Billy Bob Thornton Debunks Blood Vial Romance Rumors with Angelina Jolie
Billy Bob Thornton is addressing the long-standing speculation that he and former spouse Angelina Jolie donned necklaces containing vials of each other's blood.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in a feature released on Monday, November 17, the 70-year-old Thornton clarified that the infamous blood vial adornments “were never a reality.”
“We each possessed a small locket, quite literally holding a single drop of blood. It was a charming, romantic notion, nothing more than that,” explained the Landman star.
“Yet, in the public imagination, we became vampires dwelling in a dungeon, consuming each other’s blood, and similar fantastical narratives,” Thornton continued, alluding to the intense media focus on the ex-partners, whose marriage lasted from May 2000 to May 2003.
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Reflecting on their past romance, Thornton stated that he and the 50-year-old Jolie maintain a very cordial relationship.
“Angelina and I shared wonderful moments,” he commented. “That period was among the happiest of my existence. We continue to be exceptionally close companions. Our separation, in fact, was remarkably amicable. Our parting was simply due to our diverging life paths.”
During their time as husband and wife, Thornton and Jolie were constant subjects of tabloid headlines, a period the actor characterized as “quite strange.”
“Upon our initial acquaintance, I held greater celebrity status. Subsequently, once we became an item, for some unexplained reason, the public and media developed a strong fascination with celebrity pairings, which appears to be a highly prevalent phenomenon,” he elaborated. “Consequently, it felt peculiar. We found it impossible to go out privately. We did attempt to, but naturally, there were occasions when our statements were instantly turned into quotable sound bites or similar.”
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Jolie has previously discussed her separation from Thornton, revealing to Vogue in 2004, “It caught me off guard as well, given that we transformed completely almost instantly.”
“Given our profession as actors, we are often away for extended periods, leading to individual growth and evolution,” she commented back then. “I believe there came a point where we simply shared no common ground. It's unsettling, but … I think this can occur when you enter a relationship before fully understanding yourself. It’s taken me considerable time to mature, and I still don't feel entirely there yet.”
Thornton has entered matrimony on six occasions. He exchanged vows with his present wife, Connie Angland, in October 2014, and together they have a daughter, Bella, who is 21.
“Connie and I have shared 23 years together, with 12 of those as a married couple. Our daughter is now 20. Thus, I’ve discovered where I truly belong,” he informed Rolling Stone.
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The performer recently spoke enthusiastically about his daughter, mentioning that he and Angland adopt a “somewhat helicopter parenting style, I suppose.”
Bella is currently pursuing her studies at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, a location where her parents acquired a residence.
“So we obtained a property nearby. She’s merely 12 minutes away from the university grounds,” Thornton stated during the Thursday, November 13, broadcast of the Today show.
“That truly takes helicopter parenting to an extreme level,” quipped presenter Savannah Guthrie, eliciting the actor’s reply, “Indeed, it does.”
In addition to Bella, Thornton is father to daughter Amanda, 46, from his first marriage to Melissa Lee Gatlin, and to sons William, 32, and Harry, 31, with former wife Pietra Dawn Cherniak. Jolie, for her part, co-parents six children with her ex-husband Brad Pitt.
