When I was in college, my roommate Vanessa and I were obsessed with Brad Pitt. Legends of the Fall had come out and he had long, flowing hair, and he was fu**ing hot and we were beside ourselves. We loved him so much we built a shrine to him. An actual shrine. In our bathroom.
We made a collage of Brad Pitt photos and hung it on the wall above the toilet. Then we bought a bunch of Jesus candles at the Dollar Store and put them on the back of the toilet. We could light the candles, take a bath {separately, not together} and stare at Brad Pitt. When we were praying to the porcelain God after a night of drinking, at least we were looking at Brad Pitt’s face through the misery.
Happening simultaneously to the Brad Pitt phenomenon was Friends and another phenomenon known as “The Rachel.” The Rachel was the nickname given to the haircut Jennifer Aniston had at the time and you better believe I also had a version of that haircut as well. People were obsessed with Jennifer Aniston and people were obsessed with Brad Pitt.
When I moved to L.A., I had a job where I worked with celebrities and I dreamed of a Brad Pitt interaction, but unfortunately, it never happened. Instead, he interacted with Jennifer Aniston and rumors swirled that they were dating and we all lost our collective minds. It was the celebrity relationship of our dreams. They were pretty together, they had fun together and it showed, they truly loved each other and it showed.
They got married, they still looked pretty together, Brad guest starred on Friends, he made lots of movies, Jennifer made movies, they still laughed together, they vacationed in Mexico with the Cox Arquette’s, and then it all ended. Just like that.
Brad made a movie called Mr. and Mrs. Smith with some actress named Angelina Jolie. He fucked up, forgot he was married, and fell madly in love with her. He destroyed his marriage, he destroyed Jennifer {and it showed}, and he destroyed our hearts. He rode off into the sunset to create the Jolie-Pitt clan with Angelina.
At the time, you were either Team Aniston or Team Jolie. I was Team Aniston. I, and most of the PEOPLE magazine audience, was rooting for her to find love again. I hated Brad Pitt. HATED him. If the shrine was still in existence, I would have burned it and no amount of toilet water could have saved it.
We all felt Jennifer’s pain. For years we wondered if she would survive {I’m being dramatic, of course she would.} The Jolie-Pitt’s got married, made babies, adopted babies and seemed to have an all-around do-good life. They became the new obsession for many, and Jennifer Aniston rode off into the sunset by herself, living her life.
She spent time with her tribe, spent time with herself, per her SAG Awards speech she apparently spent time with a therapist. She travelled, she worked and finally she met and married someone else. Yay! We were very excited for her because she seemed happy, and it didn’t hurt that he was hot, too. Her second marriage ended, the Jolie-Pitt union also came to an end, and Brad and Jen were both single once again.
Over the last couple of years, a reunion of sorts has been in the works. Jen invited Brad to her 50th birthday party and we all lost our minds – again. There was renewed hope in a Brad and Jen reconciliation because clearly they still cared about each other.
I’d like to point out, how awesome is Jen? She’s obviously worked through everything to come to this place of peace to be able to forgive him and invite him not only to her party, but back into her life. Bravo, Jennifer Aniston!
But why do we love them so much? Why do we care? I can only answer for myself and my answer is this – they love each other. They always have and they always will and that doesn’t mean they’re supposed to be together, but I hate it when two people love each other and for whatever reason can’t be together. There’s a long list of these couples in Hollywood…
If we’ve learned anything this week it’s that life is short, and true love is rare. So if you’re lucky enough to find it, hold onto it and cherish it. And if for whatever reason you can’t be together, rise above the bullshit and still cherish it.
Plus, they just seem like really cool people who have fun together and sometimes that’s all you can ask for in a partner. So, when I was working the SAG Awards a couple weeks ago, and I saw Brad Pitt on the red carpet, I knew he had made it back into my good graces.
I won’t be building a shrine for him this time around, but I loved him in Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, and when I saw him work the press line with a studio publicist who let him kind of do his own thing – it was amazing. If you know, you know.
Later, I went to the bathroom and came up the stairs just as Brad Pitt finished the press line after winning his award. He started walking down the hall and I stopped to talk to my friend who works for NBC. She said, “Brad Pitt’s over there.” I said, “No he’s not he went that way.” She said, “He turned around and came back when he heard Jennifer won.”
I turned around and he was watching her speech on the monitor backstage and it truly was one of the most tender things I have ever seen. He beamed from ear to ear and stood there taking in her every word. After taking this photo and realizing my 20-something self would have died right then and there, I went to the office to get some Advil because my feet were dying right then and there, and of course I missed the next moment.
The moment heard around the world. The moment that broke the Internet. It was the moment Brad Pitt fell in love with the girl at the SAG show {Blink -182 FTW BTW.} The moment we learned that yes, they truly love each other and they’re going to be there for each other like they’ve been there before. And whatever happens next, we’re all going to be okay.
P.S. – Shout out to my friend Christina who unknowingly found herself taking a phone call in the background of this photo. She worked her ass off that night, so much so that she has no recollection of who she was talking to or that this moment was even happening in her presence. Bravo, Christina!
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