Former Friends star Jennifer Aniston opened up in a new interview about her fertility struggles and how she underwent IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatment in an attempt to get pregnant.
Aniston, 53, made the comments to Allure in a story published Wednesday after years of avoiding questions regarding why she never started a family.
"My late 30s, 40s, I'd gone through really hard s***, and if it wasn't for going through that, I would've never become who I was meant to be," Aniston told the magazine. "I was trying to get pregnant.
"All the years and years and years of speculation....It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it. 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 actress, who currently plays Alex Levy on the acclaimed Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, was married to Brad Pitt for five years until 2005. She dated actor Justin Theroux for years before their 2015 marriage. In early 2018, the couple announced they had separated at the end of 2017.
The media's attention on whether or not Aniston was interested in starting a family led to her writing an op-ed for the Huffington Post in 2016.
"For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up," Aniston wrote. "I'm fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of 'journalism,' the 'First Amendment' and 'celebrity news.'"
While Aniston has seemingly closed the door on starting a family, she didn't rule out another marriage when the topic was broached by Allure.
"Never say never, but I don't have any interest," she said when asked if she would ever marry again. "I'd love a relationship. Who knows? There are moments I want to just crawl up in a ball and say, 'I need support.' It would be wonderful to come home and fall into somebody's arms and say, 'That was a tough day.'"
Also in the magazine story, Aniston discussed the enduring appeal of Friends, which enjoyed an immensely popular 10-season run on NBC that began in 1994.
"There are people who say that watching Friends has saved them during cancer diagnosis, or so many people with just so much gratitude for a little show," Aniston said. "We really loved each other and we took care of each other. I don't know why it still resonates; there are no iPhones. It's just people talking to each other. Nobody talks to each other anymore."
Newsweek reached out to Aniston for further comment.
Update 11/9/22, 9:45 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more