Angelina Jolie Seeks a Partner Who Matches Her "High Standards" while Settling in New York

Angelina Jolie looked as chic as ever as she made her way around New York City on July 16 with kids Pax, 19, and 18-year-old Zahara in tow. Dressed in a white trench coat, black trousers and Chloé sandals, the newly blond star was in town to work on her soon-to-be launched fashion brand collective, Atelier Jolie, and to look for a new apartment in Manhattan. “She’s looking for the perfect place,” an insider tells Life & Style exclusively. “She’ll know it when she sees it.”

The mom of six (she and ex Brad Pitt also share Maddox, 21, Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne) is ready for a fresh start — and she wants to kick it off on the East Coast. “Angelina plans to split her time between Los Angeles and NYC,” reveals the source of the 48-year-old. “She really thrives on activity and movement, and she’s excited to be in one of the greatest cities in the world.”

Since her 2016 split from Brad, Angelina has had to stay close to L.A., where she owns a $25 million mansion. “Right now I’m having to base where their father chooses to live,” the globe-traveling actress and humanitarian said in 2019. The A-listers remain locked in a legal war over custody of their younger children. But she’s branching out — and is now on the hunt for a place that’s big enough for the whole family. She’s looking at apartments on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side overlooking Central Park, as well as in trendier neighborhoods like Tribeca and Soho. “It has to be big enough for her and the kids,” says the source, “with ample space for an office for her.”

As the kids get older, it’s getting easier to move around. “Angelina didn’t need Brad’s permission to take Pax and Zahara to NYC because they’re legal adults now,” explains the source. Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne aren’t too far behind. “It won’t be long before they can make their own decisions about where they want to be.” They’ll all stay in NYC during the summer and while on school breaks. “Brad will still get his time with them when they’re in California,” says the source. “It’s a lot of shuffling around, but the Jolie-Pitt clan is used to that.”

It’s a new era for Angelina. In May, the Eternals star announced the creation of her sustainable fashion brand, Atelier Jolie, which is set to launch in the fall and is headquartered in downtown NYC (in a studio once owned by Andy Warhol). “Angelina doesn’t consider herself a designer or even a great businessperson, but she’s an artist,” says the source. “Atelier Jolie is a way for her to express that part of herself.”

She may even find love in the Big Apple. “Angelina’s not really into the L.A. scene with all the entertainment industry types,” says the source. “She wants to meet interesting people who are passionate about the arts and she’s looking to date someone who measures up to her standards — even if they’re impossibly high!”