Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston has revealed that she endured a 20-year private battle to have a child, putting to rest long-standing rumors that she chose career over motherhood.
The Friends actress, 56, made the emotional revelation in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK for its November issue, addressing the “false narrative” that she didn’t want children because she was a “selfish workaholic.”
Speaking candidly, Jennifer said:
“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. 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.”
The actress admitted that the constant speculation over her private life took an emotional toll.
“It does affect me — I’m just a human being. We’re all human beings. That’s why I thought, ‘What the hell?’” she added.
Over time, however, Aniston said she has learned not to let such stories define her.
“The older I get, the less I feel the need to correct a false narrative. The news cycle is so fast, it just goes away. Of course, there are times when I feel that sense of justice — when something has been said that isn’t true and I need to right the wrong. And then I think, do I really? My family knows my truth, my friends know my truth.”
Jennifer was married to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005, before their highly publicized split following his relationship with Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
In 2022, Aniston opened up for the first time about her unsuccessful IVF journey, revealing that she wished she had frozen her eggs earlier in life.
“It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” she said. “My late 30s, 40s, I’d gone through really hard stuff, and if it wasn’t for going through that, I would’ve never become who I was meant to be. I was trying to get pregnant. I was throwing everything at it — IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ But you just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed. But I have zero regrets.”
Jennifer was 35 when she and Brad split. At the time, she called the suggestion that he left her because she didn’t want children “an absolute lie.”
Brad later went on to have six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne — with Angelina Jolie before their separation in 2016, following allegations of abuse during a private flight. Reports now claim Brad has “virtually no contact” with his children.
Aniston later married actor Justin Theroux in 2015, but the couple divorced three years later. In March 2025, Justin reportedly remarried in a private ceremony to actress Nicole Brydon Bloom.
Despite her past struggles, Jennifer Aniston continues to embrace peace and gratitude, choosing to focus on her career, friendships, and personal growth rather than the pressures of public expectation.
