The 41-year-old actress told WHO her on and off-screen disagreements with Pitt, 52, brought them closer together.
"It strengthens a relationship if you can pass those big fights and those big things where you really come head-to-head," she said. "Making the movie, we knew we were beating each other up. We knew we were giving each other tough days. But we agreed to see how far we could push each other."
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So what inspired them to do the film anyway? As Jolie told The Telegraph, they thought By the Sea might be a similar filming experience to Mr. and Mrs. Smith – "that kind of fun." The pair met on the set of the film in 2003, and started a relationship afterward.
"But [we] realised very quickly that it wasn't," she said. "Then we joked that this is what happens after 10 years of marriage."
"Brad and I have our issues, but if the characters were even remotely close to our problems we couldn't have made the film," she revealed. "To be clear: we have fights and problems like any other couple. We have days when we drive each other absolutely mad and want space, but the problems in the movie aren't our specific problems."
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Coming out of the film, Jolie told WHO she was more excited than ever for the couple's future – speaking openly about how much she and Pitt enjoyed growing older together.
Jolie confessed: "We both appreciate the beauty in looking at each other and thinking, 'God, you're just getting stranger as you're getting older.' Brad and I are fortunate because we see the beauty in each other's changes. I'm more interested in his 50-year-old self than his 40-year-old self. And then you look forward to even more years together."
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com
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