When Angelina acknowledged Jennifer Aniston's importance in Brad Pitt's life: He was with his best friend

Before Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie became Hollywood hottest item, Brad was married to Jennifer Aniston. The mushy couple dated for a few years before they tied the knot in July 2000. The Friends alum and the Fight Club star were married for five years before they parted ways. Brad moved on with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star eventually. With rumours speculating that the romance sparked on the sets of the comedy-thriller, Angelina revealed in an interview a few years after the film's release that she wasn't looking for a partner at the time. 

Jolie spoke to Vogue in 2007 where opened up about how her relationship with Brad came into being. The actress at the time confessed Brad came as a surprise in her life. "I think we were both the last two people who were looking for a relationship. I certainly wasn’t. I was quite content to be a single mom with Mad," referring to Maddox. 

"And I didn’t know much about exactly where Brad was in his personal life. But it was clear he was with his best friend, someone he loves and respects. And so we were both living, I suppose, very full lives," she told the international magazine. The actress also revealed that during the filming of the movie, she would look forward to heading to the sets and working with Brad. "Because of the film we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think 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. Whether it was shooting a scene or arguing about a scene or gun practice or dance class or doing stunts—anything we had to do with each other, we just found a lot of joy in it together and a lot of real teamwork. We just became kind of a pair," Angelina explained. 

The actress added that it was not until the end of the shoot that the two stars realised there was more in store than their had previously imagined. "And it took until, really, the end of the shoot for us, I think, to realise that it might mean something more than we’d earlier allowed ourselves to believe. And both knowing that the reality of that was a big thing, something that was going to take a lot of serious consideration," she said. 

Still on the page of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Brad told Rolling Stones in an interview that he and Angelina had not watched the movie together, well at least until 2008. "Can you watch that and have happy memories?" the interviewer asked. To which Brad replied, "No, we've never seen it. I just mean because, you know ... six kids. Because I fell in love."

But in 2014, Angelina revealed that the Jolie-Pitt children watched the movie and loved it. She told E! News that the children found the idea of their parents fighting on-screen "very funny." "I mean, our kids did watch—finally—Mr. and Mrs. for one of the first times like last year, and they thought it was the funniest they'd ever. Of course, seeing your own parents try to kill each other is … for a child, it's like watching your parents play fight. It was very funny for them," she said. 

Where do Brad and Angelina stand today? 

The couple split in 2016 with their divorce still underway. However, a source recently told Entertainment Tonight that the former flames are finally in a place where they want to co-parent their six children -- Maddox, 18; Pax, 16; Zahara, 15; Shiloh, 14; and twins Vivienne and Knox, 11. "Brad and Angelina have come a very long way and they're finally in a place where they both want to work together to raise their kids. They have no plans to reconcile and any communication between them is regarding their children's needs and future," the insider told ET. The actor was also spotted outside Angelina's house a couple of times in the past month. 

Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.