She rose to prominence playing Rachel Green in one of the most-loved American sitcoms
of all time and then went on to prove herself as a movie star, but Jennifer Aniston has
unfairly become just as well-known for her love life as she has for her career achievements.
Aniston makes no secret of her distrust of the press, but the actress has occasionally
opened up about her complicated past relationships.
From cheating rumors to fabricated baby dramas, here are Jennifer Aniston's most painful confessions.
Believing Brad
During an illuminating interview with Vanity Fair in 2005, a newly separated Aniston made
a shocking claim about her split from actor Brad Pitt, she had no idea that Pitt might
have cheated on her with his soon-to-be-girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.
Aniston claims that when she and Pitt released their joint statement about why they were
parting ways, she believed what he said was true.
Not long after the divorce was announced, Pitt and Jolie were photographed frolicking
together on exotic beaches.
The sight was somewhat of a slap in the face to Aniston, who'd gone out of her way to defend
her ex when he was accused of being unfaithful.
Aniston told Vanity Fair,
"I can't say it was one of the highlights of my year.
Who would deal with that and say, 'Isn't that sweet!
That looks like fun!'?"
Stages of grief
Aniston has been romantically linked to a number of other Hollywood stars over the years,
though she's made separating fact from fiction rather difficult by keeping her personal business
as far from the press as possible.
But one thing's for sure, she knows a thing or two about a breakup.
When it comes to coping with a failed relationship, Aniston admits that there are different stages
one must go through to heal.
As she told Vanity Fair in 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."
The actress insisted she was proud of how well she'd managed to cope, but she was clearly
in a dark place after her very public divorce from Pitt, admitting,
"Am I lonely?
Yes.
Am I upset?
Yes.
Am I confused?
Yes."
Can't force it
Both parties have to be on the same page for a relationship to function, and this just
wasn't the case with Aniston and Pitt.
As she revealed to Vanity Fair,
"You can't force a relationship, even if it's your view of how you would like it to be conducted."
The actress met Justin Theroux on the set of the 2012 comedy Wanderlust and married
him in a secret L.A. ceremony in August 2015, according to the BBC.
In February 2018, they released a joint divorce statement, so what happened this time?
According to People magazine, sources claimed Theroux didn't want to give up New York for
Los Angeles, and Aniston found life "miserable" in NYC.
The insider revealed,
"They couldn't find common ground that made them both happy.
It became exhausting and frustrating."
Scrutiny and obsession
Aniston finally took aim at the press in a powerful essay for The Huffington Post in
2016.
In a no-holds-barred piece, she called out the public's ludicrous obsession with her
relationship status and whether or not she'd ever be a mom.
She wrote, in part,
"The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover
whether or not I am pregnant [points] to the perpetuation of this notion that women are
somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they're not married with children."
Aniston was clearly over it, and wanted to make it completely clear that who she is as
a woman and actor is far more than the narrow scope through which women are viewed in a
highly misogynistic society.
She went on to say,
"Yes, I may become a mother someday.
[...] But I'm not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way, as
our celebrity news culture would lead us all to believe."
Double standard
Aniston's relationship with the press has always been a complicated one, and she has
argued that she wouldn't be reported on in the same way if she were a man.
She told InStyle in 2018,
"When a couple breaks up in Hollywood, it's the woman who is scorned.
The woman is left sad and alone.
She's the failure.
F that.
When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?"
To her annoyance, the rumors that plagued her when she and Pitt divorced were recycled
after she and Theroux called it quits.
She added,
"The misconceptions are 'Jen can't keep a man,' and 'Jen refuses to have a baby because
she's selfish and committed to her career.'"
Aniston's publicist even had to come out and deny reports she was using Pitt as a shoulder
to cry on, calling the story "a complete fabrication."
True to form, Aniston didn't go into much detail about her separation from Theroux,
but what she did say spoke volumes, and generated headlines everywhere:
"First, with all due respect, I'm not heartbroken.
And second, those are reckless assumptions.
No one knows what's going on behind closed doors."