Tensions have reached breaking point as the actress struggles to cope with an increasingly clingy Brad.

Insiders claim the couple desperately need to take some time out before their romance comes to an end for good.

"Brad proposed the idea several months ago, when things had got bad between them — he suggested that he live in their LA home and Ange in the Malibu home," says a source.

With Angelina's recent lesbian scandal — when raunchy pics of Ange and a gal pal were made public — adding extra stress to an already tumultuous relationship, the pair have decided on separate houses.

"The plan is for the whole family to be together on the weekends but to live apart during the week and shuttle the kids between the two homes," says a friend of the actress.