Jennifer Aniston shared a rare comment on her unsuccessful journey with IVF in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar U.K. In the story, the 56-year-old actress opened up about the impact of pregnancy rumors on her early career, and the difficulties she experienced after her painful struggles with fertility were eventually made public.
Aniston, who became a household name after Friends premiered in 1994, has faced a steady stream of public scrutiny over her personal life, including years of speculation about pregnancy during her relationship and five-year marriage to actor Brad Pitt in the early 2000s. Upon the couple’s divorce in 2005, rumors swirled about the reason for the split, with many blaming Aniston for supposedly prioritizing her acting career over having children.
Aniston reflected on these comments in the Harper’s Bazaar U.K. interview, saying, “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.”
The Morning Show star elaborated further, saying, “[People] 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,” noting that, behind closed doors, she had undergone IVF treatments for years without success.
The actress previously addressed the rumor mill in 2016, during her marriage to actor Justin Theroux, in an op-ed for the Huffington Post about the unfair treatment of female celebrities. “We are complete with or without a mate,” she wrote, “with or without a child.” The pair separated in 2018, after three years of marriage.
Aniston currently stars in The Morning Show, and her next project will be a series based on Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died.
