Brad Pitt’s relationship with alcohol shifted before he ended his seven-year sobriety streak.
“His decision to start drinking again wasn’t based on a dramatic thing that happened where he decided sobriety was over,” a source exclusively tells Us. “It was a gradual shift in how he viewed alcohol and his own relationship with it.”
The insider adds that Pitt, 62, “had enough distance” from alcohol to the point where he believed he “could approach it differently with much stricter boundaries.” While the F1 star “hasn’t gone back to hard liquor,” he has always had a “passion” for wine and “enjoys a glass or two in moderation.”
“He is able control that because it’s a different relationship with alcohol than he’s had before,” the source continues. “It’s something that became unhealthy for him during a period of time, so there are limits he can’t cross, and he is aware of those parameters.”
Pitt joined Alcoholics Anonymous in 2016 following his highly publicized split from Angelina Jolie. (She filed for divorce in September of that year, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split. Their divorce was finalized in December 2024.) He has been candid over the years about how his heavy drinking habits contributed to the downfall of his marriage.
Last week, Pitt told Esquire that he had gotten “back off the wagon” after seven years of sobriety, noting that he began drinking again “in a more restrained manner.”
“The issue was he felt it was more excess in the past,” the source tells Us. “He was at a point where he was at rock bottom, and the excess was the issue, and he is in a different place now.”
The insider emphasizes that Pitt doesn’t drink “every single day” and has “changed his actions and habits considerably.”
“It’s a different life today than the intensely turbulent period surrounding the end of his marriage,” the source explains. “He is more emotionally stable and less inclined to use alcohol as a coping mechanism. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life according to the rules created during the worst chapter of his life.”
The source adds that people close to Pitt are “cautious” about his new approach given his past. However, so far, there “haven’t been any signs there’s an issue.”
“One to two glasses of wine doesn’t seem concerning to those close to him because he’s at a different point in his life,” says the source of those who know Pitt best.
“He has a lot of pain about the situation with his children, but he has entered a chapter where he’s realized certain relationships and circumstances may not return to what they once were,” says the insider. “It is out of his hands. He can’t force the children to see him. He feels he did the best he could to try to repair the relationships as much as possible.”
Pitt and Jolie, 51, share kids Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 18. The Mr. & Mrs. Smith actor has become estranged from many of their children following their divorce.
“There are regrets, but he has accepted what’s happened,” the source concludes. “He carries a lot of pain and wishes he had a better relationship. He has accepted their decision but still hopes as time goes on things change in the future.”
Us reached out to reps for Pitt for comment.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
