The tragic truth behind Jennifer Aniston’s split from ex-husband Brad Pitt has finally been revealed: she suffered two traumatic miscarriages during their marriage, and the emotional turmoil that followed tore the couple apart.

Celebrity biographer Ian Halperin has confirmed in his book, Brangelina Exposed, that Jen lost two babies, one in 2003, and the other in 2004, just months before the couple officially split.

The last poignant photographs of Brad and Jen – taken in January 2005 – show them walking arm in arm on a Caribbean beach, sadness etched on their faces. Just days later, they shocked the world by announcing they were separating.

At the time it was presumed they were simply mourning the end of their relationship, but Halperin’s shock revelations have cast a new light on the couple’s final months together.

“If a marriage is in trouble, a miscarriage can be the nail in the coffin,” says psychologist Sarah Calleja. “If a marriage is strong, it can help bond the couple over their shared grief.”

However, it seems their grief drove Brad into the arms of Angelina Jolie (above right), his co-star in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Angelina has since admitted she and Brad fell in love while filming the movie. Jennifer, on the other hand, has always kept a stoic silence on the trauma she went through as Brad and Angelina went public with their relationship, resisting the temptation to dismiss stories that she was career-obsessed and did not want to have a family.

Halperin’s book even claims the rumours about Jen were spread by Angelina to deflect criticism of her for stealing Brad.

“I’ve always wanted to have children,” Jen simply said after the split, as gossip swirled that she had refused him children in favour of movie roles. “I would never give up that experience for a career.”

Even Brad felt compelled to step forward and defend Jen, telling GQ magazine that any suggestion the relationship had ended over her refusal to have a baby was “bulls**t”.