Be nice, don't nitpick

Those who have spent time with the couple say they’re in a good place. “They have their own way of dealing with each other like any loving couple. You never saw any fights,” said Salt producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura in an interview to People magazine.
“Brad and I take time off between films to travel, have big experiences, do things together. That’s how we work it out,” Jolie told Parade magazine last month, explaining what keeps the romance alive. It seems everything the couple do is driven by whether or not it’s good for them as a couple, rather than good for each individually.
Based on their very public relationship, we’ve put together some top tips to help lesser mortals along. We hope Jennifer Aniston’s taking notes!

Schedule date nights
Jolie, whose spy movie Salt released recently, reveals that she carefully plans time away from the six children she shares with Brad. This gives them quality “couple time”, something all relationship experts recommend.
“We actually schedule them (date nights). We just had one the other night and we went next door so we didn’t have to worry about the paparazzi, and the kids didn’t know where we were,” she said.
Spending time together doesn’t have to be an expensive evening out: for the Pitts, it’s often as easy as sneaking off to another corner of the house to have dinner on their own.
“We have a house that has two sections so we go to the part that’s normally the studio and the office, and just have dinner as a couple,” Jolie said.
“If you can hold it together – which is hard these days and a lot of people separate – then you have to work at it, and you have to make that time when you are not Mum and Dad once in a while,” she added, pointing out something that everyone knows: relationships take work.
 
Give unusual, thoughtful giftsthat promote togetherness
For her 35th birthday this June, Brad (46) gave Angelina a flame red MV Augusta motorbike.
It’s a gift that vibes well with the actress’s wild-at-heart personality – remember, this is a woman who wore a vial of boyfriend Billy Bob Thornton’s blood around her neck. Jolie said recently of the bike: “I’m not sure what CC it is. But I can tell you it’s a proper bike and it’s powerful. Brad’s a really good teacher – he’s really patient. I’m very impatient so I can wreck a bike if I’m not careful.”
Instead of blowing a bomb on expensive jewellery, he not only spends the money on a bike, but then teaches her to ride it too! Sex, danger and adrenaline all rolled into one – we’d say it’s obvious Brad knows his partner and what turns her on.
“She’s badass,” he told a music magazine a couple of years ago, revealing that she had taught him to fly a plane.

Schedule short trips away from each other
It may be an old cliché, but for Brangelina, it seems, absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
“We take it in turns to do films,” Jolie has said. “So Brad’s working now while I’m not. It’s a rule that we really try to keep.”
But make sure it’s short trips away rather than extended lengths of time.
“We are not separated for more than three days, ever. We stay really connected. We actually don’t go out much. It’s funny. We’re very homebound. We’re very much Mommy and Daddy in our pajamas,” Jolie said.
Earlier this year, while she was filming The Tourist with Johnny Depp, Pitt, who reportedly calls himself “Mr Mom”, was on nanny duty in Venice, Italy, where the film was being made. Not only does that keep the relationship strong – coming back together can be like fireworks, say couples who travel often – but it also gives the children quality time alone with each parent, allowing the formation of independent bonds.

Remember it’s not just about the kids
The fact that you’ve got children in common isn’t enough to keep you together – nor should it be.
“The children certainly tie us together, but a relationship won’t hold if it’s only about the kids,” Jolie once said.
“You also must be really interested in each other and have a really, really wonderful, exciting time together. We do. Brad and I love being together. We enjoy it. We need it, and we always find that special time. We stay connected. We talk about it. It’s very important. If Brad and I are strong and happy, then our kids have happy parents, and that’s the best thing we can give them.”
 
Acceptance is everything
It’s hard to believe Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have flaws, but if these two A-listers do have nubbly bits, you can bet the other knows all about them! Jolie has admitted as much: “Brad knows me completely, exactly as I am, every part of me. He loves me. The kids love me. They know all my flaws and all my oddities. And they accept them. And so I can feel complete,” she said.
Sometimes, that means you need to accept the other’s needs, too – especially if you’re away from each other.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Jolie had been sleeping with a vocal coach while filming Salt. But Jolie was quoted by a German magazine as saying she and Pitt left each other to be free.
“Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.”
Yet she’s also well aware of what she’s got. “He’s strong, intelligent, he’s sensitive – and he’s a real man, in all the best ways that can mean,” she said.
 
Keep having fun with each other
At the World Economic Forum in Davos a few years ago, the two spent a night in, resulting in Pitt getting a new tattoo.
“I drew that,” the actress said at the time.
“We went to Davos. It’s not that we were bored at the World Economic Forum, but one night we didn’t have anything to do, so I was drawing on his back. The picture everybody saw was kind of awkward, but it just lines up beautifully on his back, just enhances the part of the body I like.”
More recently, she had herself inked on her thigh just for him.
And remember to have fun even when it seems like you couldn’t possibly do so. Jolie famously told eonline.com the couple stayed intimate even during her pregnancies, a state she said was “great for the sex life”.
“It just makes you a lot more creative. So you have fun, and as a woman you’re just so round and full.”