Angelina Jolie, 44, made sure to go all out for her oldest son Maddox‘s 18th birthday! The doting mother opted to take him to Cleveland, OH in honor of his special day on Aug. 5 because it turns out he has a dear female friend who lives there and she wanted to make sure he got to celebrate with her. “Angelina and Maddox celebrated his birthday with a special trip to Cleveland of all places. They went to visit their good friend Loung (Ung) who lives in Cleveland,” a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “She’s a human rights activist from Cambodia and has known Maddox since he was a baby. She and Maddox are extremely close so it was like a visit with family, it was a special way to mark the milestone.”

“They went a few days before his birthday,” the source continued. “They were in L.A. on his actual birthday, and they had a small birthday dinner for him at home (Angelina’s L.A. home). It was low-key, Maddox didn’t want a huge party, he’s just not that way, he’s very humble.”

Angelina’s kind and loving gesture for Maddox’s birthday is not too surprising considering she is known for having a close relationship with all six of her kids, and has an especially close bond with Maddox, since he is her oldest child and really stepped up when she split from his dad Brad Pitt, 55, in 2016.

“Maddox has been the man of the house since Angelina and Brad split up, he’s her biggest protector and so wise beyond his years,” the source explained. “They’ve had this intense bond since the moment she laid eyes on him. He was the one who taught her how to be a mom so him officially becoming an adult is especially meaningful for her. Now that he’s 18 and heading out to make his own way in the world it’s understandably very emotional for both Maddox and Angelina.”

Maddox has reportedly decided to go to Yonsei University in South Korea to study biochemistry and will be leaving their home in L.A. at the end of Aug. to start the new journey. A previous source EXCLUSIVELY told us that Angelina is “having a lot of feelings over him going away to school. She’s extremely proud, but she’s also sentimental about her baby growing up and leaving home.”

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Original article: https://hollywoodlife.com/2019/08/07/angelina-jolie-reason-maddox-cleveland-birthday/