‘She did it for our family’: Brad gets emotional about Angelina’s surgery

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have just cemented their place as Hollywood's strongest couple.

The notoriously private pair gave a rare joint interview on the TODAY Show, speaking about their marriage, their latest film By The Sea and Angelina's health issues.

Having lost her mother to cancer in 2007, Angelina has taken every measure she can to ensure she stays healthy for as long as possible.

The actress underwent a double mastectomy in 2013, and in March of this year had her ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed, after a blood test revealed she had early signs of ovarian cancer.

Opening up about his wife's decision, Brad said it was a tough time for them both.

"I was out in France, and Angie called me and I got straight on a plane to return,'' he told host Tom Brokaw.

"Seeing my wife have to be her strongest and knowing that it's the scariest news is terribly moving. And not being there is a horrible feeling."

The actor couldn't hide his pride for his wife, praising the sacrifice she had made for her family – the couple's adopted children Maddox, Pax and Zahara, and biological children, Vivienne, Knox and Shiloh.

"There was no vanity to my wife's approach,'' he said.

"It was mature. 'This is our life and we're gonna make the best of it.' There was a strength in that.

"It was just another one of those things in life that makes you tighter, and she was doing it for the kids, and she was doing it for her family so we could be together."

As for Angelina, she said she knew she had her husband's support every step of the way.

"I knew through the surgeries that he was on my side and that this wasn't something where I was gonna feel less of a woman because my husband wasn't gonna let that happen.

"To face these issues together and speak about them and talk about what it is to be human, I think can be a beautiful thing."