Brad Pitt wants 'amicable split' from Angelina Jolie 'for the sake of the children'

Angelina Jolie has reportedly moved into a rental home with her children as she prepares to launch an all-out war against Brad Pitt in a custody battle. Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt on Monday (19 September) citing 'the health of her family', as the reason for the split, just two years after the couple wed at Chateau Miraval, their French estate.

The wheels are already in motion for what has been dubbed the divorce of the century. Giant removal vans were seen rumbling into the couple's Hollywood Hills compound on Wednesday (21 September) morning, just two days after the shock announcement made headlines around the world.

The actress has reportedly enlisted the services of celebrity lawyer Laura Wasser, who most recently represented Johnny Depp in his divorce from Amber Heard.

The mother-of-six has asked for physical custody of the couple's six children - Maddox, age 15; Pax, aged 12; Zahara, aged 11; Shiloh, aged 10; and twins Vivienne and Knox, aged eight, while her legal team have reportedly set up a "war room" in the rented home, as the battle for the children commences.

Pitt is reportedly reeling after Jolie filed for divorce and the Allied actor is said to be 'furious' at his estranged wife after reports emerged suggesting that he is a potential risk to their children because of "anger issues and substance abuse" and rumours of an alleged affair with French co-star Marion Cotillard.

With paparazzi swarming around their LA home since the news broke, prompting Los Angeles Police Department to patrol the area, Pitt fears for the safety of the couple's children with sources claiming that there is 'no chance' he will allow her to claim sole custody after she "unleashed hell" on the entire family.

Despite Jolie's aggressive approach, TMZ claims that the World War Z actor is determined to resolve the divorce amicably for the sake of the children.

"Brad still cares for Angelina very much and respects her as the mother of his children," says the source. "But after the rhetoric that has been put out over the past 24 hours about his drinking and doing drugs, along with the completely untrue rumors about him having an affair with his co-star Marion Cotillard, he is hoping to be able to turn the volume down."

Sources said Pitt has had conversations with Jolie pleading for her to handle the divorce 'like adults', and the actor has insisted that no negative stories should be spun about the mother of his children in response to her criticisms of his parenting skills.

"People close to him specifically avoided criticizing her while trying to stay positive in defending him at Brad's request," explains the source. "He does not want them [the children] reading anything negative in the press about himself or their mother. He's not going to get dirty."

The couple's relationship has been the focus of speculation for months, following reports of jealous rows and insecurity. Just two months after their fairytale wedding in France, the pair were photographed in a heated argument on their Sydney hotel balcony.

In an interview with Vogue in 2015 to promote By The Sea, in which they play a married couple who are struggling with their relationship, she denied the film, written by her, was drawn from real life. "It's not autobiographical," the 41-year-old actress insisted. "Brad and I have our issues, but if the characters were even remotely close to our problems we couldn't have made the film."

InTouch magazine who announced the couple were to split this week first predicted the marriage breakdown in 2015, claiming that the couple were caught in a power struggle.

"He says she's controlled him from day one of their relationship," the insider added. "Although he liked her taking charge at first, he's come to resent the power he's allowed her to have over him."

In March 2016, the magazine further claimed escalating tensions between the pair had reached a head and the actresses increasingly slim frame and gaunt appearance sparked concerns that Jolie may be facing a "physical and emotional breakdown" as the Hollywood couple were rumoured to be headed for a divorce..

Fueling rumours of their impending split Jolie and Pitt the Maleficent star reportedly fired one of her children's nannies after she caught her flirting with her heart-throb husband.

The couple seemed however to put the divorce rumours to rest as they arrived in London with their brood. The image of a happy family, they set up home in an eight-bedroom, $21,000-a-month (£14,700) rental in Surrey for at six months, while Pitt filmed the sequel to his 2013 American apocalyptic action horror film World War Z.