Jennifer Aniston opens up about private 20-year journey to motherhood

Jennifer Aniston has shared that she endured a private, two-decade-long struggle to start a family, addressing persistent rumors that she chose not to have children because she was a “selfish workaholic.”

The Friends star, 56, spoke candidly in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, explaining that her personal fertility challenges were never public knowledge.

“They didn’t know my story or what I’d been going through over the past 20 years to try to pursue a family,” Aniston said. “I don’t go out there and tell people my medical woes. 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. It does affect me, I’m just a human being.”

Aniston recounted the difficult process, including IVF treatments and other attempts to conceive, reflecting on the challenges she faced during her late 30s and 40s.

“All the years and years of speculation… it was really hard,” she said. “I was trying to get pregnant and throwing everything at it.” Despite the struggles, she emphasized having no regrets about her journey.

The actress has been married twice: to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005, and to Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2018. She previously addressed false claims that her split from Pitt was linked to not having children, calling the idea “an absolute lie.”

Aniston also spoke about aging in Hollywood and the misconceptions surrounding women in their 50s.

“The societal idea of an expiration date just doesn’t exist anymore, it’s an old ideology,” she said. “The wisdom older women have to contribute is extraordinary, and we’ve seen genuine progress in the film world.”

On her personal life, Aniston recently confirmed a new romance with hypnotist Jim Curtis, describing their connection as “a meeting of minds” rooted in shared values and emotional intelligence.