Los Angeles, April 5 : Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is claiming that her former husband Brad Pitt's physical abuse toward her 'started well before' the 2016 plane incident that led her to file for divorce.

The claims are as per documents obtained by Page Six.

The actress' legal team made the claims in an attempt to release communications that would prove the Pitt refused to allow his ex-wife to sell her portion of their Chateau Miraval French winery unless she signed an 'onerous' and 'expansive' NDA.

'While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family's September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him,' the document reads.

According to the filing, the NDA Pitt reportedly asked Jolie, that she would cover his 'personal misconduct, whether related to Miraval or not,' in an attempt to prevent her from speaking on his alleged abuse.

Her lawyers also claimed that Pitt wanted her to 'contractually bind herself' to silence after he discovered in 2021 that she submitted a sealed filing, consisting of 'emails, summaries of the family's expected testimony and other evidence' to help settle their child custody dispute.

At the time, Pitt agreed to purchase Jolie's shares of the French winery but backed out as he feared his ex's sealed documents 'could eventually become public,' the documents continue.

'Pitt refused to purchase Jolie's interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA,' Jolie's attorney Paul Murphy said in a statement.

'By refusing to buy her interest but then suing her, Pitt put directly at issue why that NDA was so important to him and what he hoped it would bury: his abuse of Jolie and their family,' he continued, referencing Pitt's 2022 lawsuit against Jolie for selling her shares of the winery to another party.

The documents also claim that Jolie 'never pressed charges' against her 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' co-star because 'she believed the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused.'

However, a source familiar with Pitt said that Jolie 'continually tries to distract from legal losses by offering irrelevant or inaccurate information' in further court filings.'

'There's a pattern that every time she loses, she continues to come back to this' there's nothing new here,' the source added.

Aside from their vineyard, Jolie and Pitt are also fighting over the custody of their children Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.

/IANS