Jennifer Aniston has opened up to fans and made a heartbreaking baby announcement.
The 56-year-old actress, best known for her iconic role as Rachel Green in Friends and currently starring in Apple TV+’s critically acclaimed drama The Morning Show, spoke candidly with Harper’s Bazaar about why she felt compelled to finally make the announcement.
For years, tabloids and entertainment media have speculated about Aniston’s personal life, with many suggesting she deliberately chose not to have children because she was too focused on her career.
The public commentary had long portrayed her as someone who prioritized work over family, with critics labeling her a ‘selfish workaholic’ who simply didn’t want the responsibility of motherhood.
But Aniston has now revealed that nothing could be further from the truth. She emphasized that people didn’t know what she had been going through privately over the past 20 years as she tried to pursue starting a family.
Aniston’s personal life has been under intense scrutiny throughout her career, particularly regarding her romantic relationships.
She was married to actor Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005, with their separation occurring when she was 35 years old.
The split became one of Hollywood’s most talked-about divorces, especially after Pitt began a relationship with Angelina Jolie, with whom he went on to have six children.
The actress has previously addressed claims that her marriage to Pitt ended because she refused to have children, calling such suggestions an ‘absolute lie.’
She has emphasized that she has nothing to hide and questioned why a successful woman without children should face such harsh judgment.
It wasn’t until 2015 that Aniston settled down again, marrying actor Justin Theroux when she was 46 years old.
However, their relationship wasn’t destined to last, and they divorced just three years later in 2018.
“That’s not anybody’s business,” she explained in the interview, acknowledging the deeply private nature of medical struggles regarding motherhood.
However, she noted that eventually she reached a breaking point where she couldn’t continue to ignore the false narrative about her not wanting a baby or family because she was supposedly selfish and work-obsessed.
The actress was refreshingly honest about the impact these assumptions have had on her mental health and well-being.
She acknowledged that the constant speculation and judgment do affect her, reminding everyone that celebrities are human beings too, subject to the same emotions and pain as anyone else facing similar struggles.
Despite the hurt caused by years of mischaracterization, Aniston has found a sense of peace as she’s gotten older.
She’s become less concerned with correcting false narratives, recognizing that in today’s fast-paced media landscape, news cycles move quickly and stories eventually fade away.
She reflected thoughtfully on the balance between wanting to set the record straight and accepting that some battles aren’t worth fighting.
While there are moments when she feels that sense of justice and the need to right a wrong when something untrue has been said about her, she ultimately questions whether it’s necessary to engage with every false story, knowing that her family and friends understand her truth.
The actress also used her Harper’s Bazaar interview to address outdated Hollywood attitudes toward aging women in the entertainment industry.
She dismissed the notion of an expiration date for women as an old ideology that no longer applies in modern society, pointing out that women make up more than half the population and questioning where society would be without them.
She highlighted the extraordinary wisdom and contributions that older women bring to the film world, noting this as one area where genuine progress has been made.
Despite not having biological children of her own, Aniston remains close to the children in her life, serving as godmother to her Friends co-star Courteney Cox’s daughter Coco and maintaining close relationships with the children of other friends in her circle.
Adam Sandler even sends Aniston flowers on Mother’s Day.
In a revealing 2022 interview with Allure magazine, Aniston disclosed for the first time that she had undergone IVF treatment unsuccessfully, describing the baby-making journey as an incredibly challenging road during her late thirties and forties.
She admitted to trying everything imaginable to conceive, including undergoing IVF procedures and drinking Chinese teas, essentially throwing everything she could at the problem in hopes of achieving pregnancy.
Looking back on that difficult period, Aniston expressed that she would have given anything if someone had advised her to freeze her eggs earlier in life, acknowledging that it’s simply not something young women typically think about until it’s too late.
While she recognizes that the ship has now sailed and she’s moved past childbearing age, she maintains she has zero regrets about her journey.
The actress revealed there’s now a sense of relief in no longer having to wonder whether motherhood might still be possible, no longer living with the constant question of ‘maybe’ hanging over her head.
