Angelina Jolie Confesses She Hasn’t Stopped ‘Crying’ Since Dropping Maddox Off At College
Daniel Cobb
Updated on February 01, 2026
Angelina Jolie succumbed to an 'ugly cry' while sending off Maddox at an airport in South Korea, and the tears haven't stopped flowing since! 'The Eternals' star even revealed how her other children said their goodbyes.
Angelina Jolie’s tears didn’t stop at that airport in South Korea. While promoting her new films The Eternals and the Maleficent sequel at D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA on Aug. 24, the actress recalled the bittersweet moment she and her children dropped off Angelina’s eldest child Maddox, 18, to reportedly study biochemistry at South Korea’s Yonsei University earlier in August. When asked if she had an “ugly cry moment,” the mother of six confirmed that’s exactly what happened. “Oh my god, and embarrass your children ugly cry!” Angelina revealed to Entertainment Tonight, and then gave a play-by-play of the touching airport send-off.
“I also, just at some point, had the big [sun]glasses and the amount of times I turned and waved,” Angelina continued. “I do know it was the one moment in my life I think I turned around six times before the airport just…and he sweetly stayed and kept waving, knowing that I was going to keep turning around. You could feel he knew he couldn’t leave.” And, “no” — Angelina admitted she hasn’t stopped crying since that dramatic farewell! At least the actress is all set for a reunion. “And but yeah, I miss him, I miss him. Or I’ll just get out there,” Angelina added. “It’s not like I haven’t set my plane tickets.”
Angelina wasn’t the only family member to her goodbyes to Maddox, because his siblings Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11, all made the trip from Los Angeles to South Korea! “What was very beautiful is the way everybody said goodbye. When it was time to take him to the airport — some jumped into the car to take him,” Angie told Entertainment Tonight, adding, “When you know that your kids love each other and you see the way they all — without any kind of prompting or pushing — give each other notes, hug each other, take each other, support each other, then you feel like they’re going to be okay and they’re always going to have each other.”
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While Angelina confessed to shedding more than a few tears at the airport, she was still struggling “not to cry” in the clip above, which was uploaded by Instagram user @xx_efu on Aug. 21. Maddox’s father Brad Pitt, 55, wasn’t waving alongside his ex-wife at the airport, we heard he’s just as impressed with this new step that his eldest son is taking. “Brad is so proud of Maddox and how he is heading to school on his own terms,” a source close to the Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood star EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “Brad is proud of all his kids, and is there for them through thick and thin.” Classes at Yonsei University start on Sept. 2!
