Amid a heated divorce and custody battle, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie‘s former bodyguard, Mike Billingham, reveals he “fathered” the couple’s six children — Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8 — in a new interview.

Mike revealed to The Sun that safety was a primary concern, specifically kidnapping. Brad and Angelina would not allow strangers near their children, but eventually grew to trust the security officer, granting him permission to take them out by himself.

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“We got very close, I was living with them all the time,” he revealed to the publication. “I could take the kids anywhere I wanted to on my own. No one else was allowed to do that. I fathered them, basically.”

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Mark (pictured in front) with Brad and his children.

Following child abuse allegations which made him unable to visit his children, Brad was recently reunited with his kids during a very emotional supervised visit. Despite reports of the actor fighting for joint physical custody of his brood, In Touch exclusively learned the 52-year-old is now seeking full custody.