Angelina Jolie’s email to Brad Pitt, sent on January 21, 2021, told him she was selling her half of Chateau Miraval. More than five years later, the French estate where they married is at the center of a lawsuit heading into court-ordered mediation on October 28 and a trial set for February 1, 2027.
The message reads less like a business notice than a goodbye. It turned up in court filings and spread on TikTok in October 2022, when Entertainment Tonight confirmed it was part of the case record. Read today, it helps explain why a dispute over a vineyard has outlasted the marriage, the divorce and most of the couple’s children’s childhoods.
What Angelina Jolie’s Email to Brad Pitt Said
Jolie told Pitt she had made the decision with a heavy heart and had chosen to write it down so she would not get emotional. She said she could no longer be tied to a business built around alcohol. Even as she wrote, she admitted, she could not hold back tears.
She described Miraval as the house they brought the twins, Knox and Vivienne, home to, and the place they married in 2014 beside a plaque honoring her late mother. She had expected to grow old there. She also called it the place where their family began to fall apart. Then came the line that has been repeated ever since: “Miraval for me died September 2016.”
That date matters. In September 2016, after a private flight from France, Jolie filed for divorce. She has since alleged in court papers that Pitt was physically abusive toward her and the children on that plane. Pitt has denied the allegations. The FBI and Los Angeles child welfare officials looked into the incident, and no charges were brought.
From Buyout Talks to a Stoli Sale
The couple bought Miraval, in the Provence village of Correns, in 2008. Each held a half share through a separate company: Nouvel for Jolie, Mondo Bongo for Pitt. Pitt says he did most of the work of turning the estate’s rosé into a major commercial brand.
Within weeks of the email, the two were negotiating a buyout. Talks reportedly reached $54.5 million in February 2021 before falling apart over a non-disclosure agreement. Pitt’s side wanted terms that would stop Jolie from discussing his personal conduct toward her and the children outside court, arguing it protected the value of the business. Jolie’s team called the demand an unfair gag order.
In October 2021, Jolie sold Nouvel to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group controlled by billionaire Yuri Shefler, for a reported $67 million. People close to Pitt pointed to the timing. The sale came shortly after Judge John Ouderkirk granted Pitt joint custody, a ruling later thrown out when an appeals panel removed Ouderkirk from the case.
Pitt sued in February 2022. He argued the pair had agreed never to sell without the other’s consent and that Jolie had stopped contributing to the winery years earlier. Nouvel, now owned by Stoli, countersued and accused Pitt of freezing it out of the business. Pitt’s lawyer, Anne Kiley, has said he takes responsibility for his own actions but will not accept blame for things he did not do. He is seeking $35 million in damages.
A Divorce Settled, a Winery Fight Still Running
The divorce itself was settled on December 30, 2024, more than eight years after Jolie filed. Her attorney, James Simon, said she was worn out but relieved that one part of the fight was finished. By then their daughter Shiloh had legally dropped Pitt from her surname.
Miraval was not part of that deal, and the dispute has only hardened. In an October 2025 declaration, Jolie said she had left Pitt in control of their homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval without compensation, hoping it would calm things between them. She said that she and the children have not set foot on the estate since the split.
Much of the fighting since has been over documents. In December 2025, Judge Lia Martin ordered Jolie to hand over 22 disputed communications with her business manager, Terry Bird, and aides Chloe Dalton and Arminka Helic. Pitt’s lawyers say those messages show how the Stoli sale was planned. A later ruling went Jolie’s way, when a judge refused Pitt access to messages she exchanged with her own attorneys. Pitt has also won a decision in Luxembourg that restored his control of Miraval while proceedings continue.
What Happens Next
The newest ruling came on October 6. A Los Angeles judge rejected Pitt’s request for Jolie’s income records from 2017 to 2019, which his team wanted to test her claim that he used financial pressure against her. The judge said Pitt may ask again if her testimony puts those earnings at issue.
Mediation is scheduled for October 28. If it fails, the case is set for trial on February 1, 2027, although Jolie has asked to push it back to November 2027. Pitt has said he would accept a delay of two months at most, arguing the dispute is holding back the business and that key witnesses are being lost. Terry Bird, Jolie’s former business manager, has since died.
