s Children Are Ditching His Last Name

People also states that Shiloh filed the legal documents on her 18th birthday earlier this year (May 27, 2024). The publication notes that Shiloh is not the only child to have dropped “Pitt” from their last name, as her sisters, Vivienne Jolie and Zahara Marley Jolie, also don’t use their father’s last name. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016 and in the years that have followed, things between the former couple have been challenging. It has also been an uphill battle for Pitt to gain access to his children. “Many times, there have been long gaps where he didn’t see the kids at all,” the source told People in 2022.

The actor has reportedly fought to fix his relationship with his children, and according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, a source told them Pitt is “confident” he can “strengthen his relationship” with Shiloh now that she is an adult. “Now that Shiloh is 18, she can make up her own mind as far as how she wants her relationship with her father to develop,” the insider said. Blame has also been placed on Angelina Jolie, with the source claiming she ensured her kids had “limited involvement” with Pitt.

Could Brad Pitt And Shiloh Jolie Reconnect?

The Daily Mail source claimed that now that Shiloh Jolie is an adult, she could have an opportunity to get to know her father better. This is because Angelina Jolie will not restrict his access. “It is still that way with the underage ones, but with Shiloh, that is no longer Angie’s choice,” the source claims. If Shiloh chooses to have limited contact with her dad, that is her decision.”

It is a sad story, with the source claiming Pitt will “love her unconditionally,” regardless of how she plans to proceed. “The difference between now and [a few] days ago [before her birthday] is that Shiloh makes the choice. Everyone is confident that they will, in time, rekindle the bond that was broken by the divorce. Keeping Shiloh from Brad is no longer an option for Angelina.”

Despite Pitt’s complicated relationship with his children, a second source told the Daily Mail that they know he is always there for him if they decide to reach out. “That is just the maturity he has within himself, and the guy Brad is and always has been,” they claim. “As the kids get older and are able to make more decisions for themselves, if it is Shiloh or anyone else, if those decisions pose a positive or negative outlook on the father he wants to be, he understands that they are adults and can decide what they want to do.”

Again, there were claims that Angelina Jolie was to blame for much of the distance between Pitt and his kids. “Angie can make them think differently, but the truth is, Brad always wants them to know that he has their back,” the source claimed, adding how truth “always seems to find a way to find itself to the forefront.”