Sources Reveal the Cause of One of Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Major Rifts — & It’s All About Their Kids

Long before Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016, the Mr. and Mrs. Smith stars had been fighting. Sources just dished on the cause of one major rift between the exes, and it has everything to do with their six kids.

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An insider told PEOPLE today that a difference in parenting styles caused a major rift in their relationship. “During their marriage, they had very different parenting styles,” the source revealed. “Brad grew up with structure and wanted more rules for the kids. Angie had a different upbringing and wanted the kids to be more independent and responsible for their own schedules from a young age.”

No matter which parenting style you most relate to, we can all agree that figuring out how to parent your kids is one of the hardest parts about having kids. Even if you disagree on the most basic theories of parenthood, you may still approach the ideas of discipline and punishment and rules differently in the moment. Figuring this out is a challenge for anyone. And seeing the conflict between Pitt and Jolie now, it’s no surprise that this all started long before they split up.

“Brad and Angie clashed over this,” the source continued. “However, they did always have the same vision for their kids’ future. They wanted the kids to thrive by experiencing the world first-hand and not only learn from traditional schooling.”

A different source told PEOPLE, “They still both really care. They both care about the children.” And that’s the most important thing!

The Eternals star and Outer Range executive producer share kids Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. Jolie filed for divorce after Pitt allegedly abused her and the kids on a plane. Since then, they’ve engaged in a lengthy legal battle. According to court documents recently obtained by Page Six , Jolie has asked Pitt to “end the fighting” and “finally put their family on a clear path toward healing.”

As for the kids, the Fight Club star is allegedly living with “a dark cloud hanging over [his] head” with the idea that one of his children may speak out one day, an insider told In Touch Weekly . “He can muzzle Angelina with his lawyers, but he can’t muzzle his own kids,” the source said.

They added, “If these kids eventually do want to turn around and get the ultimate closure by laying it all out in the open and telling the world what they’ve been through, it’s going to be Brad’s worst nightmare and no doubt will be the ultimate humiliation for him. He’s in a very tough spot because it’s not like he can even try and talk to them about it because that could only make things worse. So all he can do is wait for the hammer to drop and try to put it out of his mind.”

Even though they will likely never be one big happy family again, hopefully Jolie and Pitt can put their differences aside for the sake of their kids.

Angelina Jolie is a mom of six — and the way she dotes on her kids is adorable !