Angelina Jolie shares what parenting six children is really like – and it probably goes against everything you've been told

Angelina Jolie with children Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt attend "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" Special Screening .

American actress Angelina Jolie has revealed the special relationship she has with her six kids.

After disclosing that her split from Brad Pitt was ‘healing’ for her kids, the Maleficent star has proved that co-parenting is working for her family, and she’s closer to her kids than ever.

In a recent interview with WSJ. Magazine, Angelina shared a rare insight in parenting her children Maddox (22), Pax (20), Zahara (18), Shiloh (17), Knox (15) and Vivienne (also 15).

She told the publication: “They are the closest people to me and my life, and they’re my close friends. We’re seven very different people, which is our strength.”

The mother-of-six also admitted that a social life doesn’t really exist for her at the moment, as well as adding that some other of her friends “are from war and conflict”.

“There’s a reason people who have been through hardship are also much more honest and much more connected, and I am more relaxed with them. 

“Why do I like spending time with people who’ve survived and are refugees? They’ve confronted so much in life that it brings forward not just strength, but humanity.”

Further in the interview, Angelina was open and honest about the impact that her split from Brad had on her health, so it’s no surprise that her children fear for her as she gets older.

Angelina Jolie and five of her six children Maddox, Vivienne, Zahara, Shiloh and Knox. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The 48-year-old spoke of the stress she felt while filming Maleficent: Mistress of Evil: “My body reacts very strongly to stress. My blood sugar goes up and down. I suddenly had Bell’s palsy six months before my divorce.”

It’s no secret that Angelina has her hands full but it seems that she revels in motherhood and takes knockbacks in her stride: “I’ve been a mom, and I’ve fully absorbed that into who I am. It’s like I see my scars and my things, and I feel like I’ve lived. And I’m having these big experiences, and I have this map of this complex body that’s changed over time.”

In other celebrity mum news, Katherine Ryan hits back at mum-shamers who trolled her over drinking wine while breastfeeding and Adele admits she gets 'nervous' around parents of her son's classmates.