Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie's Former Bodyguard Had This To Say About Why He Stopped Working for the Couple
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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie‘s former bodyguard spent 27 years in the British Army’s air service but working for the A-list couple was still his hardest job yet. In a 2016 interview with The Sun, Mark Billingham discussed his 18-month stint working for Pitt, 59, and Jolie, 48.
Billingham was Pitt and Jolie’s head of security and formed a close relationship with the couple’s six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne. Billingham told The Sun: “The military set me up perfectly for what I did with them.”
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He says the protective parents were extremely strict about who spent time around their children. He recalls, “Angie and Brad are very worried about who goes near their children. It was clear from the start we had a great chemistry and they trusted me with the kids.” Bellingham says he was close with the couple and lived with them throughout his time on their staff. He claims he effectively “fathered” the Jolie-Pitt kids, taking them swimming and accompanying them throughout the day.
“I could take the kids anywhere I wanted to on my own. No one else was allowed to do that,” he said. “Even when I wanted to bring in extra people, they wouldn’t let any of those near the kids.” Bellingham also had to protect the family from stalkers which he was a prolific issue. He recalled one particular incident: “Angie was filming in a crowd and everyone’s got smiles on their faces except for one guy. He looked angry.”
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“A few days later we were coming off set and this guy came running down the road with photos to be signed,” Bellingham continued. “Angie wanted to get out of the vehicle and do it but I said no.” He said that when he brought the man’s photos back to Jolie for her to sign, she realized they were personal photos. The man ran off but when he was stopped near Jolie’s hotel days later, Bellingham had him arrested. “He’d been following Angie all over the States,” the former bodyguard said.
One of Bellingham’s roles was also to ensure the couple, and their children, maintained a good public image. He had to carry spare clothes and deliver them to the family in case anything got stained or too wrinkled. He said: “I had to make sure their image was protected, that they were dressed properly and not doing silly things that could be caught on camera.”
Bellingham said that Jolie, who he described as the “tough one” in the relationship, would be well-equipped to survive his Special Air Service training but the Fight Club actor would not. Looks like Jolie’s Tomb Raider training stood the test of time!
But overall, Bellingham says the couple occasionally lacked social skills and common sense. “I found it crazy when they would ask me questions like, ‘How do I go down to that bar?’ and ‘What do I need to do to get there?'” He explains: “They’re not stupid, but because of the world they live in they just haven’t done something like that for so long. I found that weird.”
Ultimately, Bellingham said he couldn’t work with the couple due to how much it took him away from his own six children. “I never had a private life. I was exhausted. I lost direction in my own family life,” he said, In 17 months I was only home for six weeks. It was just too full-on.”
Still, Bellingham says he was as shocked as the rest of us when Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. The separation came shortly after an alleged altercation between the couple onboard a private jet. Court documents would later reveal that Jolie alleges Pitt grabbed her by the head and shook her then choked one of their children and struck another when they tried to defend her. Pitt denied the accusations and was cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation after the incident.
Before you go, click here to see the best photos of Angelina Jolie & her six kids.
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