Angelina Jolie’s brother James Haven comes out as gay at 53: ‘I am now free to live’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Angelina Jolie’s older brother James Haven has gone public with his sexuality.
The older sibling of the 'Salt' actress made the announcement on Breathe Mija, the Substack run by his ex-wife Romi Imbelli, on Thursday, August 6. During a livestream, he declared, “I’m gay. I’m a lot of things.”
James Haven says he's starting 'a new chapter of my life'
He then appeared in another video, where he shared, “I, James Haven, begin a new chapter of my life. After many years of healing from childhood trauma, I am now free to live the life that I believe I was always meant to live.”
“One of hope, one of peace and one of love. So as my story unfolds, I want you all to know that I do it with an open heart, with nothing but love for myself and for all of you,” the 53-year-old added.
James Haven urges his family to choose 'understanding over judgment'
The son of Jon Voight and late actress Marcheline Bertrand also issued a written statement, directly addressing his family. “I hope my family and others can choose love over fear, understanding over judgment, and connection over the beliefs that may have kept us apart,” Haven urged.
Continuing, he noted that he hopes his family “can look beyond the labels and simply see me with the same heart, the same laugh, the same soul they’ve always known.”
“The only difference is that I’m no longer hiding. Today, I am genuinely happy. I am proud of the person I’ve become, and I’m so grateful that I no longer feel the need to apologize for the parts of me that make me who I am,” the ‘Breaking Dawn’ actor stated.
James Haven's ex-wife Romi Imbelli calls him her 'love'
Haven was married to Imbelli for a very short period of time in 2024.
She, however, has supported him in his journey as she revealed her true feelings during the livestream, “I wanted to support you and love you, and then I didn’t wanna believe it, because then it would mean losing you in that capacity, which I couldn’t.”
“So there was a battle between: how do you love and support somebody knowing their truth, but also how do you break the lie that you want to believe so badly is yours? And then somewhere along it, grieving the idea of what we were supposed to be in the world, and then accepting now, you are my life partner, we will do life together. You are not my close friend, you are my love. And you happen to be gay,” Imbelli expressed.
