Billy Bob Thornton has once again revisited the long-circulated story about the so-called “blood vials” he and Angelina Jolie were rumored to have worn at the height of their early-2000s relationship. For decades, the tale has floated through celebrity culture as an almost mythical anecdote — an example of Hollywood eccentricity that people repeated so often it became accepted as fact. But Thornton is now making it clear that the truth was far more ordinary than the dramatic legend that followed them.

The infamous necklaces can be seen in this photo (SGranitz/WireImage)

In his latest interview, the 70-year-old actor explained that the necklaces were not mysterious containers filled with swirling red liquid, nor symbols of a dark ritual. Instead, the couple wore small lockets with a tiny drop of blood — a gesture he described as “simple, personal, and romantic.” Thornton said the idea was never meant to be public, much less sensationalised, but once the media discovered it, the story quickly spiraled into something unrecognisable. According to him, the press amplified a small private act into a full-blown narrative portraying them as bizarre, gothic lovers who lived like fictional characters rather than real people.

Thornton joked that by the time the tabloids were done, the world believed he and Jolie were “vampires who lived in a dungeon,” which he said couldn’t have been further from the truth. The actor pointed out that their relationship, while unconventional in some ways, was mostly playful, affectionate, and grounded in genuine connection rather than theatrics. He emphasised that they never intended their symbolic lockets to represent anything more than a personal reminder of each other during a period when they spent long stretches apart due to work.

The actor opened up on the amicable end of his and Jolie's relationship (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Paramount+ )

Reflecting on their marriage, which began in 2001 after the couple met the year before, Thornton described their time together as one of the most meaningful chapters of his life. Despite the constant media scrutiny, he said the relationship remained full of warmth and good humor, and that even after their split in 2003, they maintained a strong friendship. According to him, the breakup was unusually respectful for Hollywood and came down to differences in lifestyle, not conflict or scandal.

Thornton has previously elaborated on how the idea of the lockets began. Jolie had found a small clear locket kit — the kind people normally use to carry tiny photographs of family members. The two simply nicked their fingers with a razor blade, smeared a thin trace of blood onto the lockets, and wore them as keepsakes. He explained that they never used vials, never collected blood, and never intended the gesture to be interpreted as anything dramatic. The way he tells it, the entire myth grew because the media at the time was hungry for eccentric celebrity stories, and this one was exaggerated far beyond reality.

Today, Thornton views the whole saga with amusement but also a desire to correct the record. He acknowledges that the story became part of pop-culture history, but insists that the truth is not nearly as wild as people still imagine. What survives now is a reminder of how easily a simple act of affection can be transformed into an outsized legend — especially when the spotlight is pointed directly at two of the most watched celebrities of their era.

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Sources (as required):
(Rolling Stone, People, The Independent, E! News, CinemaBlend)