Angelina Jolie says Brad Pitt is a ''great family man''.

The 39-year-old actress admits their relationship has evolved since they first fell in love on the set of 'Mr and Mrs Smith' and Angelina - who was once married to Billy Bob Thornton - says having children has caused their dynamic to change.

She explained to HELLO! magazine: ''We've grown as a couple. A relationship is one thing when you're first together and it's exciting. But now we've been together for many years and we have the children, it becomes a different kind of love.

''It's not just being lovers and partners and friends, it's being a family man, which I love in him and feel very lucky about. My mother was a single mom and she really struggled to keep it all together.''

The couple have six children - Maddox, 13, Pax, 10, Zahara, nine, Shiloh, eight, and five-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox - and Angelina says that she and Brad, 50, are determined to set the right example in the home.

She explained: ''One of the things we're particularly conscious of is how we treat each other in front of the children. We want to be an example of how to treat the opposite sex.''