Actor Brad Pitt has said he is "very saddened" after his wife Angelina Jolie filed for divorce after 12 years together.

Robert Offer, Jolie's lawyer, said in a statement that the decision had been made "for the health of the family".

He added: "She will not be commenting and asks that the family be given privacy at this time."

Jolie, 41, cited irreconcilable differences with Pitt, listing their date of separation as 15 September.

The nature of the differences has not been revealed but TMZ reports there was conflict over Pitt's parenting, with a source saying Jolie was "extremely upset with his methods".


Image: Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt Image: Jolie is believed to have been upset about Pitt's parenting of their children, according to some US media Image: The couple have six children, three of whom are adopted, and Jolie is seeking custody of them all Image: Jolie and Pitt were married in a private ceremony in France in 2014 but had been together since 2004 Image: They first met on the set of Mr And Mrs Smith, in which they played married spies, while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston Image: Here they are pictured in 2007, at the premiere for A Mighty Heart Image: A pregnant Jolie with Pitt at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2008 Image: The couple were both nominated for Academy Awards, seen here before the ceremony in Hollywood in February 2009 Image: The couple were both involved in charity work, including a foundation launched by them 10 years ago to help countries recover from humanitarian crises Image: Jolie as a UN special envoy with Pitt at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London in 2014 /

Reacting to Jolie's decision to end their marriage, Pitt said: "I am very saddened by this but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids.

"I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time."

Image: Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, citing irreconcilable differences /

The couple have six children - Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

Jolie is seeking custody of all of them with visitation rights for Pitt and she does not want spousal support.

The pair, known as Brangelina, married in a private ceremony in France in 2014 but they had been together since 2004.

Image: Tom Cruise has been married and divorced three times. Nicole Kidman was his second wife but they parted in 2001 after 10 years of marriage Image: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton married each other twice, in 1964 and 1975. Taylor was married eight times in all Image: Bruce Willis and Demi Moore were married for 13 years and had three children together before splitting in 2000 Image: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner separated last year, but are not yet divorced and still share the same home Image: Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith officially ended their 18-year marriage last year Image: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's marriage ended in 2004 after he met future wife Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith Image: Madonna and Sean Penn married after a few months of dating in 1985. They divorced in 1989 Image: Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow announced their 'conscious uncoupling' two years ago after marrying in 2003 /

They first met on the set of the film Mr And Mrs Smith, while Pitt was still married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston.

Jolie had been married twice before - to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.

She is being represented in these proceedings by divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who helped her divorce Thornton and who is also representing Johnny Depp in his divorce from Amber Heard.

If a couple with millions of dollars, six kids and a brand of overpriced rose wine can't make it, we should all just give up now #brangelina — Joanna Hausmann (@Joannahausmann) September 20, 2016

One of Pitt's friends, George Clooney, looked taken aback as he was given the news by a reporter.

"This is the first I've heard of it," the 55-year-old actor told CNN. "I didn't know that. Wow."

Speaking during an event at the United Nations, Clooney added: "I feel very sorry, then.

"That's a sad story and unfortunate for a family. It's an unfortunate story about a family. I feel very sorry to hear that."

Jolie on one of her many visits to Syrian refugees

Madame Tussauds said it had split the couple's waxworks after hearing the news, placing them "at a respectful distance from each other".

The models were unveiled in 2013, to coincide with Pitt's 50th birthday.

"Angelina is keeping Nicole Kidman company and Brad Pitt is with his several time co-star Morgan Freeman," a spokesman said.

No joke: Los Angeles was hit with a M3.1 earthquake a few moments after TMZ broke news of #Brangelina divorce https://t.co/afzUEbrjlW pic.twitter.com/fheNSSY1ve — Brian Ries (@moneyries) September 20, 2016

Online, some lamented the break up, others considered Aniston's response, and one person even blamed the news for an earthquake in California moments after the split was announced.

#brangelina was mentioned roughly 720 times per minute on Twitter, more than triple the mentions for the United Nations General Assembly, according to analytics firm Zoomph.

#brangelina was the last straw, 2016 is cancelled. see you all tomorrow morning for January 1st 2017 — möll (@onceuponidina) September 20, 2016

I hear it's because she always wanted them to be called Angelibrad #brangelina — David Baddiel (@Baddiel) September 20, 2016

As well as their film careers, Pitt and Jolie are both known for charitable work: they set up the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation 10 years ago to assist in humanitarian crises around the world, launching it with a $1m donation to Medicins Sans Frontiers.

Jolie represented the UN High Commission for Refugees as a goodwill ambassador between 2001 and 2012, becoming a special envoy in April 2012.

She has also been a well-known symbol in the battle against cancer, having undergone a double mastectomy and removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes to prevent an aggressive form of the disease that killed her mother, aunt and grandmother.

Pitt started the Make It Right Foundation after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, donating $5m (£3.8m) to help rebuild New Orleans after the disaster.

The 52-year-old is currently focusing on opening a luxury resort in Croatia.