When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decided to do By the Sea together, it raised a few eyebrows.
The drama, which told the story of a troubled married couple, was admittedly tough on the couple. "A few friends asked if we were crazy...[A film about] a married couple going through some difficulties...and I'm directing him," she noted to Vanity Fair. But she later declared to The Telegraph that their joint project was in no way autobiographical.
"Brad and I have our issues, but if the characters were even remotely close to our problems we couldn't have made the film. To be clear: we have fights and problems like any other couple," she said. "We have days when we drive each other absolutely mad and want space, but the problems in the movie aren't our specific problems."
Even though By the Sea wasn't necessarily an autobiographical work, it certainly put pressure on Jolie and Pitt's relationship—but is that exactly what they wanted? According to Jolie's words, yes.
"If we had married and were just starting a relationship it would have been a disaster, but because we have been together so long we wanted to see how far we could push our relationship and our love and see if we can work together under very intense circumstances and with very complex issues and see if it would make us better," Jolie continued, "but at the end we came out of it thinking, 'This was the best honeymoon,' because the film says, 'Whatever you go through, weather the storm and stick together.'"
By the Sea seemed to serve as a therapy session for these two, whose fiery and passionate love was never a secret. Both Jolie and Pitt constantly gushed about each other in interviews, but perhaps it was this test that made them realize the difficulties of marriage.
At the time, Jolie said the movie made them realize they would be together forever. "So it was kind of a message to each other that we are going to stick together whatever comes," she said.
Unfortunately, that wasn't how the cookie crumbled. Watch the video to hear E! News correspondents discuss Brangelina's divorce, the reasons behind it and how "this isn't just some falling out of love thing."