The brother-sister duo made headlines in the early aughts after sharing several kisses while on the red carpet and at various events in Hollywood.
Angelina Jolie’s older brother, James Haven, is opening about his relationship with the actress in a rare, new interview.
Appearing on the 90Who10 podcast, Haven was asked about his bond with Jolie and whether he’s been there for both her and her children while, as the host put it, “she’s going through stuff and you’re watching it unfold in the public eye as the protective brother,” likely referring to her tumultuous split from Brad Pitt.
“That’s where it all started, it started with the protection of her and then of her children, my nieces and nephews,” Havens explained. “There are those are massively formative years, they’re becoming young adults in their early 20s.”
He continued, “That’s so crazy thinking that, but yeah, I think it’s just very natural [to feel protective] and I just want to be there. Very much like my mom. Anytime I’m blessed to be in their presence, I want to be in their presence.”
Another quality he got from their late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, is his ability to be present.
“[It’s] a quality I got from my mom, even though cell phones were not as prevalent as they are now, but back to that idea of her always being like; ‘You are the focus,'” Haven shared. “I set my life up so I can be present with whatever the situation. The formative years, the young adults they’re going to become, I want to be there for them — or for her — whatever she’s going through.”
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Haven was first thrust into the spotlight in the early aughts, during Jolie’s award season run for Girl Interrupted, where the pair where photographed sharing several kisses on the red carpet — something that elicited both chatter and headlines about their brother-sister bond.
While Jolie called it “brotherly love,” the pair were forced to defend the smooch, citing that it came at a difficult time for the family, as their mother — who died in 2007 — was in the hospital at the time.
The interview marked the first time Haven has spoken publicly and about his relationship with Jolie, and the work they do together, much of it behind the scenes.
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“We have very mutual interests, especially if it’s focuses on how to help kids or stuff like that,” he shared.
Havens continued, “And I know there’s going to be many things in the future that we’ll probably be working on, which we’ve never done publicly, like together, but I think there’s many things in the future that I think we’ll do together.”
The interview comes on the heals of Jolie’s December cover story with WSJ. Magazine, where she touched on her divorce from Pitt and how her children are holding up.
“We had to heal. There are things we need to heal from,” she told the outlet.
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Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. While the two were declared legally single in 2019, the former couple’s divorce has yet to be finalized.
And when that finally does happen, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is hoping she can escape from Los Angeles, where she grew up and still lives, and visit her home in Cambodia more often.
“It’s part of what happened after my divorce,” Jolie said. “I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can.”
“I grew up in quite a shallow place,” she added. “Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”
