New court documents allege Brad Pitt had a 'history of physical abuse' before the 2016 plane incident.

In a new court filing, Angelina Jolie has alleged that Brad Pitt had been abusive toward her before the 2016 plane incident that led her to file for divorce.

In the ongoing fight between the former couple over their French winery Château Miraval, the Girl, Interrupted actor's legal team filed a motion seeking to share messages they say would prove Pitt would not let Jolie sell her part of the winery to him unless she agreed to a "more onerous" and "expansive" NDA.

Watch: Angelina Jolie on her "difficult" divorce from Brad Pitt. Post continues after video.

Here's everything we know. 

What is happening between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt?

The former couple are currently in a legal battle regarding their French winery Château Miraval. 

Pitt sued Jolie (and her former company, Nouvel) in 2022 after she sold her share of the winery without his approval. He claimed they had an agreement not to sell without each other's consent. 

He said she "vindictively" sold her stake in the winery to Tenute del Mondo — which is owned by Stoli Group, headed by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler — and did not inform Pitt. The suit continued that the sale "jeopardises the reputation of the business that Pitt so carefully built".

Jolie's lawyers argue that the winery lawsuit would never have happened at all if Pitt had simply purchased her share when she made an offer. But according to Jolie's lawyers, Pitt reportedly refused unless Jolie agreed to a "more onerous" and "expansive" non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Reports claim that the Fight Club actor was concerned confidential arguments from their years-long custody battle might be revealed if an NDA wasn't in place.

"Jolie's sealed filing, which included emails, summaries of the family's expected testimony and other evidence, caused Pitt to fear that the information could eventually become public," her lawyers said, adding that Pitt wanted Jolie to "contractually bind herself to that silence" about his alleged "personal misconduct, whether related to Miraval or not".

As part of that filing, her lawyers referenced the 2016 plane incident that occurred the day before Jolie filed for divorce. 

"While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family's September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him," PEOPLE reported.

However, a filing from Pitt's legal team in June 2023 claimed that his ex was the one who initially suggested "an even broader non-disparagement clause" as part of the deal. Pitt's team reportedly filed a "narrower" one "intended to protect the business.

"The clause also made clear that there would be no limitation on Jolie's ability to speak in connection with Pitt and Jolie's divorce or custody proceedings," the filing read.  

"It specifically provided: This commitment shall however not limit the ability, for any Party, to make any claims, filings or testimony in any legal proceedings."

While Pitt's team believes "the non-disparagement clause in the contract" is a "totally standard" business transaction, a source linked to Jolie claimed her ex "refused to complete the Miraval sale with Jolie unless she agreed to being silenced about the abuse".

Jolie's attorney Paul Murphy said in a statement: "Mr Pitt refused to purchase Ms Jolie's interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA. By refusing to buy her interest but then suing her, Mr Pitt put directly at issue why that NDA was so important to him and what he hoped it would bury: his abuse of Ms Jolie and their family. After eight months of delays, this motion asks the Court to force Mr Pitt to finally produce that evidence."

Another source said that Jolie "does not want to be raising any of these facts, and she is doing it only because Pitt's lawsuit against her is forcing her to defend herself".

The source added that "if this does go to trial, [Jolie] will be forced to use that evidence in the trial whether she wants to or not".

Pitt's 'friend' claims the new motion is a 'distraction'.

While Pitt hasn't commented on the filing, a "friend" of the actor told PEOPLE the new motion is a "distraction".

"This is a pattern of behaviour — whenever there is a decision that goes against the other side they consistently choose to introduce misleading, inaccurate and/or irrelevant information as a distraction," the source claimed.

"There was a lengthy custody trial that involved the entire history of their relationship and a judge who heard all the evidence still granted him 50/50 custody," the source added — although the judge who granted the former couple equal custody was removed from the case. Currently, they have joint custody.

When Jolie's legal team mentioned the 2016 plane allegations in October 2022 for the winery case, a source told PEOPLE:  "It's incredibly sad that she continues to rehash, revise and reimagine her description of an event that happened six years ago, adding in completely untrue information to try to get additional attention for herself at the expense of their family."

Pitt was never charged following an investigation into allegations of abuse on the flight, but in a recent filing, Jolie's lawyers said she "never pressed charges as she believed the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused".

The "friend" close to Pitt said, "This case isn't about what took place on a plane in 2016. It's about whether they had an agreement not to sell their interests in the winery and family home without the other's consent. That's what Brad and his team are focused on.

"They keep using the same tired playbook year after year."

Pitt and Jolie were declared legally single by a judge back in 2019 and share six kids, including Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

Feature Image: Getty.