Jennifer Aniston opened up about her past attempts to conceive a child — and broke her silence on where she stands on having kids now.
“All the years and years and years of speculation … It was really hard,” the actress, 53, explained in an interview with Allure, which was published on Wednesday, November 9. “I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it.”
Aniston continued: “I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ You just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”
The Friends alum recalled being called “selfish” because of her commitment to her job. “I just cared about my career. And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child,” she continued, referring to her marriage with Brad Pitt. “And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldn’t give him a kid. It was absolute lies. I don’t have anything to hide at this point.”
Aniston and Pitt, 58, started dating in 1998 and tied the knot two years later. The former couple surprised fans when they announced their split in 2005 after five years of marriage. At the time, the Just Go With It star addressed the “many stages of grief” that she had dealt with in the aftermath.
“It’s sad, something coming to an end. It cracks you open, in a way — cracks you open to feeling,” she told Vanity Fair in September 2005. When you try to avoid the pain, it creates greater pain. I’m a human being, having a human experience in front of the world. I wish it weren’t in front of the world. I try really hard to rise above it.”
Pitt, for his part, started dating his Mr. and Mrs. Smith costar Angelina Jolie. The pair, who share kids Maddox, 21, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 14, called it quits in 2016 after two years of marriage.
For the Cake actress, going through a public divorce affected her state of mind. “There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening,” she shared with Vogue in 2008 about Pitt and Jolie’s romance. “I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss. That stuff about how she couldn’t wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool.”
Meanwhile, Aniston started dating Justin Theroux after they met on the set of Wanderlust in 2011. They tied the knot in 2015 but separated two years later. Since their split, Theroux, 51, has praised his ability to stay on good terms with the Emmy winner.
“I would say we’ve remained friends. We don’t talk every day, but we call each other. We FaceTime. We text,” the actor told Esquire in April 2021. “Like it or not, we didn’t have that dramatic split, and we love each other. I’m sincere when I say that I cherish our friendship. We can not be together and still bring each other joy and friendship. Also, she makes me laugh very, very hard. She’s a hilarious person. It would be a loss if we weren’t in contact, for me personally. And I’d like to think the same for her.”
During her candid interview on Wednesday, Aniston discussed keeping an open mind about the dating world, adding, “Never say never, but I don’t have any interest. I’d love a relationship. Who knows?”
Scroll down for Aniston’s candid insight into her personal and professional life:
