Angelina Jolie's brother gave a rare interview about his siter's life in the wake of her and Brad Pitt's split.
Angelina Jolie's brother is speaking out. During a recent appearance on the 90who10 podcast, James Haven revealed why he's protective toward his famous sister and the six children she shares with her ex, Brad Pitt.
"I think it's natural," Haven, 52, said of being protective. "That's where it all started. It started with the protection of her and her children, my nieces and nephews."
Jolie and Pitt are parents to Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, all of whom are going through "massively formative years," according to Haven.
"They're becoming young adults," the proud uncle said. "[They're in their] early 20s. That's so crazy thinking that. I think it's just very natural. I just want to be there."
Being present, Haven said, is something he picked up from his and Jolie's mom, Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007.
"Any time I'm blessed to be in their presence, I want to be in their presence," he said of his family. "A quality that... I got from my mom... back to that idea of her always being like, 'You are the focus'.... whenever I'm in the presence of people, I turn my phone off. And I mean, I really turn it off."
"I set my life up so I can be present with whatever the situation," Haven added. "... I want to be there for them or for her, whatever she's going through."
Haven additionally noted that he and his younger sister "have very mutual interests, especially if it focuses on how to help kids or stuff like that," adding, "I know there's many things in the future that I think we'll do together."
Jolie and Pitt announced their split in 2016, and have spent the last seven years in an up and down legal battle. In a December interview with WSJ Magazine, Jolie spoke about her and her kids' journey after she split from Pitt, noting, "There are things we needed to heal from."
Given that, Jolie, 48, said she "doesn't really have a social life," and instead spends time with her kids.
"They are the closest people to me and my life, and they’re my close friends," she said. "We're seven very different people, which is our strength."
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