Angelina Jolie To Cut Ties With Winery She Co-Owns With Ex-Husband Brad Pitt

Angelina Jolie has filed a request to formally cut ties with the French castle and winery she had built with ex-husband Brad Pitt.

Jolie filed a petition to lift the automatic temporary restraining order (ATRO) on her divorce from Pitt to allow her to sell her shares in the shared venture, according to the court documents obtained by E! News on Wednesday. The ATRO is an order that prevents either Jolie or Pitt from making any financial decisions that would hurt the other throughout the divorce proceedings.

Her lawyers stated in the court documents that Jolie's Nouvel and Pitt's Mondo Bongo have equal shares in a Luxembourg firm that has ownership interests in Chateau Miraval. Jolie had acquired Nouvel before she married Pitt.

The "Maleficent" actress reportedly discussed the possibility of selling her interest to Pitt for two years but the negotiations ended as the ex-couple could not reach an agreement on the price of the acquisition and the non-compete and non-disparagement arrangements.

The court documents revealed that Jolie's decision to sell Nouvel came after "all these years of trying to extricate herself from being business partners with ex-husband on acceptable financial terms."

After their failed negotiations, Jolie has reportedly explored third-party sales but the actress fears the buyer might pull out of the deal unless she immediately signs an exclusivity agreement to sell Nouvel, for which the restraining order should be removed.

"Unless the ATROs are immediately lifted with respect to the proposed sale of Jolie’s membership interest in Nouvel, LLC, the third-party buyer will not be bound to go forward with the sale and Jolie will be at Pitt’s mercy to control the terms of any disposition of her separate property until such time as this matter comes to trial on the remaining financial issues," Jolie's lawyers stated in the court documents.

Chateau Miraval has a sentimental value for the ex-couple, as they tied the knot at the 1,000-acre vineyard estate in 2014. In 2016, Jolie filed a divorce from Pitt. The "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-stars were declared legally single in 2019. They have yet to finalize a settlement or custody agreement.