Brad Pitt breaks silence on 'family stuff' that left him feeling 'suicidal for one little period'

Though Brad Pitt has remained very much private about his ongoing estrangement with his family, the Hollywood actor shared a rare insight into the difficult time he faced while navigating his relationship with his kids.

The 62-year-old actor caught up with Esquire on Monday and talked about his family struggles and sobriety journey.

Pitt admitted that although he was never been suicidal but after going through a difficult period in his life because of "family stuff" he could “understand suicide.”

“I was never suicidal in any way. It just was not my makeup,” he told the outlet.

“In fact, if I have any afflictions, it’s probably being a congenital optimist. Which has helped many times, and it’s also gotten me—I’ve walked foolishly head-on into a Mack truck because of my optimism. Or, as my forever-funny friend David Fincher will say, Yeah, you see the glass as half full, but it’s half full of urine.”

Pitt further opened up about the turbulent time noting, "I’ve never been suicidal except for one little period. And in that one little period, I just thought—I just couldn’t—just didn’t see a way out. The pain was so oppressive that—I wasn’t going to act on this, but I could feel—I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief.”

“And I thought, ‘Oh, okay, now I understand’—I understand suicide, in the sense that it’s just relief. It’s just looking for relief from the pain. But I also think we have incredible survival instincts. And for me, that immediately kicked in, but it was just . . .” he explained.

The F1 actor concluded, “Yeah. Like, listen: This s*** ain’t easy and you’re talking to a guy who won the lottery.”

However, when the interviewer asked if the hard period in his life was related to kids, Pitt responded, “Family stuff. We could leave it at that.”

For those unversed, Pitt, who shares six kids with ex wife Angelina Jolie, finalized their divorce in 2024 after years of intense battle over kids' custody in court.

Since Jolie and Pitt's separation, four of their six kids have filled petition to drop "Pitt" from their names.