Brad Pitt on Angelina Jolie's Double Mastectomy: Our Kids Helped Make Her Recovery "Pretty Fun"

Plus, World War Z star tells USA Today it's "such a wonderful relief to come through this and not have a specter hanging over our heads"

By Rebecca Macatee May 15, 2013 3:01 PMTags
Angelina Jolie, Brad PittRyan Miller/Getty Images

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's six kids were a huge part of the reason the 37-year-old actress opted for a preventive double mastectomy.

Maddox, Zahara, Pax, Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox obviously love their mommy, and adorably, Brangelina's brood did their part to help Angelina heal after surgery.

In an interview with USA Today published Wednesday, Pitt, 49, explained that he and the kids "set up our own little post-op recovery that became pretty fun," adding, "You make an adventure out of it."

"My most proudest thing is our family," he said. "This isn't going to get that."

Brad is particularly proud of Angelina's brave honesty in sharing her story with the public. "She could have stayed absolutely private about it and I don't think anyone would have been none the wiser with such good results. But it was really important to her to share the story and that others would understand it doesn't have to be a scary thing," he said. "In fact, it can be an empowering thing, and something that makes you stronger and us stronger."

The World War Z called the experience "an emotional and beautifully inspiring few months."

"And I'll tell you, it's such a wonderful relief to come through this and not have a specter hanging over our heads," he said. "To know that that's not going to be something that's going to affect us."

In fact, Angelina didn't let her operation affect her ability to keep her commitments around the world, including a visit to the Congo, attending London's G-8 Foreign Ministers Conference and traveling to New York to honor Malala Yousazfai, a Pakistani teen activist who was shot by the Taliban. "This was during stage 2 (when the double mastectomy was performed)," Brad said. "Literally it was just weeks after she'd had truly major surgery."

Clearly, Angie's a trouper who, despite hardship, still manages to be supermom, inform and educate millions of women and do her part toward saving the world.