Brad Pitt Fled To France Amid Fighting With Angelina Jolie Before Divorce 

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Brad Pitt Fled to France Amid Fighting with Angelina Jolie This Year, Source Says

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt\'s fighting led the actor to escape to France several times throughout 2016, a source tells PEOPLE.

The couple are divorcing after just two years of marriage and over a decade together, multiple sources confirmed to PEOPLE on Tuesday. In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jolie states that the couple have been separated since Sept. 15.

"The divorce is a complete shock," the insider says. "They have definitely spent more time apart this year, but it\'s still a shock."

While Pitt, 52, and Jolie, 41, were together to celebrate their second wedding anniversary in August, the source says that the actor often fled to the couple\'s estate in the South of France, Château Miraval, after the pair had disagreements.

"Brad has been coming to Miraval every few weeks in season this year," another source told PEOPLE. "He has been filming in Europe and he\'s come in a couple of times, for a couple of days."

The couple wed at Château Miraval, a 1,200-acre estate in the village of Correns, France, that the Jolie-Pitts have called home since 2008. The property boasts pine forests, olive groves, terraced hillsides, working vineyards, a private lake and even a moat. Pitt and Jolie continued the estate\'s wine-growing tradition by launching Miraval wines on Valentine\'s Day 2013.

"He likes France and loves that house. He likes being in the wine business and feeling something like a farmer," the source observed. "And the place is fantastic. It\'s remote and extremely beautiful. It\'s really far away from everything."

According to the source, Pitt had flown out of Miraval via helicopter when he made his flag waving appearance at Le Mans. Most recently, Pitt spent a couple nights at Miraval during the vineyard\'s wine harvest following his visit to Croatia in early September. However, multiple sources told PEOPLE there have been no sightings of Jolie this year, with one source suggesting she may not have visited since beginning of 2015.

WATCH: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Were Last Seen Publicly Together in July

Pitt and Jolie were engaged in 2012, nearly seven years after starring together in

, and were married in 2014 at the family\'s French estate.

"I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids," Pitt said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time."

Jolie, through her lawyer, also released a statement addressing the divorce: "This decision was made for the health of the family," the actress\' attorney said. "She will not be commenting at this time, and asks that the family be given their privacy during this difficult time."

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