It was one of the biggest showbiz shocks of 2016 - the split of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt after a decade and six children together. Rumours and speculation abound, there has been very little confirmation from the pair of the reasons behind the separation of Brangelina.

Angelina Jolie and Brad PittThe former power couple worked together in By The Sea the year before their split

However, the actress-turned-director has since spoken candidly about the split on Hollywood Reporter’s podcast Awards Chatter and revealed she thought working together could save their marriage.

Having met on the set of the 2004 film Mr and Mrs Smith, the couple then went to work together in the Jolie-directed flick By the Sea in 2015.

However, that didn’t seem to be able to paper over the cracks.

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Speaking about working together for that second time, the 42-year-old said: "We had met working together and we worked together well.

"I wanted us to do some serious work together. I thought it would be a good way for us to communicate.

"In some ways it was and in some ways we learned some things.

"But there was a heaviness probably during that situation that carried on and it wasn't because of the film."

The star went through a number of personal difficulties during her 12 year relationship with Pitt, 53 including the death of her mother and a number of operations.

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She said: "Over the span of that decade, I did lose my mother. I did have my mastectomy, and I did then have an ovarian cancer scare and have that surgery as well, and other things of course that happened in life that you go through.

"A piece of art can be something that's healing or something that's difficult. I don't know. I'm glad we did that film because we did explore something together. Whatever it was maybe it didn't solve certain things, but we did communicate something that needed to be communicated to each other."

Ten months after the pair split, Angelina said that it's "just been the hardest time," for her and her family and that they are "just kind of coming up for air" right now.