Angelina Jolie has shared an on-again, off-again estranged relationship with her father Jon Voight for years, but things had gradually worsened after the death of her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who passed away following an eight-year battle with ovarian and breast cancer.
It was no secret prior to Bertrand’s death that Voight, whom she married in 1971 before calling it quits in 1980, wasn’t the easy person to be around. The actor openly admitted to having shared an affair while married to Angie’s mother before walking out on the family, leaving behind not just Jolie and his ex-wife, but also his son James Haven.
The latter previously admitted that he was deeply affected by the turbulent relationship between mom and dad, but that was mainly because Voight was not living an honest life and was hurting a lot of people in the process.
While the Mr. & Mrs. Smith star has tried time and time again to forgive her father and put things in the past, they’ve always ended up losing contact for one reason or the other — but the bigger question remains on where Voight’s relationship stands with his grandchildren. Here’s the lowdown…
Angie’s Frosty Relationship With Jon
Well, if Jolie isn’t close to her father, what would make fans think she’d let her six children be around Voight?
The 46-year-old has proven herself to be a no-nonsense type of woman: when Brad Pitt’s alleged alcohol problems were getting out of control, she didn’t hesitate to file for divorce following an intense physical altercation which sources say involved Maddox and was witnessed by the rest of the kids.
She’s fought tooth and nail in preventing Pitt from having custody with him, though, a judge has since awarded the pair 50/50.
Needless to say, it seems unlikely that Voight would be close to his grandchildren if there already isn’t a close bond with his daughter.
In 2019, at the premiere of Angie’s Disney flick, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Voight admitted to a reporter that he and Jolie are pretty distant as far as their relationship is concerned, but he cherishes the moments he gets to see her and the kids -- even if it's just five minutes.
“It’s wonderful for me to spend time with Angie. Any five minutes I get, I’m always appreciative, so this is great that I could come and hang out with her a little bit — and the kids, too,” he said. “I’m a father and a fan. Like all really fine actors, Angie has got her own unique approach and, you know, set of understandings.”
Clearly, this would indicate that the National Treasure actor does not spend a lot of time with Angelina’s children if he has to feel “appreciative” just to come in contact with them.
In a previous interview with Express, Haven spoke out about the chaotic life his family endured because of Voight, who he claimed treated Bertrand with little to no respect during their marriage.
"He put my mom through years of mental abuse,” he said before a family friend added, "Jon Voight was a terrible father to her [Jolie] back then. He cheated on her mother. Marcheline was broken-hearted.
"She told me Jon had emotionally abused her. She said he had a thing for a Hollywood starlet. Angelina had a difficult time growing up with what was going on. She has a lot of hostility toward her dad.”
But if you were to wonder why Jolie doesn’t appear to spend much time with her dad — even with all the years that have passed and she seems to be more forgiving than before — it’s because she wants to raise her children in the way her mother had raised her.
"She studied to be an actress but married my father and by 28 was divorced with two kids,” Jolie shared. "She gave up her dreams...I am my mother's daughter.”
"My love of children, my values, caring about what goes on in the world, all of that comes from her...I miss her terribly every day. I try to raise my children the way that my mother raised me. I didn't really have a father around.”
Jolie was extremely close to her mother prior to her passing in 2007, so it’s understandable why she finds it hard to be around her father, let alone speak to him.
It wouldn’t be fair to blame Bertrand’s cancer battle on her marriage with Voight, but that she had to endure such a terrible relationship where she clearly wasn’t respected, would make any child want to steer away from their dad.
That’s not to say they don’t talk at all; it’s just not very often.