Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been involved in a nasty custody battle over their six kids ever since she filed for divorce in 2016, but an insider exclusively tells In Touch that Brad “finally won back” his three younger kids.

“Brad has slowly rebuilt his relationship with his younger children,” a source tells In Touch. While Brad, 60, is “saddened” that his relationship with the older kids is still fractured, “every time he’s reunited with Shiloh or the twins, it’s very emotional.”

Brad shares children Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, with the Maleficent star. Angelina, 48, had already adopted Maddox before she started dating Brad in 2005. The couple went on to adopt Zahara in 2005, and they welcomed Shiloh in 2006. Brad and Angelina adopted Pax in 2007 and completed their family in 2008 when Angelina gave birth to the twins. After the pair got married in 2014, they split two years later when Angelina filed for divorce in September 2016.

Brad was previously accused of physical and verbal abuse during an explosive fight on a plane in 2016, which led to his and Angelina’s split. The L.A. Department of Children and Family Services ultimately found no wrongdoing on Brad’s part following an investigation. Angelina was granted full custody of the kids 2016, but that changed briefly when Brad was granted equal custody in 2021. However, the decision was overturned after Angelina appealed and the judge in the case was disqualified.

The custody battle initially included all six kids when it began in 2016, though only the three minor children are currently involved now that Maddox, Pax and Zahara are legal adults. But in the years since Brad and Angelina’s split, the Ocean’s Eleven actor’s relationships with his three oldest kids have suffered.

Maddox previously spoke out against Brad during his parents’ custody hearing in March 2021.

Meanwhile, Pax reportedly slammed Brad in a nasty social media post in 2020. “Happy Father’s Day to this world class a–hole!” he reportedly wrote in an Instagram Story post from 2020, which resurfaced when it was shared by The Daily Mail in November 2023. “You time and time again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person. You have no consideration or empathy towards your 4 youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence. You will never understand the damage you’ve done to my family because you are incapable of doing so. You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday. So, happy Father’s Day, you f–king awful human being!!!”

Zahara also revealed she’s not on the best terms with her father when she notably dropped Pitt from her last name when she joined sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha at Spelman College in November 2023.

Following several years of estrangement, though, it seems that the Babylon actor managed to get back in the good graces of Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne. ​​

“In about three years, they’ll all be over 18,” the insider tells In Touch. “Brad is determined to regain their trust so he can continue to be in their lives as adults.”

And Brad isn’t giving up on Maddox, Pax and Zahara, either. “He hopes one day there will be peace in their hearts,” the source adds.

Read the full story in this week’s issue of In Touch Weekly, on newsstands today.