Despite their proclamations to never marry until everyone in the world (or maybe it was just America?) has that right, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are engaged, you guys. Over the weekend, the reformed bad-girl was spotted with the following rocks on her left ring finger and their publicist confirmed the news on Friday.
And here’s a close up so you can see how she’s already snagging strands of her hair in the custom piece of jewelry.
It’s…pretty.
*yawn*
Now, my dislike of Angelina Jolie for the whole busting-up-a-happy-home thing aside, the story behind the engagement is fairly sweet. As I mentioned, Jolie and Pitt had been making a stand in support of gay marriage by deciding not to marry. However, over time, and as their children grew old enough to take notice of such things, the Hollywood megacouple started feeling the pressure from their gaggle of children. Big Poppa Pitt explained this a few months back during an interview with CBS News:
We’re getting a lot of pressure from the kids. … It means something to them and they’re, you know, they have questions when their friends’ parents are married and why is that? … We will someday. We will. … [But the kids say], ‘Get mommy a ring!’ Okay, I will, I will.
And then, to The Hollywood Reporter:
We’d actually like to [get married] And it seems to mean more and more to our kids. … We made this declaration some time ago that we weren’t going to do it till everyone can. But I don’t think we’ll be able to hold out. … I’m not going to go any further. [But] it means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment.
At the time, the comments naturally ignited lots of speculation, and the two tried to put the kibosh on that buzz by continuing to deny any plans. But the truth of the matter is that Brad had been working for the past year on the design of the ring with elite Hollywood jeweler Robert Procop.
And while it’s perfectly fine that they changed their minds about tying the knot, I still have a few questions about their reasons behind the decision. For a couple that seemed so dedicated to a decision NOT to wed for the past seven years, I’m just a little surprised that they caved to their own children.
Who runs the house over there for crying out loud?
(I’m kidding. Mostly.)
Their stance over the years has been based on the logic that having a family is a much greater commitment than simply signing some legal documents. For the most part, I’d have to agree with them. Their enormous wealth and privilege aside, it’s certainly hard work to be working parents while simultaneously raising SIX young kids. Anyone less than completely committed-and-in-love-love would probably find the efforts not worth the outcome.
That said, the whole cohabitation-versus-legal-marriage thing raises eyebrows, even in Hollywood. Another noteworthy example of a Hollywood common-law-marriage-with-kids couple include Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. But other popular examples have either eventually split (Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis; Halle Barry and Gabriel Aubrey) or decided to finally take the plunge (Matthew McConaughey and Camilla Alves; Nicole Richie and Joel 
Madden).
Obviously we all have opinions, but ultimately the personal decisions of others do not affect our personal lives whatsoever. I’ve never understood those who felt so STRONGLY that other people should “make it official.” You decide what’s best for you and your significant other, and that’s that, right?
What do you think? Is there something to “traditional” values, or does a wedding not make a family? Perhaps more importantly, do you think it’s unhealthy that I’m holding a grudge against a woman who broke up the marriage of a couple I’ve never known, SEVEN YEARS after the rest of the world has moved on?
This new exclusive photo – taken when Jolie debuted the 10 carat plus ring at a private event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last week – shows off the stunning sparkler, which Brad Pitt designed for her in collaboration with jeweler Robert Procop for the custom cut.
"Brad had a specific vision for this ring, which he realized over a yearlong collaboration with Robert," Procop's team said in a statement. "He wanted every aspect of it to be perfect."
