They were the couple of the moment. In June 2000, newlyweds Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton sat down poolside at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in L.A. to reveal their secret affair to Us Weekly. “Honestly,” Thornton told Us at the time, “And it’s like a big statement to make, she’s truly the only person who I can actually say I love and resect everything about her.”
On the latest #TBT with Us podcast, we delve into the archives to relive their wild romance. A love, they explained, that was “so good we’re afraid it’s going to kill us.” (Listen to the entire show above!)
Though Jolie and Thornton — he had been married four times and had three kids — met while playing husband and wife in the 1998 film Pushing Tin, they didn’t get together until early 2000. But their romance wasn’t public knowledge until the first week of April when she had “Billy Bob” tattooed on her left arm. On May 5, Jolie then 25, and Thornton, 44, had a $250 quickie marriage ceremony in Las Vegas.
Sitting down with Us in June, they were like typical newlyweds, buzzing with decorating ideas for their recently purchased L.A. home, discussing everything from the installation of his Foosball table to talk of a padded room for, as Jolie explained, “those moments in the middle of the night when you want to kill each other because you’re so in love.”
He often left her feeling weak. “The other day we were mentioning how I needed to get one of those heart monitors on me because I’m convinced I’m going to have a heart attack,” she gushed. “He kissed me the other day and I nearly fainted. I swear on my family’s lives. I nearly fell over.”
Indeed, they couldn’t keep their hands off one another. “It’s amazing that we actually leave the room — ever,” she said. “But you know what? It’s beautiful and I think I’m going to die every few minutes. Then I feel so complete and safe an warm and in love and then I just feel like I’m on fire and I’m so excited and I didn’t know I could feel that through my entire body.” Added Thornton, “Sex for us is almost too intense.”
And though the public thought their marriage would spontaneously combust, Jolie insisted their differences brought them closer. “All the reasons people think it won’t last,” she told Us, “are all the reasons why they know deep down we’re perfect for each other.” (Spoiler: They divorced in March 2003.)
For all the twists and turns from the crazy in love couple’s wild interview with Us, listen to the podcast above!