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Angelina Jolie Says She Was in a Relationship With Someone Who Was ‘Not Kind’ About Her Singing
Angelina Jolie is reflecting on her past relationships – including one with an unnamed person who she claimed wasn’t fond of her singing.
Jolie, 49, got candid about the revelation while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in a new profile published on Friday, August 30. In the wide-ranging interview, the actress opened up about preparing for the role of renowned opera star Maria Callas, whom she portrays in the biopic, Maria.
“It was an out-of-body experience because I don’t sing,” Jolie told the outlet of shooting the film at La Scala, the famous opera house located in Milan, Italy. “I had somebody in my life who was not kind to me about singing. It was a relationship I was in. And so I just assumed I couldn’t really sing.”
Jolie continued, “I’d been to theater school, so it was weird that it even had an effect on me. I just kind of adapted to this person’s opinion. So it took me getting past a lot of things to start singing.”
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Though the actress is a seasoned vet on the big screen, Jolie admitted that “learning to sing and to enjoy singing” was a process that didn’t come easily.
“I was very, very shy stepping through this whole process,” she told the outlet. “My boys [sons Maddox and Pax] were there, but there was hardly anybody in there because the thing with singing opera is, you have to be loud. God knows how many lozenges I had, and I was rehearsing all night, all morning. I was very nervous to begin. I didn’t want to disappoint the crew.”
Though she stayed mum on the identity of the mystery man who derailed her confidence, Jolie has had a handful of high-profile romances through the years.
She was previously married to her Hackers costar, Jonny Lee Miller, from 1996 to 1999. She told Buzzfeed in 2014 that he is still a “great” friend of hers.
After her relationship with Miller, 51, ended, Jolie moved on with Billy Bob Thornton, to whom she was married from 2000 to 2003. More than 15 years after their split, Thornton, 69, exclusively told Us Weekly that the former lovebirds still hold a special place in their hearts for each other.
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“We’re good friends. We’ve been friends for years and years and years,” he said. “So we keep up with each other. She’s not in town a lot, so we don’t see each other much, but we talk.”
Jolie famously got together with ex Brad Pitt in 2005. They later tied the knot in 2014. The couple split in September 2016, and have been embroiled in a messy divorce since. Together they share six kids: Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16.
Angelina Jolie keeps her circle small.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress opened up about losing friendships over the years after being “betrayed.”
When asked which “close friend” she’d call at “3 in the morning,” the actress, who is currently promoting her new film, “Maria,” responded, “I don’t really have those kinds of relationships. Maybe it’s losing your parent young. Maybe it’s working. Maybe it’s being somebody who’s been betrayed a lot.”
“I don’t have a lot of those warm, close relationships as much that I lean on,” she added. “But I have a few, and a few is enough. Loung [Ung, the Cambodian American human rights activist who is the subject of ‘First They Killed My Father’] is one of my closest friends. My mother was very close to me. I lost her. I’ve had a few friends over the years not be there for my family in their hour of need. I have a couple of people that I trust.”
And those within that inner circle know just how the actress chooses to relax.