Alex Carson
Jennifer Anniston has been an A-list celebrity since the early days of Friends, joining her 5 other lead castmates as the toasts of Hollywood, and a major part of pop culture and entertainment in the 1990’s and beyond. But Jen has perhaps spent the most time on the cover of the tabloids, in no small part because of the seeming obsession the world has over her love life. She’s had romances with the likes of Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux, and her romantic life seems to have gotten as much attention in the last couple of decades as her professional life. And one element that has seemed to dog Jennifer in these years was the fact that she not only hadn’t settled down with one person for the long haul, but that she hasn’t had any children. Many people have assumed that she just didn’t want kids, or perhaps she was waiting for the right man. But recently Jen has been quite candid about her struggle with fertility, and how she’s actually tried for a long time to have kids. It just hasn’t panned out for her. This sad revelation puts a new twist on the way people are discussing Aniston and her romantic life, as more people are finding empathy for her, rather than cruelly gossiping about her lack of a family. Join Facts Verse, as we present: Jennifer Aniston Reveals Sad Reason She Doesn’t Have Kids.
Aniston’s Recent Interview
In a recent interview with Allure, Jennifer Aniston was incredibly candid about her difficult journey through dating, as well as her attempts to have children. She spoke about her years married to Brad Pitt, and how the media portrayed her and their relationship with Pitt as vastly different than things actually were. But perhaps most revealing, she admitted that she desperately wanted to start a family with Pitt, but that they had difficulty conceiving. She revealed that, like so many people around the world, she tried various fertility treatments over the course of her relationship with Pitt. Aniston said she not only tried non=traditional methods like Chinese teas, but the more western route of IVF. And while IVF is a method that often can bring fertility to couples struggling to conceive, it isn’t a sure thing. Clearly Aniston was one of those unlucky women for whom IVF wasn’t a solution. She also said that she regretted not freezing eggs when she was younger. But apparently that wasn’t something she was advised to do at any point, and she feels regret about it. She said she wished that at some point she’s been given the advice to “do yourself a favor” and freeze eggs. These revelations were a new component to the story that many people have been curious about for years.
Aniston’s battle against the media
Jennifer Aniston has long been on the cover of magazines, and written about extensively since the days of playing Rachel Green on the mega-sensation that was Friends. The sheer amount of words written and spoken about her particular hairstyle should tell you about the level of fame she achieved, and the amount of scrutiny she received. This was never truer than in the case of her lack of a family. There was constant speculation about why she hadn’t decided to finally settle down, get married and have kids. And then even when she did get married – from 2000 to 2005 to Brad Pitt – there were constant questions about why the two hadn’t had kids yet. This was fairly upsetting to Jennifer, who, at the time, was doing everything she could to conceive. Yet stories in the media kept insisting that it was because Aniston didn’t want children, or that she was too focused on her career, and selfish, to be bothered. And while that wasn’t the case for Jen, she also mentioned in her Allure interview that even if that HAD been the case, that wouldn’t have been a bad thing. Said Aniston sarcastically, “God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child.” But that wasn’t even the case for her. She and Pitt were doing all they could to have a child, but things weren’t working. She even wrote a piece in 2016 for the Huffington Post that slammed the way she and her husband at the time, Justin Theroux, were being harassed by paparazzi. And in particular, she was speaking out against the constant speculation and harassment she was given over whether or not she was pregnant. (At the time, new rumors had come up that she was pregnant.) Wrote Aniston, “The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing.”
Her relationship with Pitt
Aniston was equally frustrated by the way that the media portrayed her split with Pitt. There were myriad stories when the two were separating and getting divorced that mischaracterized the situation. They had originally met in 1994, though they didn’t start to date until four years later. Then they tied the knot in 2000, and enjoyed a few years of happy marriage. Eventually, however, the marriage didn’t work out. But, as Aniston revealed, it was not because she was refusing to give him a child. Despite rampant speculation that this was the cause of their break up, Aniston revealed that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact it appears she was doing everything she could to have a child with Pitt. When the two officially separated in 2004, they actually released a joint statement that attempted to clear up all the misconceptions about why things didn’t work out between them. They first said that their reasons for splitting were totally different than anything that was being reported in the media. Instead, it came from a time of “thoughtful consideration” and the two had love and respect for each other.
Aniston has found peace
Throughout Jennifer’s frustrating journey towards trying to have children, she had to suffer through the emotional rollercoaster of the process. It can be a grueling one, even without constant scrutiny from fans and people in the media. Many women feel a strong sense of their identity is connected to having children, and their ability to do so. As such, part of the torment of infertility is that it is not only grueling physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well. So, if there’s one silver lining about it for Aniston, it’s that she no longer is in a space where she’s constantly trying ‘fix’ the problem. Because of that, she has found a sense of relief in her situation. She said in her interview that she doesn’t have any regrets about trying, but that she also feels ok about not having children. She said she feels some relief because she doesn’t have to think and stress about it any longer. She can continue to live her life and move forward. She even told Allure that she feels better now than she did in her earlier decades. And that we all tend to say negative things to ourselves, and that we should quit doing that.
Other celebs who have gone through IVF
Aniston is far from the only celebrity to have had fertility issues and have tried IVF. It’s a very common (albeit expensive) process, so it’s likely there are a ton of people in Hollywood who have tried it. For example, her former costar, Courtney Cox, has revealed her struggles with fertility. While filming Friends, she reportedly had several unexplained miscarriages. She eventually turned to IVF, and after the second try was able to get pregnant and have a daughter. Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, also went the the IVF process. They tried twice, but unfortunately it didn’t work either time. So they transitioned their efforts into adoption. They’ve adopted two kids since then, and have a wonderful and happy family. They’ve also become advocates for adoption in the years since then.
Khloe Kardashian is currently dealing with fertility issues, as many viewers saw on her show, Kourtney & Kim Take Miami. While her uterine lining is apparently not thick enough, she is still in the process of trying IVF.
Sarah Jessica Parker had issues getting pregnant a second time, after conceiving naturally with her first child. This is an issue known as secondary infertility. By that point, she was already 40, and there were more inherent risks involved with going through IVF. So she opted to go the surrogacy route. That was successful, and she ended up with twins! Nicole Kidman, on the other hand, opted for the 40+ IVF process, despite the inherent risks involved. Fortunately for her, it was successful!
Emma Thompson gave birth in 1999 after having gone through the IVF process. She characterized the journey as an intensely emotional one, but certainly for her and husband Greg Wise, it was well worth it. And while she had her daughter via IVF, she ended up adopting her son in later years.
Infertility issues are quite common all over the world. And yet they remain somewhat of a taboo topic. It seems that people are happy to simply speculate that someone who doesn’t have children doesn’t want one, or that they are too career-focused, or selfish. And Jennifer Aniston is a prime example of someone who was earnestly trying to have children, but simply couldn’t. Yet she’s been hounded for years about the topic. Hopefully the stigma of fertility treatments and infertility will be removed as more people feel comfortable enough to share their journey. Now it’s time to hear from you. Were you surprised to find out that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were trying to have kids when they were married, but that their fertility treatments didn’t work? Should Aniston receive any apologies from tabloids or specific journalists who wrote nasty things about her? Let us know in the comments section below!
