Angelina Jolie, as a single mum you don't need a man to be happy

Angelina has spoken out about how she's struggling with her newfound single life. Photo / Getty Images

Angelina Jolie could be described as the ultimate Alpha Woman. In her roles as mother, Hollywood actor/producer and UN Ambassador she possesses intelligence, success, independence and strength.

She was the epitome of having it all, including a seemingly covetable marriage with Brad Pitt.

Which is why it was so shocking when the couple announced their split last year, a decision attributed to their wildly differing parenting styles (as well as his drinking) and the stress this placed on their relationship.

As a divorced mother myself, I recognised some of my own marital struggles in Brad and Angelina's split - probably the only thing I have in common with them. When it comes to relationships, sometimes the different ways you choose to interact with your children and consequently your spouse can result in conflict, disagreement - and in my case and theirs - divorce.

Despite dreading divorce, my over-riding feeling post-marriage was one of relief and contentment

I don't think I was alone in feeling an amount of solidarity and sisterhood with Angelina. Splitting up a family is never an immediate course of action, except those where the emotional or physical health of those involved is at risk, and I sympathised with the impact it would have on both her and the couple's children.

Yet there was a part of me that thought, "she's got this". If anyone could handle life as a single parent, surely it would be Alpha Woman Ange?

Angelina with the children she shares with estranged husband Brad Pitt. Photo / Getty Images

This weekend an intimate interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the 42-year-old actress revealed quite the opposite. Angelina admitted that she is "just trying to get through her days," adding: "I don't like being single, it's not something I wanted".

This really surprised me. In my experience, despite dreading the inevitable divorce and the accompanying sense of doom that came as my relationship hit the rocks, my over-riding feeling post-marriage was one of relief and contentment; the recognition of the greater good that would result from ending a relationship in conflict.

Splitting from the father of your children is one of the hardest things you can do, but it doesn't have to be the practical and emotional nightmare we are often led to believe.

Despite the logistical challenges of raising children alone - though I have just two rather than Angelina's brood of six - by taking away the pressure of a struggling marriage with a co-parenting adult, you free up an incredible amount of headspace.

I'd like to see Angelina using her time sans husband to re-discover her single self and re-setting her family dynamic to that of a single parent household. Despite our lifestyle differences - I live in the Home Counties and not than the Hollywood Hills and spend my days at a laptop rather than a movie studio - the inner workings of human romantic relationships are undeniably similar.

In fact, it's only now as I've entered into the first serious relationship since my divorce four years ago that I realise just how wonderful it can be to experience life as a single mother.

There is simply too much unfounded fear around divorce that sees parents slog it out for the sake of keeping the family unit together

I do enjoy being in (the right) relationship, but coupledom brings with it a set of issues you simply don't have to tackle as a single person: compromise, loss of freedom, no longer having the ability to be completely autonomous and the master of your own - and to some extent your children's - destiny.

Embracing these aspects of flying solo can feel incredibly liberating and rewarding, and I found it led to a happiness overwhelmingly greater than being miserably coupled-up.

Being a single parent no longer has the stigma it once did - and it's time to accept that divorce doesn't have to be a death knell, nor about just 'getting through the days'.

There is simply too much unfounded fear and guilt around divorce that sees parents slog it out, miserably, for the sake of keeping the family unit together. It doesn't have to be this way and I hope that whether Angelina remains single or 'consciously recouples' with Brad, as some reports have suggested, she find greater happiness in herself.