Jennifer Aniston has revealed the extent of her fertility struggles in a new interview, describing a 20-year journey with IVF that she kept private while facing public scrutiny over her child-free status. The actress, best known for her role in Friends, first detailed her 'challenging' IVF experience in 2022 but has now elaborated on the emotional toll of the process.
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, Aniston explained why she decided to correct the narrative after years of speculation about her personal life. '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,' she said. '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.'
The actress faced persistent pregnancy rumours and body-shaming during her marriage to Brad Pitt, which ended in 2005, and was later accused of prioritising work over starting a family. In a separate interview with Allure, Aniston addressed similar pressures during her second marriage to Justin Theroux, which ended in 2018. 'God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child. And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldn’t give him a kid. It was absolute lies,' she said.
Aniston shared that she felt compelled to speak out not only for herself but for other women facing similar struggles. 'I knew a lot of women at the time who were trying to have kids, who were dealing with IVF. So it did feel like it was not only for myself, but for any women who were struggling with the same issue,' she told Harper's Bazaar.
