Jennifer Aniston is shutting down the widespread “narrative” about why she hasn’t started a family throughout her years in the spotlight.
The 56-year-old Friends alum addressed the speculation about her private life in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, published Wednesday, October 8.
“They didn’t know my story, or what I’d been going through over the past 20 years to try to pursue a family, because I don’t go out there and tell them my medical woes,” Aniston said of the commentary. “That’s not anybody’s business. But there comes a point when you can’t not hear it – the narrative about how I won’t have a baby, won’t have a family, because I’m selfish, a workaholic.”
Though she’s no newcomer to Hollywood, Aniston admitted that she’s still affected by the chatter. “I’m just a human being,” she explained. “We’re all human beings. That’s why I thought, ‘What the hell?’”
Aniston previously opened up about going through the IVF process, telling Allure in 2022, “All the years and years and years of speculation … It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it.
She continued, “I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ You just don’t think [about] it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”
At the time, Aniston pushed back at the idea that not starting a family is “selfish,” saying, “I just cared about my career. And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child.”
While speaking to Harper’s Bazaar UK, the actress shared further insight into why she wanted to share her story. “I knew a lot of women at the time who were trying to have kids, who were dealing with IVF. So it did feel like it was not only for myself, but for any women who were struggling with the same issue,” she said.
The Morning Show star — who was married to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005 and to Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2018 — still has big dreams when it comes to her career, and she shows no signs of slowing down.
“The societal idea of an expiration date just doesn’t exist anymore – it’s an old ideology,” she told the outlet of creating space and opportunity for older women in the entertainment industry. “We’re here and we’re more than half the population … and would any of you schmucks be here if it weren’t for us anyway?”
Aniston went on to praise the impact of her Morning Show costar Reese Witherspoon and other contemporaries, including Sandra Bullock, as being among the biggest trailblazers. “I’m not going to take credit for blazing anything!” she teased. “All of these women who have been here, and are still here, have been examples of what we are capable of. So if we are trailblazers, I will gladly wear that with honor.”
Along with celebrating her career successes, Aniston has found love again with boyfriend Jim Curtis. The couple went Instagram official in September, two months after Us Weekly confirmed their romance.
“Her friends are always trying to set her up, and she usually laughs it off and doesn’t take it seriously,” an insider exclusively revealed in July. “Jim felt different, and she decided to give it a shot.”
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