Jon Voight abandoned his daughter, Angelina Jolie, as a child, making her live "years of mental violence"
After cheating on his mother and abandoning her when she was a child, Jon Voight has had a fractured relationship with daughter Angelina Jolie for many years. In the past he has blamed himself for all the "serious mental problems" the woman has had.
"She was never normal," Voight once said of her daughter and confessed to "failing" with her even after joining her again.
The fractures in their complicated relationship date back to when Angelina was little. The actress was only a child when her father abandoned her, along with her brother James Haven, after cheating on their mother, Marcheline Bertrand.
“Jon Voight was a terrible father to her at the time. He betrayed his mother. Marcheline was devastated, ”said Susan Margaret, mother of a girl who was Angelina's childhood friend, as revealed by Express. “She told me that Jon mentally abused her. She said he liked Hollywood starlets. Angelina had a hard time growing up with everything that was going on. She felt a lot of hostility towards her father. "
Voight's son James has also spoken out against his father in the past and said: “There was a lot of anger and pain. He gave my mother years of mental violence.
Given her mother's difficulties in raising her two children alone, Angelina revealed that she abandoned her dreams after the way her father's betrayals ruined the marriage.
“My father was in a relationship and his life changed. His dream of having a family has been shattered. But she still loved being a mother, ”Angelina wrote for the New York Times.
Although Voight missed out on a lot of Angelina's childhood, the father and daughter starred together in the 2001 film "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," as revealed by E! News.
When things seemed to be getting better in their relationship, Voight told Access Hollywood in 2002 that her daughter had "severe mental problems," the Hollywood Reporter reported. In response, her daughter, who was also an Oscar winner just like her father, removed the surname "Voight" from her name in the same year.
Speaking of their relationship with E! News, Voight said: "I had a hard time reaching her ... She stayed away from me because she knew I was trying to reach her for help."
Hoping to get her message across to her through the interview, Voight said: "I want to tell Angie that I love her and I want her to have the help she needs from her."
For her part, Angelina told Access Hollywood in 2002, as quoted by E! News: “I don't want to publicly explain my bad relationship with my father. I'm just saying that like all children, James and I would have liked to have a loving relationship with our father. After all these years, I have established that it is not healthy for me to be close to my father, especially now that I am responsible for my children. "
In 2008, Express talked about Voight wanting to reconcile with her children. "As he gets older, Jon is realizing the importance of family and wants to be a part of the lives of his children and grandchildren. It breaks his heart to be kept away, ”said a source close by.
"There's nothing Jon wants more than having his family back," the source added. “Being shunned by his children kills him. He wants to do what he can to leave this feud behind. "
Over the years, both Jon and Angelina have made an effort to repair their relationship and he has also had the opportunity to meet the actress's children. "Jon and I got to know each other - through the grandchildren - and now we have a new relationship," Angelina told The Hollywood Reporter.
Ultimately, Voight has become a great grandfather in Angelina's children's lives and is very hands on with them, a source revealed. “Jon loves his grandchildren, he has pictures of them in his home and office,” the source told HollywoodLife in 2020. He added: “He has come a long way in recent years and has always been there for her and for children."
