Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie split: Roddy Doyle has the most incisive analysis you'll read

Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt after 12 years of togetherness, two of those as a married couple, citing irreconcilable differences. Jolie cited the date of separation as 15 September 2016, and her lawyer issued a statement to the effect that the decision was taken “for the health of the family”. In the meantime, Pitt issued a statement to People magazine that read: “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids. I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.” [caption id=“attachment_3013602” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt married in 2014, and have been in a relationship since 2004. Image from AP[/caption] In the aftermath of what is the equivalent of a crisis in celebrity news, there were various attempts to dissect what little was known about the high-profile Hollywood couple’s split. News reports ranged from the prosaic: [caption id=“attachment_3013522” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  That’s CNN for you[/caption] To the profound: [caption id=“attachment_3013524” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Thank you, LA Times[/caption] There was some analysis: [caption id=“attachment_3013528” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  The New York Times keeps it simple[/caption] And several obituaries: [caption id=“attachment_3013530” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  The Washington Post observes a moment of silence[/caption] And our personal favourite, because really it says everything we ever had in our hearts about how the world won’t ever be the same, because it turned out the truths we took for granted were not the truth, and love was not actually eternal but just a mirage, and so on: [caption id=“attachment_3013538” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  We feel you, The Daily Beast[/caption] But as the world grappled to put into words its sense of incomprehension and bewilderment at the End of Brangelina, there was one analysis that stood out. For it sheer succinctness, dry wit and in-depth insight, Booker Prize-winning writer Roddy Doyle’s Facebook post on the subject of the Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt separation deserves to be read. It has been set up as a conversation between two blokes downing a pint of Guinness at their local pub and sadly discussing the end of Hollywood’s most golden union (although they don’t describe it thus). A word of caution to the gentle reader: If you’re still getting over your shock, perhaps it would be best to wait for a few months before you proceed to read the rest of this.

That — as you may have made out from the curious missing words — was the censored version. For the uncensored one, go to Doyle’s Facebook page. As for us, we’re raising our pints to what was, bidding our adieus too: Goodbye Brangelina, we never really knew you.