Angelina Jolie's ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton knew about her double mastectomy before she announced it to the world, he revealed to Life & Style.

"I knew about it before the public knew," the actor told the magazine, cited in its latest issue on newsstands now. "She wanted me to know so I wouldn't freak out. When you're great friends with somebody like that...you don't want to hear it on the news."

The actress announced the news in May through an op-ed in The New York Times titled "My Medical Choice." She decided on the procedure three months prior to the article, after discovering that she had an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer.

Thornton had nothing but kind words to say about his ex-wife, telling the publication, "She makes you a better person." He continued to explain that Jolie was a great wife when they were together and believes she will be the same for her fiancé Brad Pitt. 

"She's an amazing person and makes you the best you that you can be," he added.

The two have been divorced for more than 10 years now. Jolie and Thornton had met on the set of the 1999 movie Pushing Tin and they married in 2000. They separated two years later and shortly after divorced. Despite the break up, the two have remained good friends. The 57-year-old actor told Nightline in May why their relationship didn't work out.

"I blew it because I didn't think I was good enough for her," he said. "She has one way she wanted to live her life and I had another way to live mine and I was just too insecure."

He also admitted that when they first got together he was more famous than she was but after she became a household name, it was difficult for him. He added, "At some point, if you believe somebody's too good for you, you're going to mess it up."

Tags: Angelina Jolie Billy Bob Thornton