Last month, Angelina Jolie attended the San Sebastian Film Festival, and she was asked about how it feels to live in America and be an American at this moment in history. Jolie said: “It is a very difficult question. I love my country, but at this time, I don’t recognize my country.” Jolie also seemed to confirm that she plans to move out of the US next year, after her youngest children finish high school. Well, Us Weekly devoted their cover story this week to Angelina, how she’s doing these days and her plans for her future. Some highlights:

She plans to move abroad next year: “You can really feel a shift in Angelina recently; she’s lighter and more at ease,” says a source. “She’ll always love L.A., but she feels it has served its purpose. She’s ready for her next chapter.” Adds a second source: “She’s very excited for this next phase of her life.” “Angelina thrives when she’s outside of Hollywood,” adds the first source. “She loves being in cultures that inspire her.”

She’s currently in London, filming Anxious People. Maddox is working as an assistant director on the upcoming crime comedy — a departure from the drama-and-action roles she’s best known for! She also plans to direct and produce films overseas. “Angelina will be back and forth to L.A. for work but won’t call L.A. her home,” explains the second source, noting that Jolie hopes to list her $24.5 million Los Feliz mansion next September. “She’s ready to dive deeper into directing and producing,” says a third source.

Her humanitarian work: “She plans on giving back to communities in Cambodia, Vietnam and Africa, and she’s open to exploring more of the world and raising awareness and continuing her work with the U.N.,” the second source shares. “She’s looking forward to being around like-minded people.”

The kids: “The kids will most likely keep roots in L.A. for their careers, but they will spend time with Angelina wherever she ends up as well,” says the first source. “The children are all very creative and take after their parents [in that] they love all aspects of filmmaking and the arts.” The kids are still figuring out their paths. Maddox (who, like his mom, has a pilot’s license) has been working with Jolie on her film projects. (“He has a passion for directing and acting,” says the second source.) Shiloh is a dancer and Zahara is a senior at Spelman College. The second source says Pax is interested in launching a fashion line; the third source notes he’s also into photography. Vivienne — who was credited as a producer’s assistant for her work on Broadway’s The Outsiders (Jolie was the lead producer) — is looking to study theater. In July, Knox won a Muay Thai competition in L.A. “Angelina’s children are a really big force that will lead her [depending on] their interests and where they choose to live,” says the second source. “She knows she’s going to be very busy keeping up with them after she leaves L.A.”

None of the kids talk to Brad Pitt: “She’s very immersed in her kids and in their interests right now,” says the second source, noting that Jolie takes after her own mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007. “Angelina’s mom invested so much in her, and Angie’s doing the same for all of her children.” (The source says all the kids are currently estranged from Pitt. “Brad did have the closest bond with the twins, but they do not talk at all.”) Adds the third source: “All the kids are thriving. That’s Angelina’s greatest achievement. Nothing makes her happier.”

Angelina is like her old self: “She feels like her life is coming full circle [to who she was] pre-Brad. She spent so much time devoted to her passions, including humanitarian work and flying, and while she was married to Brad, a lot of that stopped. She was raising her family, and Brad wanted her to cut back on flying. Now, her freedom allows her to connect with her true self again.”

Angelina’s small circle: It includes a few famous faces like Gwen Stefani, Salma Hayek Pinault and her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton. The second source says she and Stefani — who became close in 2004 — “talk and text a few times a month” and see each other several times a year. (Jolie’s kids and Stefani’s older sons, Kingston, 19, Zuma, 17, “grew up together and remain close.”) Jolie and Hayek Pinault clicked while filming 2021’s The Eternals. “Salma has really been there for Angelina during her divorce,” says the source. Thornton also helped Jolie through her split from Pitt. “Billy Bob and Angelina talk on the phone quite a bit. He’s very protective over her.”

Dating & romance: “People try to set Angelina up all the time, but she has a lot on her plate right now,” says the first source, adding that she has “no interest” in dating a celeb. The second source notes that things were never romantic between Jolie and The Weeknd, whom she was spotted with in 2021 — “[Their relationship] is business-related, they have shared philanthropic interests,” explains the source — nor did she ever rekindle things with first husband Jonny Lee Miller. “They’re very good friends and always will be.” The second source notes that while marriage may not be a priority, the actress will never say no to love. “If she meets someone along the way that she wholeheartedly connects with, someone who understands her, she’ll be open to [a relationship].”

[From Us Weekly]

It’s great that she’s still close to her first two ex-husbands. I’m not sure that I believe that she and Billy Bob still talk that often, but who knows? She’s definitely still close with Jonny, and I wish they would get back together. I’d also love to know who sets her up on dates!!! As for the rest of it… yeah, she’s super-close to her children, and her kids have absolutely nothing to do with Brad. Angelina has taken the better part of a decade to heal herself and her family from the Pitt years. And keep in mind – Brad is still suing her. The trial – or one of the trials?? – is supposed to happen next year. We haven’t heard about that in a minute, but I assume that as soon as Angelina is finally free of the last legal entanglements, she will move out of the US and never look back.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images. Cover courtesy of Us Weekly.