Angelina Jolie’s Brother Comes Out After Years Away from the Spotlight – His Journey and Photos

October 6, 2026
CELEBRITY

Once memorable for his shocking kiss with sister Angelina Jolie at the Oscars, James Haven has largely stepped out of the spotlight following personal family troubles and a brief marriage that lasted only two weeks.

For many years, fans have been puzzled by Haven’s abrupt retreat from public life after he was removed from his role as a caregiver to Angelina Jolie’s six children. An unexplained split left their once-close bond shattered, creating confusion within Hollywood.

In the meantime, Haven weathered a swift marriage cancellation, underwent significant spiritual exploration, and engaged in personal growth away from the cameras. Now, his anticipated return reveals the unexpected reasons behind his years of absence and a dramatically changed life.

After enduring years of Jon Voight’s tough love, James Haven holds few positive memories of his father. Their shared experiences have strengthened the sibling bond between Haven and Angelina Jolie into adulthood. | Source: Getty Images

A Childhood Bond Shattered by a Sibling Rift

Haven and Angelina Jolie grew up two years apart, supporting each other in a home influenced by their father’s volatile temperament, Jon Voight. Haven recounted that Voight often focused more on his children’s flaws than on their strengths, leading both siblings to band together and protect their mother, Marcheline Bertrand, after their parents separated in 1976.

Haven has described his father as challenging, and the years spent under Voight’s tough love left him with little affection for him. Despite this, he and Angelina Jolie remained each other’s closest allies, a connection that continued into their adult lives.

On January 24, 2000, Angelina Jolie drew media attention when she kissed her beloved brother James Haven on the lips in front of everyone. | Source: Getty Images

The moment took center stage during the 2000 Oscars when Angelina was awarded Best Supporting Actress for A Mighty Heart. After accepting her Oscar, she kissed her brother on stage and declared to the audience: “I love my brother so much right now. He just hugged me and told me he loved me.”

She concluded her speech by thanking him directly: “Jamie, without you, I’m nothing.” The two had shared a kiss at the Golden Globes just weeks prior, with the Oscars moment fueling years of speculation about the nature of their relationship.

Haven and Angelina Jolie have always been each other’s main support. With just two years apart, they have stood by each other since their parents’ divorce. | Source: Getty Images

Both siblings have consistently maintained that their relationship was nothing more than sibling affection. Haven later admitted that this closeness directly influenced his romantic relationships.

“She has always been very protective of my love life, and I love that,” he once stated. “She wants me to be with the right woman. Coming from a home where my parents divorced, I definitely want to avoid that fate.”

After their parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, separated in 1976, the brother and sister have always shielded each other from their father’s explosive temperament. | Source: Getty Images

He elaborated, admitting that meeting the standard Angelina set was challenging. “Maybe I haven’t found the right woman because my sister is so hard on them. Every woman has to pass through two filters: me, then my sister.” He confessed.

“I’m a perfectionist by nature. And since I’m very close to Angie, it’s like I already have the perfect woman in my life, making it tough for anyone else to measure up.” For years, he admitted, he relied solely on her. “I seek her advice, and I don’t do anything without her, because we were super close as kids,” he shared.

Nanny Roles, Family Feuds, and a Sudden Silence

Bertrand passed away in 2007 after a long battle with ovarian cancer, which brought the siblings together during her illness. Angelina Jolie, very close to her mother, and Haven both wore accessories from Bertrand during Angelina’s wedding to Brad Pitt to honor her—a flower-shaped ring for Angelina, and an angel brooch for Haven.

Years later, as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were beginning to settle their divorce, Haven took on a full-time parenting role for their six children at the family’s temporary home in Malibu. “He became a more active participant in June,” a source noted at the time.

In 2016, as Angelina Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt negotiated their divorce, reports circulated that Haven was stepping in full-time to care for their six children in their temporary Malibu home. | Source: Getty Images

“The kids call him Uncle James.” Another source stated that Brad Pitt had no issues with this arrangement, adding: “Brad thinks highly of James. He has always been great with the kids and is welcome in their home.”

This role ended suddenly. According to accounts of the sibling’s history, Haven was quietly sidelined from his position in 2017, and he has not been seen in public with his sister since. By 2021, a source close to the family described how distant they had become.

While Haven is mainly remembered for his controversial kiss with Jolie at the 2000 Oscars, it seems Pitt had no issues with their close relationship. | Source: Getty Images

“They used to be inseparable; he was truly her closest companion and best friend for years, and a devoted brother,” a source explained. “James helped raise her kids and would look after the little ones when Angie and Brad wanted to spend time alone. It’s safe to say he was one of the few people they trusted with their care.”

Then, unexpectedly, this closeness disappeared. “Suddenly, and without real explanation, their communication seemed to come to a halt,” the source continued. “He does his thing, she does hers, and even though they remain cordial from afar, they never see or hear from each other. Obviously, only they know what really happened, but it’s sad, and the situation doesn’t seem likely to change.”

James Haven at the premiere of “The Journey is the Destination” at the Laemmle Monica Film Center on October 24, 2017, in Santa Monica, California. | Source: Getty Images

During this time, Haven had a brief acting career, appearing in films like Original Sin and Stay Alive, with his last credited role being in the 2014 short film Easy Silence. Since then, he has mostly distanced himself from the industry.

It was around this time that Haven grew closer to his Christian faith: he became involved with Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, around 2009, and reportedly began training to be a youth leader by 2012. This renewed faith may have encouraged him to try to reconnect with his father, which he prompted Angelina Jolie to do during a trip to Italy.

James Haven at “Childhelp Hosts An Evening Celebrating Hollywood Heroes” at Riviera 31 on October 18, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images

He gave a rare interview in January 2024 on the podcast “9-0-who-1-0”, emphasizing his closeness to his sister and her six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox.

“Whenever I get the chance to be with them, I want to be with them,” he said. Despite this, both continue to maintain a public distance, and the cause of their initial rift remains unconfirmed by either sibling.

A Marriage That Lasted Just Two Weeks Before Crumbling

After spending decades measuring all his relationships against the one he had with his sister, Haven finally found a woman he intended to marry: makeup artist Romi Marie Imbelli, known for her appearance on the Showtime series The Real L Word.

In fact, they had known each other for 24 years by the time they wed, having first met when Imbelli was 20 years old.

Romi had been married twice before. She was wed to musician Dusty Ray from 2011 to 2013, and chef Charles Imbelli in 2015, with whom she shares a daughter, Frankie, born in 2016. This marriage ended in 2019.

Haven and Imbelli married in an intimate ceremony in Laguna Beach, California, on August 12, 2024. Jon Voight was present, but Angelina Jolie was conspicuously absent from the wedding.

The day after the ceremony, Imbelli shared photos on Instagram, describing the weekend as an opportunity to celebrate “a new chapter” surrounded by family. “I love my brother, sister, father-in-law, mother, and all our love goes mainly to Frankie!” she wrote, adding that the couple flew home to prepare for the new school year, “grateful for everything we have.”

Additional wedding photos later circulated online, showing the couple at what appeared to be a joyful celebration. However, this union did not endure. According to a caption that Imbelli later shared and deleted, the two “had a violent argument the next day,” almost immediately putting the marriage into question.

She wrote that after five months of “tears, healing, and reflection,” they decided to work through their problems, stressing that she felt “freed and ready to return to my husband.”

This reconciliation did not last long either. Legal documents later reviewed by People showed that Imbelli filed for annulment on August 27, 2024, just 15 days after their wedding, although she only publicly confirmed the split in January 2025 and released a full statement in March.

Romi Marie Imbelli at the ‘Life Works Empowering The Future For Our Youth’ event on June 11, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

Annulment for Fraud

In a statement confirmed to People on March 12, 2025, Imbelli stated: “After careful consideration, I have decided to proceed with the annulment of my marriage to James Haven. As indicated by public records, the reason remains fraud.” People reviewed the file and confirmed that fraud was indeed marked as the cause for the nullification of the marriage.

“This was a very personal and difficult decision, but I believe it to be necessary for my well-being,” she continued. “I am finding peace through this process by putting my truth on paper in my forthcoming memoir, where I will discuss this chapter of my life and the journey that brought me here.”

In the weeks that followed, Imbelli posted messages about moving on without providing additional details regarding the fraud allegation itself. “I am focusing on the future and not dwelling on the past,” she wrote in one post.

“We are not victims; we put ourselves in difficult situations. What matters is how we come out of it and the lessons we learn from that experience.” At the time, the reasons behind this fraud claim remained unclear to the public, and Haven did not respond with his side of the story.

The Secret Chapter That Changed the Narrative

This silence ended on August 6, 2026, when Imbelli released what she described as “the secret chapter” of her memoir, “Breathe, Mija”, along with a teaser video shared on Instagram. The post included a montage of the former couple set to a rendition of Your Song, followed by Haven addressing the camera.

“Hi everyone. It’s been a while since you’ve probably heard from me,” he began. “It’s August 6, 2026, and I, James Haven, am starting a new chapter in my life. After many years of recovering from childhood trauma, I’m now free to live the life I believe I was always meant to live. A life of hope, peace, and love.”

In her caption, Imbelli explained that this marriage and its dissolution had nothing to do with betrayal in the traditional sense. “I wasn’t there to out someone’s sexual orientation that I love. I was there to help someone become free,” she wrote. “There is a difference. In return, he freed me.”

She described this process as being driven by “forgiveness, grace, and unconditional love,” adding: “I will always love him. Not as his wife, but as family, my best friend, and one of the greatest loves of my life.”

She also noted a detail that gained new significance in hindsight: Haven’s late mother used to call him “Pony Boy,” a nickname Imbelli later learned had a particular meaning in gay culture.

Live: What Haven and Imbelli Said Together

Hours after the announcement, the couple went live together on Imbelli’s Substack, where Haven confirmed his sexual orientation. When asked how he identified, he replied: “I’m gay. I mean, as gay as it gets.”

Imbelli explained that she had struggled for a year with whether or not to publish their story, discussing her prayers, conversations with a lawyer friend, and long talks with Haven until he agreed to let her share it all.

She pointed out a strange coincidence in timing: she had reached out to him on June 5 to reconnect, unaware at the time that it was exactly the date, a year prior, when a court had confirmed the annulment of their marriage.

Haven explained that the fraud accusation stemmed from the fact that he had not been honest with himself, let alone with her, about who he truly was. He described years of inner conflict, explaining that his trauma convinced him he was destined to lead a life that was not genuinely his.

“I lost my life until that moment,” he said. Imbelli responded that they had built “a whole life we were creating together” and now, in another form, they had a chance to rebuild it.

Haven spoke at length about his childhood spent in the shadow of a famous family, candidly explaining to Imbelli that hiding who he was felt like concealing his own light behind that of people whose shine outshone his. | Source: Instagram/romi_hairandbeauty

Imbelli remembered a turning point from a trip they took to Austin, where she took him to a drag brunch. She explained that she wanted him to feel free to “take his place,” and that’s exactly what he did: he entered a dance competition and won.

She admitted that afterward, part of her still resisted what she saw. “I didn’t want to believe it because it would mean losing you as you,” she said, describing the tension between supporting his truth and mourning the future she had envisioned for them.

Haven compared their bond to that of Superman and Lois Lane, explaining that his love for Imbelli never meant denying who he was, but was instead about the sense of safety and happiness she provided him.

During a joint live session on Substack under his alias Julian Hunter, Haven wore a bracelet that read ‘I am that man’ as a symbol of personal responsibility. | Source: Instagram/romi_hairandbeauty