Brad Pitt was hospitalised with meningitis after trip that sparked Ange romance

Brad Pitt was hospitalised with meningitis after trip that sparked Ange romance

Celebs

Brad Pitt was hospitalised with meningitis after trip that sparked Angelina Jolie romance

Brad Pitt almost paid a dear price for hooking up with Angelina Jolie after his marriage break-up from Jennifer Aniston, as he fell ill with a potentially fatal virus

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There was a moment at the very beginning of Brad Pitt’s romance with Angelina Jolie which could have potentially scuppered everything.

It has been 15 years since Hollywood legend Brad started dating Angelina, after they met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

This brought to an end his marriage to Jennifer Aniston, after they had been heralded as Tinseltown’s golden couple for the years previous.

As Brad and Ange got to know each other more intimately, they jetted off to Africa together, in what was the first real indication to their fans that there may be something more than co-stars going on.

Brad had joined Angelina on her trip to Ethiopia in East Africa, where she had gone to finalise the adoption of her first child.

It was while he was there that Brad developed flu-like symptoms and there was worry as the month before their trip, the Ethiopian Health Ministry reported that at least 40 people had died and 433 had been taken ill with highly infectious meningococcal meningitis there over the past five months.

Fortunately for Brad, it was viral meningitis that he was diagnosed with but it still meant that on his return to the United States, he was checked in to Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

His illness was not connected to the Ethiopian outbreak, according to his publicist, who did confirm at the time that Brad had been “diagnosed with a mild case of viral meningitis.”

Brad then had to rest at home after some days in hospital, as he recovered from the symptoms of viral meningitis, which include sudden fever, severe headache, vomiting and malaise.

Fortunately for Brad, he soon made a full recovery and his romance with Angelina blossomed leading to an 11-year long relationship which saw them adopt a further two more children and have three of their own.

After a two-year marriage, the pair are now facing up to each other in court as they fight the terms of custody before their divorce is finalised.