Jennifer Aniston opens up about 20-year struggle to have kids

Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston has opened up about her 20-year fertility journey, shedding light on why she never had children.

The 56-year-old star revealed she has faced relentless speculation about her decision not to start a family with some critics unfairly labeling her a “selfish workaholic”.

The Moring Wars star was married to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005 before rumors started swirling during their divorce that they split because Aniston prioritised her career over having a baby.

But that narrative, she said, couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Behind the scenes, Aniston was quietly undergoing IVF treatments, all while enduring the emotional toll of constant public scrutiny.

In a candid interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Friends star shared details of her deeply personal journey, breaking her silence on the painful battle she has faced in private for so many years.

“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.

“Because I don’t go out there and tell them my medical woes.”

The 56-year-old actress has dodged pregnancy rumors with grace for decades and she’s playfully brushed off the public pressure to become a mother on many occasions.

However, she had been undergoing IVF treatments for years that were unsuccessful.

“That’s not anybody’s business. 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,” she continued.

“It does affect me — I’m just a human being. We’re all human beings. That’s why I thought, ‘What the hell?’”

Aniston said she decided to speak out “because 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.”

“The older I get, the less I care about correcting a narrative because it will happen eventually,” she said.

“My family knows my truth, my friends know my truth.”

Aniston and Pitt split after five years of marriage, shortly after he met Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith.

Pitt and Jolie began their relationship in 2005, eventually marrying in 2014. They share six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne. The couple later divorced in 2019.

Aniston went on to marry Justin Theroux before they divorced in 2018.

In September, Aniston shared a carousel of pictures on Instagram titled “Thank you Summer”, which included a snap of her rumoured new boyfriend, Jim Curtis.