CEBU, Philippines - Though we bet plenty of men would do just about anything for a chance with Dame Angelina Jolie, apparently, her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton doesn’t look back at their whirlwind time together too fondly.
Thornton, 59, and Jolie, 39, met on the set of 1999’s “Pushing Tin” and married in 2000 after a whirlwind two-month courtship. Things only got weirder from there until they divorced in 2003.
“It was a crazy time,” Thornton told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve never been fond of it.”
He also elaborated on the infamous blood vials the two used to wear around their necks, revealing the “romantic” thought behind the necklaces.
“Vial of blood is very simple,” Thornton explained. “You know those lockets you buy that are clear and you put a picture of your grannie in and wear it around your neck? She bought two of those. We were apart a lot because she’s off making ‘Tomb Raider’ and I’m making “Monster’s Ball.’ She thought it would be interesting and romantic if we took a little razorblade and sliced our fingers, smeared a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck just like you wear your son or daughter’s baby hair in one. Same thing.”
According to the “Bad Santa” actor, media reports on their relationship were greatly exaggerated. “From that, we were wearing quart jars of blood around our necks,” he said. “And we were vampires and we lived in a dungeon.”
The dungeon they were referring to, he further explained, was actually his basement recording studio. “It had some basis in fact. We had a basement which I had a recording studio in. So when I tell a journalist I stay down in the dungeon all the time, recording music, they don’t hear ‘recording music,’ they hear ‘dungeon’ because it makes a better story” he explained.
“We had a great time together,” he added. “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.”
In a 2008 interview, Jolie shared her side of the story. “It was never a vial. It was like a flower press,” she clarified. “It was like from a slight cut on your finger and you press your fingerprint in. It was kind of a sweet gesture. I thought it was kind of romantic!” (FREEMAN)