Sad reason three of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's children have now changed their names

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s separation shocked the world.

The former celebrity power couple were married for two years, with Jolie filing for divorce in September 2016 citing irreconcilable differences. They were declared legally single in 2019 by a judge, however, their divorce is still ongoing.

Their relationship became after they met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2004 and they dated for a decade before tying the knot.

Together they have six children: Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

Three of their kids have reportedly made the unexpected decision to drop their father's surname. It was first reported last year that their eldest daughter Zahara, 19 — whom Angelina and Brad adopted from Ethiopia in 2005 — had dropped 'Pitt' from her name, after introducing herself as just 'Zahara Jolie' upon her arrival at a sorority at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

In the months that followed, it was subsequently claimed that Vivienne - their youngest daughter, born with her twin brother Knox back in 2008 - had made the same decision.

Angelina Jolie and five of her children (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

And back in May, a lawyer representing their daughter Shiloh claimed that the youngster would also be following in her sisters' footsteps upon her 18th birthday.

The teen's lawyer Peter Levine told People at the time: "The media should be more careful in their reporting, especially when covering a young adult who has made an independent and significant decision following painful events, and is merely following legal process."

She was officially granted a name change to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie on 19 August, 2024 after filing a petition for the change the day after her 18th birthday in May.

Jolie was recently asked by US talk-show presenter Jimmy Fallon about the career plans of the six children, and the Wanted actress became emotional.

During an appearance on Tonight With Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (5 Dec.), the Maria actress was asked whether she could see any of her six children following in her footsteps.

"My kids - I think some of them off-camera, like behind the scenes," she awkwardly began, seemingly thrown off by the question.

"But they really, really want to be - especially Shiloh - would really like to be private. Just private, like, not photographed, not on the thing."

Discussing Shiloh's wish, the mother-of-six added: "Her, most of all, would like privacy."

Angelina Jolie filed for divorce in 2016 (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

Then, after presenter Jimmy pointed out 'It must get tricky, with everyone being so famous', Jolie laughed before responding, 'But it wasn't their choice.'

She went on to jibe at the host: "So, some people are more comfortable with the public, some people are most comfortable on talk-shows, and some people are not."

The divorce has been far from amicable. Pitt, now 60, attempted to sue his ex-wife, for selling her share of their jointly-purchased French winery Chateau Miraval to a third party.

Jolie, 49, in turn filed a countersuit in 2022, alleging her ex had been abusive to herself and her children during a 2016 flight on a private jet.

According to the cross-complaint filed by Jolie, Pitt allegedly 'choked' one of their six children onboard the flight, and 'struck another in the face'.

Pitt is also alleged to have 'grabbed' his wife 'by the head', and 'poured beer and red wine on the children', all of which are accusations that Pitt's representatives have consistently denied.