James Haven, the 53-year-old older brother of Angelina Jolie and son of actors Jon Voight and the late Marcheline Bertrand, publicly came out as gay on August 6, 2026, during a livestream on his ex-wife Romi Imbelli’s Substack.
Haven made the announcement while appearing alongside Imbelli, 44, as the pair discussed their evolving relationship after the annulment of their brief marriage. When Imbelli prompted him by asking what he is now free to be, Haven replied simply,
“I’m gay.”
He followed the declaration by reading a letter that detailed childhood experiences he had long kept private.
“When I was a little boy, I was absolutely obsessed with the Disney princesses,”
Haven said.
“I would sneak glitter onto my cheeks, swipe mascara onto my lashes, and for those moments, I felt like magic.”
Haven explained that he lacked the language at the time to understand why those moments felt authentic. “It was never about pretending to be someone else. It was about letting a part of myself shine that had always been there,” he said. He described learning early to hide that part of himself to fit in with other boys, a pattern he said is common among gay children.
“Coming out isn’t about becoming someone new, it’s about allowing everyone else to meet the person who has been here all along,”
Haven continued. He added that the little boy with glitter and mascara
“was never confused, broken, or something to be ashamed of. He was simply gay. He was joyful. He was brave before he even knew it.”
In a follow-up video the same day, Haven framed the moment as the start of a new chapter after years of healing from childhood trauma.
“Today is August 6, 2026 and I, James Haven, begin a new chapter in my life,”
he said.
“After many years of healing from childhood trauma, I am now free to live the life that I believe I was always meant to live. One of hope, one of peace, and one of love.”
Haven, born James Haven Voight on May 11, 1973, in Los Angeles, is the older sibling of Angelina Jolie. Their parents, Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and actress-producer Marcheline Bertrand, separated when Haven was young. He and Jolie were raised primarily by their mother. Haven studied at the USC School of Cinema-Television, worked as an actor in films including Gia and Original Sin alongside his sister, and later shifted toward producing and directing before largely stepping back from public-facing work.
Imbelli, known previously as Romi Klinger and later Romi Marie Imbelli, rose to public attention as a cast member on Showtime’s reality series The Real L Word. She has worked as a makeup artist, identity coach, and writer, and is the mother of a daughter from a previous marriage. Haven and Imbelli had been friends for more than two decades before marrying in a private ceremony in Laguna Beach, California, on August 12, 2024. Jon Voight attended; Jolie did not.
The marriage lasted 15 days. Imbelli filed for annulment on August 27, 2024, citing fraud. Court records later confirmed the separation date as August 26, 2024. The annulment was finalized in 2025. Despite the legal end of the marriage, the two reconnected and have described themselves as close friends and creative collaborators. They are working together on adapting Imbelli’s memoir into a television project that Haven plans to direct.
During the livestream, Imbelli offered public support. She said she had sensed Haven’s sexuality earlier but struggled to accept it because of what it would mean for their romantic relationship. “I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to believe,” she said. She later posted that the story “was never just mine. It was ours,” and that she remains family and “one of the greatest loves” of his life, just no longer as his wife.
Haven expressed hope that family and others would respond with understanding. “I hope my family and others can choose love over fear, understanding over judgment, and connection over the beliefs that may have kept us apart,” he said. “I hope they can look beyond the labels and simply see me with the same heart, the same laugh, the same soul they’ve always known.”
The announcement came without any immediate public comment from Jolie or Voight. Haven and Imbelli continue to present their relationship as one of mutual support and creative partnership after the end of their short-lived marriage.
