14 DAY TRIAL // Nearly a decade after his marriage to Angelina Jolie went up in smoke, Billy Bob Thornton is opening up to the press about the reasons that led to its demise. In what will mostly likely be a surprising move to many, he takes all the responsibility.
We also noted earlier today that Billy Bob has a new book coming out, “The Billy Bob Tapes: A Cave Full of Ghosts,” and, as such, he has to answer questions pertaining to the sphere of his private life – which is precisely what he did during an interview with Nightline, ABC reports.
For the first time since their passionate relationship ended, Thornton points a finger at the one responsible for its demise – and that person is himself.
He says he never felt “good enough” for a woman like Angelina and, what perhaps drove the final nail in the coffin of the marriage, he bailed on her when she wanted more.
“I blew it because I didn’t think I was good enough for her. She has one way she wanted to live her life and I had another way to live mine and I was just too insecure,” Billy Bob recalls.
“I did feel like the Phantom of the Opera hiding in the catacombs. People have actually said that I didn’t deserve to be with her,” he adds.
Fame and constantly being in the spotlight also contributed, putting their romance under a lot of strain, Billy Bob explains, hinting that he might not have been ok at first with the idea that Angelina was suddenly becoming more famous than he was.
“When you’re in a relationship, any two celebrities or whatever, you know, I think that puts on a lot of pressure. When Angie and I got married, during that time, I was more famous than she was to start with and then when she becomes this big thing, it’s hard in these relationships,” he says.
As for the media scandals that plagued their short marriage, Billy Bob explains that many of the things written were just exaggerations – like that report that they were wearing vials with each other's blood around their necks.
They were, he says, but the vials were very tiny and they only pricked a thumb with a needle to get the blood. It was a symbolic thing they did for whenever they spent time apart.
“We had a great time together,” Thornton concludes by saying. “We had a great marriage and I chickened out because I didn’t feel good enough. That’s all that happened. It was no big deal, we never hated each other.”