Jennifer Aniston has shut down the “absolute lies” that have circulated about her marriages, with the actor clarifying that the relationships didn’t end because she “wouldn’t” have children.
The 53-year-old actor addressed some of the media speculation she’s faced during an interview with Allure for the cover of the magazine’s December issue.
During the interview, Aniston revealed that she underwent in vitro fertilisation to get pregnant, while opening up about the media and public’s obsession over whether she would become a mother. Although she didn’t mention him by name, she then appeared to address some of the rumours about her divorce from Brad Pitt in 2005, including the “narrative that [she] was just selfish” and “just cared about [her] career”, as opposed to wanting to start a family. Aniston later married actor Justin Theroux in 2015, before announcing their split in 2017.
“And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child,” the Friends star said. “And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldn’t give him a kid.”
She then criticised the narrative, adding: “It was absolute lies. I don’t have anything to hide at this point.”
Aniston proceeded to reflect on the public’s obsession with her personal life, recalling the Huff Post essay she wrote in 2016, in which she shut down any rumours about being pregnant and called out the constant media scrutiny.
“I got so frustrated. Hence that op-ed I wrote,” she said. “I was like: ‘I’ve just got to write this because it’s so maddening and I’m not superhuman to the point where I can’t let it penetrate and hurt.’”
In the op-ed, Aniston condemned false pregnancy reports and said that she wouldn’t let “the tabloid noise” affect her “decision” to become a mother.
“We don’t need to be married or mothers to be complete,” she wrote. “I have grown tired of being part of this narrative. Yes, I may become a mother some day, and since I’m laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know. But I’m not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way.”
During her interview with Allure,The Morning Show star also spoke candidly about the difficulty of undergoing IVF. However, she said that she has “zero regrets”.
“It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it,” she said. “I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me: ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favour.’ You just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed”
She went on to share what she learned from doing IVF, adding: “I have zero regrets. I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more: ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’ I don’t have to think about that anymore.”
After noting that she kept her IVF treatments private for so many years, Aniston acknowledged that she was now ready to “tell [her] truth”.
“I’ve spent so many years protecting my story about IVF. I’m so protective of these parts because I feel like there’s so little that I get to keep to myself,” she said. “The [world] creates narratives that aren’t true, so I might as well tell the truth. I feel like I’m coming out of hibernation.”
