Angelina Jolie 'relieved' that Brad Pitt's child abuse allegations were dropped, proceeds with divorce

After the shock of Angelina Jolie filing for divorce from Brad Pitt in September, the world was again surprised when Pitt was charged with child abuse allegations soon after. Police investigations have since finished and the charges have been dropped, but Jolie is sticking by her decision to split from the father of her children.

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The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services cleared Pitt of child abuse allegations, which followed after an alleged altercation between himself and his eldest son, Maddox, while on board a private plane. The DCFS conducted interviews with all parties involved, including the staff on board. Nevertheless, the department thought it was right to drop the formal charges.

Despite this, Jolie is still pushing through with the divorce. A source close to the family told Vanity Fair that while child abuse would have been a reason for the divorce, Jolie never called Pitt out on this specifically and that there were other reasons why the 41-year-old mother thought a separation would be for the betterment of her family.

“Angelina has never accused him of child abuse, she wasn’t the one who asked for the DCFS to become involved. All she’s ever said is that she was concerned about the health of the family,” the source said. After which they went on to point out that while child abuse was ruled out, “child-care professionals keep the kids in custody with therapeutic visits from Brad” and that these precautions are being taken for good reason.

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Nevertheless, Jolie is reportedly thankful that the formal charges against Pitt were dropped. “Angelina felt she had to take action for the health of the family,” a spokesperson for the actress said. “And [she] is relieved that the Department of Children and Family Services is now satisfied the safeguards are in place that will allow the children to heal.”

Jolie is seeking full custody of the six children -- Maddox (15), Pax (12), Zahara (11), Shiloh (10) and twins Knox and Vivienne (8).