Several hours after Angelina Jolie’s eloquent editorial about her decision to undergo a double mastectomy appeared in The New York Times, Jolie’s partner, Brad Pitt, has responded with his own statement on the difficult subject.

“Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie’s choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic,” Brad Pitt said in a statement to The Evening Standard. “I thank our medical team for their care and focus.”

The actor, currently on the cover of this month’sVanity Fair, adds, “All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family.”

In her op-ed, Jolie writes that Pitt was present at the Pink Lotus Breast Center “for every minute of the surgeries,” which were performed over the course of three months this spring. “I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive,” Jolie reveals. “So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition.”

Related:Angelina Jolie Writes of Cancer Risk and Double Mastectomy in New York TimesOp-Ed

For more on Brad Pitt: Two Decades of Brad Pitt in Vanity Fair