Recently, Sarath Mounh – Angelina Jolie’s friend and former business associate, revealed the reason the actress adopted Maddox. He revealed that the Hollywood star had made great efforts to become the mother of this Cambodian boy.

Maddox – the eldest son of the Jolie-Pitt family, just turned 20 on August 5 and the story of adopting this famous student is mentioned again. On the Daily Mail recently, Sarath Mounh shared about the journey of Angelina Jolie adopting a Cambodian orphan boy in 2002. According to this person, the 7X actress wanted to adopt a child in Cambodia when she was filming. movie Tomb Raider here in 2000 and fell in love with this land.

Sarath Mounh said that the actress devoted a lot of effort to finding an adopted child. She wanted to become a mother, and above all, become the mother of a child in dire need of care. Among hundreds of unfortunate children, Maddox conquered Angelina Jolie’s heart and made her decide to stick with this special boy. 

Sarath Mounh, who helped Angelina Jolie adopt Maddox

PHOTO: DAILY MAIL SCREENSHOT

Mr. Sarath remembers his first impression of Maddox: “He was a bright, sharp, lovely child who smiled more than any other child around him. I always remember the boy’s smiling face.” “According to what I learned from Angelina, when she visited the orphanage and saw Maddox, he smiled at her instead of crying like most other children. The boy smiled at Angelina, that touched her heart and that’s why she chose Maddox,” this person added.
However, the journey of Angelina Jolie adopting Maddox was not simple. Mr. Sarath Mounh said that movie star Lara Croft: Tomb Raider had many difficulties in adopting a child because she was a foreigner. At that time, the Cambodian government was extremely strict about allowing international adoption because of fear of child trafficking.

The star born in 1975 had to go through many complicated legal procedures to be able to adopt Maddox

PHOTO: DAILY MAIL SCREENSHOT

It was Sarath Mounh who helped the American star adopt Maddox more easily. This Cambodian man adopted the boy born in 2001. Maddox was added to Sarath’s family records as his third child. After that, this person signed a document for the Hollywood star to adopt Maddox from him. Having a Cambodian father has helped cut down on most of the troublesome legal procedures that Angelina Jolie had to face during the adoption process. Sarath Mounh expressed that he did not regret helping the powerful actress on that difficult journey.
Sarath Mounh and Angelina Jolie later became friends when Sarath’s nonprofit worked with the Maddox Jolie Pitt Foundation on conservation issues. Angelina Jolie’s family had the opportunity to visit Cambodia for the premiere of her movie First They Killed My Father in 2017. The powerful star then shared: “I have had a connection with this country for 17 years and I feels like this is my second home. My children have close relationships with many of the children here, many of whom are close friends. Maddox is happy to be back in his country.”

Maddox is considered an extremely lucky child by his hometown people when he becomes the eldest son of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Sarath Mounh confided: “We Cambodians are proud and happy because Maddox grew up in such a classy life. Many people in our country don’t have that opportunity. We want him to come back and understand our culture better.” He also said that Angelina also planned for her eldest son to return to his homeland to help his people and learn about his heritage, culture and roots. “Maddox is a lucky boy compared to many children in Cambodia. It would be good if he came back and helped the community,” Mr. Sarath said.
Recently, Maddox’s adoption became a hot topic when young filmmaker Elizabeth Jacobs was making a documentary exploring the truth about adoption in Cambodia in the 1990s and 2000s with titled The stolen children (roughly translated: The stolen children). This person wants to clarify the situation of poor families in Cambodia being tricked into selling their children or having their children kidnapped for adoption. Sarath Mounh himself is not sure whether Maddox is an orphan or not: “People ask me if Maddox’s parents are still alive but I have no clue.”

Maddox is now an adult and has become his mother’s spiritual support after her marriage broke down

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Since becoming the adopted son of Angelina Jolie and later Brad Pitt , Maddox has lived in luxury and has been sought after by the media like a star. At the age of 20, the Cambodian-born man became a spiritual support for his mother, helping the 46-year-old star take care of his younger siblings and is currently a student at Yonsei University (Korea). Maddox is highly respected by Angelina because he always stands by her side whenever any problem occurs and has many similar interests with his mother such as: loving speed, liking knife throwing or having a great love for cinema . On the contrary, he has a long-distance relationship with Brad Pitt.