Angelina Jolie's brother comes out as gay months after splitting from ex-wife
Angelina Jolie's brother James Haven appeared with his ex-wife on a live stream to reveal that he is gay.
The son of Jon Voight split from Romi Marie Imbelli last year but has remained good friends with the TV personality.
Taking to Romi's Substack, the 53-year-old read out a letter about his sexuality.
“I’m gay. When I was a little boy, I was absolutely obsessed with the Disney princesses. I would sneak glitter onto my cheeks, swipe mascara onto my lashes, and for those moments, I felt like magic,” he said.
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James, who appeared alongside his sister in Gia (1998) and Original Sin (2001), went on to say that he ‘didn’t have the language back then to explain why I just knew it made me feel more like me’.
“It was never about pretending to be someone else. It was about letting a part of myself shine that had always been there,” he said.
“I started wondering if that sparkle was something I had to hide to be accepted by the ‘normal’ boys around me. Like so many gay kids, I learned to question parts of myself long before I learned to celebrate them.”
James added: “Coming out isn’t about becoming someone new, it’s about allowing everyone else to meet the person who has been here all along.
“I hope my family and others can choose love over fear, understanding over judgment, and connection over the beliefs that may have kept us apart.
“I hope they can look beyond the labels and simply see me with the same heart, the same laugh, the same soul they’ve always known.”
In a joint-signed letter, the pair wrote that ‘this story was never just mine. It was ours’.
Their marriage ended after 15 days after
James and Romi were friends for 23 years before marrying in an intimate ceremony in Laguna Beach, California in 2024. The make-up artist filed for an annulment just 15 days after.
Jolie, who shared a kiss with her brother on the red carpet, didn't attend the wedding.
“I wasn’t here to out someone I love. I was here to help set someone free. There is a difference. In return he set me free,” their letter read.
“Forgiveness, grace, and unconditional love have carried us to this moment. We ask only that you give him the same compassion as he learns to walk through this world with his head held high, exactly as God made him.
“Love doesn’t always fit into the boxes we’re taught it should. Sometimes it transforms. Sometimes it changes shape. Sometimes it asks us to let go of what we imagined so we can embrace what is true.
“I’ll always love him. Just not as his wife, but as my family, my best friend, and one of the greatest loves of my life.”
Topics: Angelina Jolie, Celebrity
Anish Vij