Since Angelina Jolie’s 2016 divorce from Brad Pitt, following a bitter legal battle, their children have increasingly distanced themselves from their father, often appearing at public events by their mother’s side. This trend continued last weekend when Pax and Shiloh were seen playing pickleball with Angelina Jolie at the Support+Feed Pickleball Invitational and Game Night, a charity event in Los Angeles. While all the children have now severed ties with Brad Pitt, Pax, 23, remains the only one who maintains contact with his paternal relatives and has kept his double surname.

Pax has been outspoken about his father over the years, notably calling him “a despicable person” in 2023, who “made the lives of those close to me a living hell.” Despite these strong comments, he has chosen not to completely cut ties. A source revealed to Page Six that “Pax still has a relationship with his dad's side of the family and continues to spend time with them," adding that he recently attended a family dinner celebrating his cousin Sydney’s engagement to Archimedes Jerome. An insider confirmed that Brad’s sister, Julie Pitt Neal, and his niece Reagan Pitt, along with other close family members, were also present. However, even with his continued connection to his paternal relatives, Pax’s relationship with Pitt himself appears complicated. A second source told the magazine, Pax “doesn’t have a great relationship with Brad.”

Meanwhile, Pax’s siblings have publicly distanced themselves from their father by dropping the Pitt surname. Zahara was the first, followed by Shiloh, and most recently, Maddox filed paperwork to officially drop the surname, appearing as Maddox Jolie in the credits of the film Couture, where he worked as an assistant director alongside his mother. Even the youngest children, Knox and Vivienne, have publicly used only their mother’s last name. In a recent Variety interview marking the release of Couture, Jolie discussed her children’s crucial role in helping her cope with the divorce. She stated, “I think my fighting spirit is finally back. I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it.” Jolie further added, “My kids are almost all 18, so now they want to see me traveling the world, they want me to get out and do things. They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot.”