The Untold Story: Angelina Jolie Reveals Her Struggles During a Dark Time Away from Hollywood

The Untold Story: Angelina Jolie Reveals Her Struggles During a Dark Time Away from Hollywood

Angelina Jolie has long been a household name, known for her breathtaking performances in films like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Maleficent, as well as for her role as a humanitarian and an advocate for global causes. Yet, behind the dazzling spotlight of Hollywood and her high-profile persona, there has been a much more personal, untold story—a chapter in her life marked by profound struggle, self-doubt, and a decision to step away from everything she knew.

For the first time, Jolie opens up about what she calls her “very dark” period, a time when she retreated from the public eye and Hollywood’s suffocating glare. This period, which many had speculated about but few truly understood, was one of emotional turmoil, deep reflection, and intense healing. In an exclusive, candid interview, Jolie reflects on how she was forced to confront both her inner demons and the weight of the world around her, ultimately leading to a dramatic shift in her life and career.

A Turbulent Personal Life: The Catalyst for Change

Jolie’s decision to take a step back from her acting career came after a series of personal and public struggles that deeply affected her. The most significant of these was her divorce from actor Brad Pitt in 2016, a breakup that sent shockwaves through Hollywood and the media. Although the divorce was deeply private, the constant press scrutiny and media frenzy took a toll on Jolie in ways she hadn’t anticipated. “It felt like I was living under a microscope,” she shares. “Every move I made, every decision I made, was being analyzed. I started to question everything I was doing, not just as an actress, but as a person.”

In the years that followed, Jolie found herself increasingly overwhelmed. The relentless media attention, coupled with the emotional fallout from the end of her marriage and her personal life being laid bare for the world to see, led to a profound sense of isolation. Despite her public persona as a confident, strong woman, she was privately grappling with intense feelings of sadness, confusion, and a deep desire to withdraw from it all.

“I didn’t know who I was anymore,” Jolie admits. “I’d spent so many years defining myself by the roles I played, the image I had crafted, the relationships I was in. When everything fell apart, I was left with nothing but questions. Who was I without the films, without the spotlight? Who was I if I wasn’t playing the part the world had set for me?”

The Weight of Motherhood and Responsibility

Amid her personal turmoil, Jolie was also balancing her responsibilities as a mother to six children. The actress has long been a committed parent, adopting children from war-torn regions and raising them in a household that emphasized compassion, understanding, and global awareness. However, during this dark period, motherhood, once her greatest source of joy and pride, became an additional source of pressure.

“There were times when I felt like I was failing as a mother,” Jolie confesses. “I was emotionally exhausted. I had no idea how to heal myself while trying to be strong for my kids. I was in so much pain that it felt impossible to help them navigate their own challenges.”

Despite these struggles, Jolie remains committed to her children, and it was their needs that often drove her decisions during this time. “I had to keep going for them, even when I didn’t have the strength to keep going for myself,” she explains. While her children provided her with love and purpose, they also reminded her of the tremendous responsibility she had to be there for them, even when she felt at her lowest.

As a mother, Jolie was also facing the additional challenge of co-parenting with Pitt, navigating the complexities of divorce and custody arrangements, all under the intense gaze of the media. Every decision she made was scrutinized, every detail of her personal life exposed. It was a situation that added layers of emotional strain to an already difficult period.

The Silent Struggle with Mental Health

While many assumed that Jolie was simply retreating to spend more time with her children or focus on her humanitarian work, there was another dimension to her withdrawal—one that she hadn’t fully addressed in the past. Jolie, who has been an outspoken advocate for mental health throughout her career, admits that during this time, she was grappling with her own mental health issues—issues that she had long ignored.

“The truth is, I wasn’t okay,” Jolie reveals. “I’d always been the strong one—the one who could handle anything. But inside, I was falling apart. There were days when I couldn’t get out of bed, when the thought of facing another day felt impossible. I felt like I had lost my way.”

This period of depression and anxiety was something Jolie had never openly spoken about before, but in retrospect, she sees how much she needed to address her mental and emotional health. “I had to face things I’d buried deep inside me for years,” she says. “I had to face my fears, my anger, my grief, and my guilt. I had to admit that I couldn’t do it alone.”

For the first time in her life, Jolie sought therapy. She attended support groups and engaged in practices like mindfulness and meditation. “I had to start from the beginning,” she says. “I had to learn how to be kind to myself, how to forgive myself. I had to heal.”

While she was known for being a strong advocate for others—particularly refugees, women’s rights, and children’s health—she now realized that she had neglected her own well-being. “The world teaches us to keep going, to push through, to not show weakness. But sometimes, you have to stop and ask for help,” she reflects. “I realized that healing isn’t something you can do alone, and it isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes time, it takes vulnerability, and it takes acceptance.”

A Journey of Self-Rediscovery

In her time away from Hollywood, Jolie began the difficult journey of rediscovering herself. She traveled more extensively, visiting places where she could reconnect with her humanitarian roots. Her visits to refugee camps in Jordan, Iraq, and Ethiopia, where she met with displaced families and children who had lost everything, helped her find a sense of purpose beyond her own struggles.

“I needed to see the world beyond my own pain,” she admits. “When you’re faced with the suffering of others—people who have lost everything—it puts your own problems into perspective. I was reminded of the importance of compassion, of being there for others, even when you’re going through your own hardship.”

Her time in these regions, combined with her ongoing work with the UNHCR, gave her a new sense of purpose. She began to realize that while she had spent years advocating for others, she had neglected her own self-care in the process. “Helping others gave me a sense of healing that nothing else could,” Jolie says. “But I had to learn that I couldn’t help anyone else if I didn’t take care of myself first.”

During this period, Jolie also worked on reconnecting with her children. After the intense media focus on her divorce and custody battle, she needed time to rebuild her family life, re-establishing routines, and providing a sense of stability for her children.

“I wanted to show my kids that you can go through difficult times and come out the other side stronger,” she says. “They are my greatest teachers. They remind me every day of what truly matters.”

Re-entering Hollywood: A Changed Woman

Jolie’s return to Hollywood, which started slowly with select projects, marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life. But she was no longer the same person who had once thrived in the Hollywood machine. “Coming back to Hollywood wasn’t easy,” she admits. “It felt like stepping into a world I didn’t quite fit into anymore. But I was also more grounded, more self-aware, and less concerned with what people thought of me.”

Her first major project after returning was Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), a film that, in many ways, reflected her own personal transformation. The character of Maleficent, an outcast who learns to embrace her flaws and her power, resonated deeply with Jolie. “I saw so much of myself in that character,” she says. “It was about finding strength in your vulnerability, about learning to accept the things you can’t change.”

Though her Hollywood return has been met with both anticipation and skepticism, Jolie feels more in control of her narrative than ever before. “I’ve learned that success isn’t measured by how many films you make or how famous you are,” she says. “It’s about living with integrity and finding peace with yourself.”

As Jolie continues to balance her career with her advocacy and motherhood, it is clear that this chapter of her life has had a profound impact on who she is today. The actress, who once defined herself by her roles on the big screen, now seems to place a higher value on the roles she plays offscreen—as a mother, an advocate, and a woman who has come to terms with her own struggles and triumphs.