They were the Hollywood power couple so entwined they shared their own moniker, but the Brad and Angelina custody battle has threatened to overshadow their whole relationship.

Over 12 years together, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie weathered scandals, rumours of affairs, health scares and raised six children before finally separating.

After a bitter divorce, the couple has made headlines by battling it out in court for nearly five years over custody of their kids – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, John and twins Knox and Vivienne.

Let’s take a look at what happened along the way.

2004

The two celebrities had a scandalous start to their relationship after meeting on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston.

We all know what happened next.

Jolie later told Vogue: “I think we were the last two people who were looking for a relationship. I certainly wasn’t.”

“We found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened. I think a few months in I realised, ‘God, I can’t wait to get to work’.”

2005

With Brangelina rumours swirling, Aniston split from Pitt in January – they had been married for five years.

After being spotted vacationing together in Kenya in April, the contentious couple are featured in an extensive promotion for Mr and Mrs Smith, playing house, 1960s style.

Later Aniston told Vogue she was devastated.

“The world was shocked and I was shocked … There’s a sensitivity chip that’s missing,” she said.

In July, Jolie adopted six-month-old Zahara from Ethiopia – Pitt accompanied her on the trip.

Zahara and Shiloh help their mum celebrate an awards win in 2015. Photo: Getty

January 2006 – Pitt-patter footsteps

Brangelina confirm they are expecting their first baby together – three months after Pitt’s divorce to Aniston. Shiloh (now John) Jolie-Pitt is born in May.

October 2006

Despite a newborn baby on board, there’s no sign of wedding bells in the Jolie-Pitt camp. When asked, Pitt says he won’t marry his future wife until “everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able”.

December 2006

The pair make their relationship red carpet official when they step out together for the NYC premiere of Jolie’s The Good Shepherd.

In 2006, Brangelina were the definition of couple goals. Photo: Getty

January 2007

It’s nesting time. While Pitt was shooting The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the couple dropped $US3.5 million on an early 1830s masonry mansion in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

March 2007

Pitt and Jolie travelled Vietnam to adopt three-year-old Pax, the newest member of the Jolie-Pitt crew.

May 2007

The couple doesn’t rule out more children.

“There’s a really nice balance in the house right now,” Pitt told The Hollywood Reporter. “But if we see the need and get that lightning bolt that says, ‘We can help this person; we could do something here’.”

July 2008 – Four’s a crowd

Then wham bam, the brood doubled: twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline were born in Nice, France.

Angelina with four members of her brood: (from left) Vivienne, John, Knox and Zahara. Photo: Getty

July 2010

News of the World published a report that Pitt and Jolie had split in February 2010.

The couple sued the publication for the false report and won.

April 2012

After dodging questions for years, the pair are headed to the altar. Jolie was spotted wearing an engagement ring worth $US1 million.

“Yes, it’s confirmed,” Pitt’s manager said in a statement.

“It is a promise for the future and their kids are very happy. There’s no date set at this time.”

May 2013

It’s through an emotional op-ed in The New York Times that Jolie revealed she decided to have a preventive double mastectomy, after discovering she carried certain cancer-causing gene mutations.

She wrote: “We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.”

August 2014 – It’s official

They finally get married: The couple wed at their Chateau Miraval in France. Jolie’s veil was decorated with drawings from her kids, who all played a special part in the big day.

March 2015

In a second New York Times op-ed Jolie revealed that she decided to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed after a blood test showed markers that could be “a sign of early cancer”.

May 2015

After their infamous roles in Mr and Mrs Smith, the couple are reunited on the big screen in By the Sea.

September 2016 – Brad and Angelina’s custody battle begins

After two years of marriage, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt for “the health of the family”.

Messy divorce proceedings will follow them for the next five years.

September 2019

In The New York Times, Pitt opened up about his battles with substance abuse and attending Alcoholics Anonymous after the split.

“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” Pitt said.

March 2021

After years of flip-flopping between trying to reconcile and raise their children together, and viciously fighting it out in court, the couple continued their court battle.

Jolie filed documents alleging incidents of domestic violence regarding her ex-husband.