Angelina Jolie is someone who loves to control her public image. We know that, we’ve seen it and there aren’t a lot of people out there that would deny it. After all, she’s Hollywood royalty. She can’t be seen having a bad day, arguing with her significant other in public or worse, have someone write something that puts her in a bad light. That’s why she Angelina does whatever it takes to make sure that her life always looks close to perfect or at least, from the public’s perspective. Being an A-lister is tough work, but pretending to be one is even tougher.

Now that Angelina’s soon-to-be ex-husband Brad Pitt is no longer under her control, he’s doing whatever he pleases again. Brad finally has his freedom and he’s enjoying every minute of it. But that wasn’t the case during their marriage. It’s safe to say that Angie was the one who controlled the strings behind closed doors and was the one who always had the last say. At least, that’s what the gossip and tabloid media like to assume. With that being said, here are 15 of Angelina Jolie’s marriage and family rules that drove Brad Pitt out the door.

He Couldn’t Visit With Jennifer Aniston

First and foremost, Brad Pitt could not visit with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston. At least not in public. And while there have been reports that Brad and Jennifer continued to communicate via text message after their divorce, it’s safe to say that Angelina Jolie was not a fan of it. And why would she be? After all, Angelina has long been accused of breaking up their marriage. The last thing she would want to see is Brad reach out to his ex-wife, especially after a marital fight with her. Jennifer Aniston was persona non grata in the Joie-Pitt household, so to speak.

Now, seeing how Angelina and Jennifer go to great lengths to avoid being in the same room together, we can see how this was a huge problem for Brad during their marriage.

He Had To Stay Away From Hollywood Parties

For the most part during their marriage, Brad Pitt avoided the Hollywood A-list crowd party scene. And that’s not because he didn’t want to. It’s because Angelina insisted that they travel and live in far off places instead. As much as Brad would have loved to rub elbows with the Hollywood elite at the Vanity Fair parties during the awards season, Angelina had other plans for them.

There’s always been an assumption that Angelina was never a fan of Hollywood of the celebrity social circles that her husband used to run in. She always made an effort to stay away from the crowds unless of course she knew she would be the center of attention. She didn’t want to be in a room full of competition. Otherwise, Angie took her crew to chill in Namibia instead.

He Had to Stay Away From Friends, Too

During his marriage to Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt had plenty of celebrity friends that he could always rely and count on. Some of the ex-couple’s closest friends were Sting and his wife Trudie Styler, Matt Damon, Melissa Etheridge, and George Clooney. But the moment Angelina Jolie came into the picture, Brad had to say goodbye to most of them.

Rumor had it for the longest time that Angelina was not a fan of George Clooney and vice versa. Apparently, she also had a hard time getting along with the spouses of Brad’s friends. It’s no wonder he was urged to keep away from Hollywood during their relationship. It was clear that Angelina basically had issues with everyone. And while this had never been confirmed, the paparazzi photos during Brad and Angie’s decade together do speak for themselves.

They Were Constantly On Angelina’s Travel Schedule

Angelina Jolie always wanted her children to see the world with her. And during her relationship with Brad Pitt, that’s exactly what she did. Each and every time the couple had a project or film assignment overseas, they brought their six children along with them. The kids were homeschooled just so they could travel on Angelina’s schedule.

Many reports indicated that Brad wanted the couple’s kids to enroll into a traditional school. But Angelina was having none of it. It was either her way, or the highway. That’s why the kids spent more time in places like London, Malta and Cambodia than back at home with their friends. As much as Brad didn’t approve of this lifestyle, there was very little that he could do about it. It was apparent that Angelina was in control from the very start.

But He Traveled Back Home To Missouri Less

And while the couple did a lot of traveling, if there was one place that they traveled less to, it’s Brad home state of Missouri. As a matter of fact, the Jolie-Pitt kids saw less and less of Brad Pitt’s family throughout the years. Clearly, Angelina Jolie had something to do with is.

Brad credits his parents for a lot in his life. Because of them, he’s always wanted to be a father. He said, “I think you can see it in my work. I was a pretty good actor before, but definitely hit and miss. I think I became a really good actor. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with age and wisdom too. But I see an absolute shift from the day I started my family. And I think it’s because family – and certainly kids and a stable relationship – is something bigger than yourself. They need you to sit down with them, be there for them when they wake up in the middle of the night. They need you. So I think that made me less tense about things, less stressed. And very clear that if I’m going to be doing something that’s going to take me away from my family, it better be something that I believe in, and that they’re going to see and be proud of their dad."

She Was Suspicious Of His Female Co-Stars

If Brad Pitt was scheduled to film a movie with a beautiful co-star, Angelina Jolie smelled trouble. Of course, no wife would want to see their husband kissing another gorgeous female, even if it were in front of the cameras. Angelina Jolie is no different. Jealousy is jealousy, regardless of who you are or where you come from. Even the famous Angie has her own insecurities.

It’s no wonder that there were so many rumors flying that Angie was none too pleased over the fact that Brad filmed a movie with beautiful French actress Marion Cotillard. There were even rumors of an affair, although they were never confirmed. Still, Angelina always felt as though she had every reason to be suspicious about her husband!

Their Family Always Came First

It doesn’t matter what Brad Pitt was doing or where he was going, their family life always came first. And that’s not such a bad thing, right? Well, it depends on who you ask. With Angelina, Brad felt like he was suffocating at times. That’s because there was no balance in their lives.

Yet, Brad insists that he was always the disciplinarian of their family. He once said in an interview, “I am with the boys. Girls do no wrong so I don’t have to be. I feel like my job is to show ’em around, help them find what they want to do with their life, put as many things in front of them, and pull them back when they get out of line, so they know who they are."

He Always Had To Support Her On The Red Carpet

We’ve said this before and we will say it again: for Angelina Jolie, her public image is everything. She knows that as the Queen of Hollywood, what she does, what she says and how she looks like is very important. That’s why she always insisted on having Brad Pitt by her side at each and every red carpet appearance.

Brad once said about Angelina, “I’m surprised how much our history – Angie’s and mine – means to me. That we have this story together. That we know each other. That we watch each other getting older, through amazing moments, joys, pains. That we know each other. It means so much to me. I don’t know. I’m just surprised, because you hear people talking about the old ball and chain, and people trying to recapture youth, as if that’s the impulse.”

She Did Not Approve Of The Hollywood Lifestyle

Simply put, Angelina Jolie might be Hollywood royalty but she’s an outsider in the entertainment industry. She doesn’t like to mingle with Hollywood actresses, gossip about other people with her gal pals or spend any time with them for that matter. And she expected Brad to be the same way. The only problem though was that Brad was quite the opposite.

Their relationship also changed after their marriage. Angie said in an interview, "We were fortunate enough to be in that unusual situation, we got married with our children and they were part of the ceremony. It was all of us agreeing to be together and to just commit to this life together. Not because we had to... because we were absolutely sure we felt that much of a family."

They Spent More Time In Europe Than in L.A.

Seeing how Angelina Jolie disliked anything that had to do with Hollywood social circles, she made an effort to stay away as far as possible from Los Angeles. That’s why the couple spent most of their time in Europe than on the West Coast. This was because of what Angelina envisioned for her family, not Brad.

Angelina though insists that she always tried to be a better partner. She once said, "We have more moments where I say, 'I'm going to be a better wife. I’m going to learn to cook.' and [Brad] says, 'Oh, honey, know what you're good at.' But I do like, 'No, no, no, I'm going to get this wife thing down.' He knows my limitations and where I'm a good wife and a good mom."

She Insisted On Homeschooling Their Kids

Angelina has always insisted on homeschooling their children. That wasn’t in Brad Pitt’s plan though. He wanted his kids to have the same upbringing that he had. However, it is hard to argue with Angelina and all of her very strict ideas about parenting.

He once explained, “Our life is their normal. Because we’re migratory workers in a sense, they have this wonderful thing where they get to be students of the world. They have memories of being in Vietnam, or that time in Paris, or over in Calgary. The downside is friends, sleepovers, team sports – these have been the challenges that we’ve had to work out. We do those things, but we really have to go out of our way. And Mom is a matador about it all – she’s fantastic. We get their friends to us a lot. And then when we set up in one place for any length of time I get on the team sports, because I really want them to have that understanding of being on the team."

No George Clooney

Now, we’ve mentioned that Angie didn’t particularly like many of Brad’s friends. But if there is one person that Angie wasn’t very fond of, it was George Clooney. During their marriage, Brad had very little contact with his old pal so much so that George was shocked to hear that they were divorcing in 2016.

It’s no wonder that George Clooney is now the mastermind behind Brad and Jennifer Aniston getting back together. Star Magazine reported, “George was the first person to call him when his marriage to Angie imploded. After Jen and Justin announced their split, he encouraged Brad to reach out and give their relationship another chance. George had been thinking about trying to reunite Brad and Jen ever since he heard her marriage was in serious trouble.”

She Tried To Keep Him On A Short Leash

From what a lot of reports have indicated, Angelina Jolie tried to keep Brad Pitt on a short leash. Right after it was reported that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were splitting, sources claimed that Brad had substance and alcohol abuse problems, to which he both confirmed were true. Brad has since sobered up.

Angie told Vogue in 2007, "We spent a lot of time contemplating and thinking and talking about what we both wanted in life and realized that we wanted very, very similar things. And then we just continued to take time. We remained very, very good friends — with this realization — for a long time. And then life developed in a way where we could be together, where it felt like something we would do, we should do."

Limited Time With His Parents

Brad Pitt has made it no secret that he has always been very close with his parents and his siblings back home in Missouri. He had a good, but quiet upbringing and has always been thankful to his mother and father for the childhood that he had. But as the years progressed with Angelina, the less Brad got to see the people that he was once close with. It only became a problem though if Brad made it a problem. And seeing how he didn’t want to fight, he complied with Angie’s rules.

During happier times, Brad confessed, "I have very few friends. I have a handful of close friends and I have my family and I haven't known life to be any happier. I'm making things. I just haven't known life to be any happier."

Brad Finally Has His Freedom

Now that Brad Pitt finally has his freedom from Angelina Jolie, a lot of people can’t help but wonder, what’s next? Is he going to fight for more custody time with his kids? Is he looking to start up a new relationship or a Hollywood romance with another actress? Is he looking to revive his career? That’s what everyone wants to know!

For now though, it seems like Brad is laying low, trying to stay off the radar and focus on his health and his happiness instead. But as we all know too well, anything is possible. But if there’s one thing that Brad doesn’t want to do right now, it’s move backwards. His past with Angelina Jolie is going to stay in the past, where it belongs.