Angelina Jolie's Brother Comes Out as Gay after Years Away from the Spotlight — His Story & Photos

Once infamous for sharing a shocking Oscar kiss with superstar sister Angelina Jolie, James Haven vanished following a family split and a 15-day marriage.

For years, fans wondered why the protective brother quietly disappeared after being dismissed as a nanny to Jolie's six children. An unexplained estrangement froze their legendary bond, leaving Hollywood completely puzzled.

Meanwhile, Haven endured a whirlwind annulment, deep spiritual searches, and a quiet personal evolution away from the cameras. Now, his long-awaited return unveils the surprising truth behind his missing years and a dramatically transformed life.

A Childhood Bond Shattered by Sibling Estrangement

Haven and Jolie grew up two years apart, leaning on each other through a household shaped by their father Jon Voight's temper. Haven has said Voight often focused more on his children's flaws than their strengths, and after their parents split in 1976, the siblings became protective of both each other and their mother, Marcheline Bertrand.

Haven has described his father as a difficult man, and the years spent absorbing Voight's ill temper left him with little affection for him. Through it all, he and Jolie remained each other's closest allies, a closeness that followed them well into adulthood.

That bond exploded into public view at the 2000 Academy Awards. When Jolie's name was called for Best Supporting Actress for "Girl, Interrupted," she kissed her brother on the lips on stage and told the audience, "I am just so in love with my brother right now. He just held me and said he loved me."

She closed her speech by thanking him directly, saying, "Jamie, you're just … I have nothing without you." The two had already shared a kiss weeks earlier at the Golden Globes, and the Oscars moment sparked years of speculation about the nature of their relationship.

Both siblings maintained it was nothing more than devotion between a brother and sister. Haven later admitted the closeness shaped his romantic life directly.

"She's always been very protective of me with regards to my romantic life, which I love," he once said. "She wants me to be with the right woman. When you come from a divorced home, divorce is what you desperately want to avoid."

He went further, admitting the bar she set was hard to clear. "Maybe I haven't found the right woman because my sister is too picky for me. Any woman has to go through two filters, me and then my sister," he revealed.

"I'm a perfectionist by nature. Then, because I'm so close to Angie, it's like I've already got the perfect woman in my life, and it's hard for anyone else to live up to that." For years, he said, he simply relied on her. "I go to Angie for advice and won't do anything without her because we were so close as children," he shared.

Nanny Roles, Family Feuds, and Sudden Silence

Bertrand died in 2007 after a long fight with ovarian cancer, and the siblings leaned on each other through her illness. Jolie had been extremely close to her mother, and she and Haven both wore pieces of Bertrand's jewelry at Jolie's wedding to Pitt in her honor, Jolie in a flower ring and Haven with an angel pin on his lapel.

Years later, when Jolie and Pitt began working through their divorce, Haven stepped into a full-time caregiving role for their six children at the family's temporary Malibu home. "He took on a more active daily role in June," a source said at the time.

"The kids call him Uncle James." Another source claimed Pitt had no issue with the arrangement, saying, "Brad thinks highly of James. He's always been incredible to the kids and is welcome in his home."

That role ended abruptly. According to reporting on the siblings' history, Haven was quietly dismissed from his position in 2017, and he has not been seen publicly with his sister since. By 2021, a source close to the family described just how far the two had drifted.

"They used to be inseparable; he was very much her go-to companion and was her best friend for so many years as well as a devoted brother," the source explained. "James helped raise her kids and would babysit whenever Angie and Brad wanted private time. It's fair to say he was one of just a handful of people they felt comfortable looking after them."

Then, without warning, that closeness disappeared. "All of a sudden and with no real explanation, their communication seemed to just stop," the source continued. "He does his thing, she does hers, and while they may be cordial from a distance, you certainly don't see or hear of them being together. Obviously, only they know what really happened, but it's sad, and the situation doesn't look like changing any time soon."

Haven had a brief acting career during this period, appearing in films including "Original Sin" and "Stay Alive," with his final credited role coming in the 2014 short film "Easy Silence." He has largely stepped away from the industry since.

Somewhere in that same stretch of years, Haven reconnected with his Christian faith, becoming involved with Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, around 2009 and reportedly training toward youth ministry by 2012. That renewed faith reportedly pushed him to try mending his relationship with his father, including a trip to Italy where he encouraged Jolie to do the same.

He gave a rare interview in January 2024 on the "9-0-who-1-0" podcast, insisting he remained close to his sister and her six children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox.

"Anytime I'm blessed to be in their presence, I wanna be in their presence," he said. Even so, the two have continued to keep their distance in public, and the cause of the original rift has never been confirmed by either sibling.

A Marriage That Barely Lasted Two Weeks Before It Cracked

After decades of comparing every relationship to his bond with his sister, Haven found the woman he would eventually marry: makeup artist Romi Marie Imbelli, known for her time on Showtime's "The Real L Word." The two had actually known each other for 24 years by the time they wed, having first met when Imbelli was 20.

Imbelli had been married twice before. She wed musician Dusty Ray from 2011 to 2013, then married chef Charles Imbelli in 2015, with whom she shares a daughter, Frankie, born in 2016. That marriage ended in 2019.

Haven and Imbelli married in an intimate ceremony in Laguna Beach, California, on August 12, 2024. Jon Voight attended, but Jolie was notably absent from the wedding.

A day after the ceremony, Imbelli shared photos on Instagram, calling it a weekend spent celebrating "a new chapter" surrounded by family. "I love my brother, sister, father-in-law, mother, and all our love especially for Frankie!" she wrote, adding that the couple was flying home to prepare for the school year, "feeling grateful for all that we have."

Additional wedding pictures later circulated online, showing the couple during what appeared to be a joyful celebration. The union did not hold. According to a caption Imbelli later shared and then deleted, the two had "a big fight the next day," throwing the marriage into question almost immediately.

She wrote that after five months of "much crying, healing, and reflection," they had decided to work through their issues, saying she felt "liberated and ready to return to my husband."

That reconciliation did not last either. Court filings later reviewed by People showed that Imbelli filed for annulment on August 27, 2024, just 15 days after the wedding, though she did not publicly confirm the split until January 2025 and did not issue a full statement until March.

The Annulment That Cited Fraud

In a statement confirmed to People on March 12, 2025, Imbelli said, "After careful consideration, I have decided to move forward with the annulment of my marriage to James Haven. As reflected in public record, the reason cited remains fraud." People reviewed the filing and confirmed fraud was checked as the reason for nullity of the marriage.

"This has been a deeply personal and difficult decision, but one that I feel is necessary for my own well-being," she continued. "I'm finding healing through this process by putting my truth into words in my upcoming memoir, where I will share more about this chapter of my life and the journey that led me here."

In the weeks that followed, Imbelli posted messages about moving forward without explaining the fraud claim itself. "I'm focused on the future and not dwelling on the past," she wrote in one post.

"We are not victims; we are the ones who place ourselves in difficult situations. It's about how we navigate our way out and the lessons we take from the experience." At the time, the reason behind the fraud allegation remained unclear to the public, and Haven did not respond with his own account.

The Secret Chapter That Changed the Story

That silence ended on August 6, 2026, when Imbelli released what she called "the secret chapter" of her memoir, "Breathe, Mija," alongside a video announcement shared on Instagram. The post included a montage of the former couple set to a rendition of "Your Song," followed by Haven addressing the camera directly.

"Hello, world. It's been a minute since you probably heard from me," he began. "Today is August 6th, 2026, and I, James Haven, begin a new chapter in 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."

In her caption, Imbelli explained that the marriage and its unraveling were never about betrayal in the traditional sense. "I wasn't here to out someone I love. I was here to help set someone free," she wrote. "There is a difference. In return he set me free."

She described the process as one carried by "forgiveness, grace, and unconditional love," adding, "I'll always love him. Just not as his wife, but as my family, my best friend, and one of the greatest loves of my life."

She also noted a detail that took on new meaning in hindsight: Haven's late mother used to call him "Pony Boy," a name Imbelli later learned carries meaning within gay culture.

Going Live: What Haven and Imbelli Said Together

Hours after the post went up, the pair went live together on Imbelli's Substack, where Haven confirmed his sexuality directly. Asked what he identified as, he answered, "I'm gay. I mean, as gay as gay can."

Imbelli said she had wrestled for a year over whether to publish their story at all, describing prayer, conversations with a lawyer friend, and long talks with Haven before he agreed to let her tell it.

She pointed out an odd coincidence in the timing: she had reached out to reconnect with him on June 5, unaware at the time that it was the exact date, one year earlier, that a court had signed off on their annulment.

Haven explained that the fraud citation traced back to him not yet being honest with himself, let alone with her, about who he was. He described years of internal conflict, saying trauma had convinced him he was meant to live a life that wasn't really his.

"I lost my life up to this point," he said. Imbelli responded that the two had built "a whole life that we were creating together" that they were now, in a different form, getting the chance to build again.

Imbelli recalled a turning point during a trip she and Haven took to Austin, where she brought him to a drag brunch. She said she wanted him to feel free to "step into his power," and that he did, joining a dance contest and winning it.

She admitted that afterward, part of her still resisted what she was seeing. "I didn't want to believe it because then it would be like losing you in that capacity," she said, describing the tension between supporting his truth and grieving the future she had imagined for them.

Haven compared their bond to Superman and Lois Lane, saying his love for Imbelli was never about denying who he was but about how safe and happy she made him feel.

He also referenced advice from physician and author Gabor Maté, telling listeners, "There is a wisdom in trauma. When you realize that the trauma is not of yourself... the key is to work through that and become yourself."

He spoke at length about growing up in the shadow of a famous family, telling Imbelli directly that hiding who he was had meant hiding his own light behind people whose light shone bigger than his.

"Your light deserves to be shining," Imbelli told him during the conversation. "I think the saddest part to me isn't even just like the part of not coming out. It's the part of you that felt like you needed to step back behind your family and not step forward."

Haven also described wearing a bracelet reading "I am that man," a reference to a biblical story involving the prophet Nathan confronting King David. He said he wore it as a personal reminder to take accountability for the ways he had hurt Imbelli during their relationship, and he encouraged other men listening to do the same if the story applied to them.

His relationship with Jolie remains where it has been for years, distant and unexplained by either sibling. Whether this new chapter brings the two closer, as their history once suggested it might, is still unknown.