How the time flies. It seems that it was just yesterday when Angelina Jolie, 44, introduced the world to little Maddox, 18, and now, he’s gone off to college in South Korea. The adopted son of Angie and Brad Pitt, 55, is off at South Korea’s Yonsei University to study biochemistry, and the family is already missing him. “Shiloh [Jolie-Pitt, 13] and her brothers and sisters are all still getting used to the idea of Maddox going away for school,” a source close to Angelina tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “He left a few days ago for Korea to get settled in before school starts for him (his first day of orientation is August 26) so it’s a done deal.”
“They are already missing him,” the insider tells HollywoodLife, “but it’s probably going to take some time for it to really sink in that he’s moved out.” Don’t feel too bad for the Jolie-Pitt kids. Though Maddox is on the other side of the world, thanks to modern technology, it’ll feel as if he’s still with them. “They will absolutely feel the loss, but there will be lots of FaceTime calls and lots of visits, Maddox has promised them all that. And it’s not an empty promise. He’s the most devoted big brother, so even from far away, he will still stay very involved in all of their lives. It’s not like he’s going to go off and forget about them.”
Angelina’s kids aren’t the only people who are feeling a void in their lives now that Maddox is gone. Angie is still “grappling” with the “very significant change” in her life, now that her eldest son is all grown-up. “He’s been so bonded with her for so many years,” an insider told HollywoodLife when relaying how the Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil star is coping with her son leaving home. “He’s been so bonded with her for so many years. Now, he’s heading out on his own journey.”
Before Maddox headed to South Korea, he and Angie got in some mother-son bonding time. The two hit up Cleveland as part of his 18th birthday celebration. While the two could have gone anywhere in the world, there’s a significant reason as to why they visited “The Rock And Roll Capital of the World”: one of their closest friends lives there. “They went to visit their good friend Loung (Ung),” a source told HollywoodLife. She’s a human rights activist from Maddox’s native Cambodia and has known him ever since she was a baby. “She and Maddox are extremely close, so it was like a visit with family.”