Angelina Jolie isn’t exactly loving the single life.
The 42-year-old actress — who filed for divorce from Brad Pitt — tells the Sunday Telegraph in a candid new interview hat she is struggling from an emotional standpoint.
«Sometimes maybe it appears I am pulling it all together,» she confesses. «But really I am just trying to get through my days.»
«I don’t enjoy being single,» the By the Sea star adds. «It’s not something I wanted. There’s nothing nice about it. It’s just hard.»
Jolie has been battling a laundry list of health issues in recent years — she underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2013, had her ovaries removed in 2015 and also recently developed hypertension and a Bell’s Palsy diagnosis.
«Emotionally it’s been a very difficult year,” she says. “And I have some other health issues. So, my health is something I have to monitor.”
The Oscar winner added that remaining positive is crucial for getting through the tough moments.
“I feel sometimes that my body has taken a hit, but I try to laugh as much as possible,” she continues. “We tend to get so stressed that our children feel our stress when they need to feel our joy. Even if you are going through chemo, you need to find the ability to love and laugh. It may sound like a postcard, but it’s true.”
The actress says that while she has no immediate acting or directorial projects in the pipeline, she does plan to focus on life at home with her six children — Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and 9-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
“I am going to cooking classes,” she shares. “Cooking is one of those things you do when you are settled in your life and you can take the time. But, somehow I am just very impatient and I am a little bit erratic. But I am getting into it now. I feel like, if I cook, the kids can all hang out. Although, they often take over and tell me that they can do it better.”
Cooking aside, Jolie also hopes to spend time nurturing her mental health and well-being.
“I think now I need to rediscover a little bit of the old me,” she says. “I think we lose our way a bit. I have had a lot happen in my life, from certain people passing to health issues to raising the children. And it’s been a very good time to absorb and develop and grow.”
“But maybe now that my kids are growing up, I am starting to realize that my own sense of play has been put on hold for a while,” she continues. “And maybe them hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in Mom. So maybe I am going back. It may be time.”
This article was originally published by: ET