From The Beginning
Jennifer Aniston has been under scrutiny most of her life. Born to actors Nancy Dow and John Aniston, she has always felt the pressure of fame on her shoulders.
She always felt like she needed to live up to her parents' standards and reputation, and she was very afraid of not making it in Hollywood once she started acting. As we all know, however, she did extremely well and in fact became more famous than her parents combined.
Her Big Break
As most people know, Aniston's big break came with Friends, one of the most successful shows of the 1990s. While the whole cast was popular, she stood out for her charisma and her iconic hairstyle, which was known as "the Rachel" because of her character on the show.
Ever since the show took off, Aniston has been the subject of hundreds of tabloids and her relationships have always been the main focus of rumors about her. None of her relationships has received as much attention as her first marriage.
Finding Love
A year after the first season of Friends was released, Aniston began dating actor Tate Donovan. Things got pretty serious between the two and they were together for almost four years.
Donovan even had a guest role for a season of the show playing Aniston's love interest. The two got engaged in 1997, but the wedding never happened. However, Aniston met her first husband shortly after breaking up with Donovan.
Meeting Brad Pitt
In 1998, shortly after her breakup with Tate Donovan, Aniston met Brad Pitt. The two hit it off right away, and the media quickly noticed there was something going on between them. From the very first day they started dating, the media was all over them.
This amount of publicity was certainly good for their careers, but it also took a toll on their relationship. People wanted to know about their every move, and it wasn't long before rumors started spreading about them.
The Perfect Match
Pitt and Aniston seemed like the perfect match. The two were extremely attractive, charismatic, successful actors that graced the cover of every magazine. It was no surprise that, when they announced their engagement, people went crazy.
The two got married in July 2000 and had the most expensive celebrity wedding at that time. Not long after they said their vows, people were wondering when they would add a baby to their family.
Rumors
The newlyweds couldn't even have their honeymoon before pregnancy rumors started circulating. Gossip magazines constantly talked about the couple having kids, when they were going to have them, what gender they would be, etc.
Meanwhile, Aniston and Pitt just wanted to live their lives. No matter how hard they tried to ignore people, however, it eventually took a toll on their relationship. The fake pregnancy rumors in particular were really hard for Aniston to handle.
It's Her Life
Aniston could not stand hearing people talking about her marriage, something so private that is only her and her husband's business. Not only that, but if she was wearing baggy clothes or looked a little bloated, people were already saying she was pregnant.
We don't know what went on behind the scenes but the truth is, it was nobody's business. Whether Pitt and Aniston wanted kids was something very personal. They had to put up with those rumors for five years, until other scandals got in the way of their marriage.
The Divorce
When Pitt and Aniston announced their divorce in 2005, the tabolids went crazy. As you may remember, Pitt started dating Angelina Jolie not long after his divorce, and people always speculated that they had been dating while Pitt was still married to Aniston.
Others blamed their divorce on their lack of children. There were always rumors that they broke up because Aniston wanted children and Pitt didn't, and also the other way around. According to them, things just weren't working out.
Haunted
Going through a divorce is hard on everyone, but doing so in the spotlight can be even harder. On top of that, Aniston was haunted by the same thing yet again: children.
It seemed as though no matter what she did, who she dated, where she was or what she said, the conversation always circled back to the same topic: why she didn't have children. At this point, she was beyond tired.
The Same Question
Whenever people asked her why she didn't have kids yet, Aniston always gave the same answer: it isn't the right time. What is so hard to understand about that? After all, that's how most people feel about the same question anyway.
Aniston felt like, because she was reaching her 40s, people expected her to be a wife and a mother but to her that never really mattered that much. It's not like she didn't want it to happen, but it just wasn't the right time.
Finding Love Again
After her highly-publicized divorce, Aniston dated a few celebrities such as Vince Vaughn and John Mayer, each relationship lasting one year. It wasn't until she met Justin Theroux that things really changed for her.
The two had an instant connection and got engaged a year after they started dating. Of course, they weren't immune to the media, which was all over them and watched their every move.
Same Thing Again
Now that Aniston was engaged again, speculation about her having kids became more and more intense. Tabloids were always making up fake pregnancy and breakup stories while Aniston and Theroux just wanted to live their lives.
Another thing that had people talking was the fact that the couple got engaged in 2012 but hadn't set a date for the wedding. Some even claimed that their relationship wasn't working out and that's why they weren't getting married.
Waiting For The Right Time
The reason why Aniston and Theroux took three years to tie the knot was the same reason why Aniston hadn't had kids at that point: they were waiting for the right time. The thing is, "the right time" is not the same for everyone.
Aniston was tired of people expecting her to get married and have babies just because she was of a certain age. Nobody has the right to say when a person is or isn't ready for something other than themselves, right?
Her Biological Clock
One of the reasons why people were so invested in whether Aniston had kids or not was because of her age. She was 40 at the time she began dating Theroux and, as some might say, her "biological clock" was ticking.
While this may be a problem for regular women, is it really an issue for the rich and famous? After all, there are many ways to have children. Thanks to modern medicine, people have freeze their eggs, use a surrogate, or just go for the good old adoption route.
Breaking Up
Aniston and Theroux tied the knot in 2015 and were married for two years. When the two announced their split, Aniston's mind went back 12 years before to her first divorce and everything she went through.
After 12 years, people were now saying the same things about her: that they broke up because one of them wanted children and the other one didn't, that one of them cheated, etc. This time, she had enough.
Speaking Up
Aniston's strategy when she was divorcing Brad Pitt was to just stay quiet and let rumors die down. This time around, however, she realized that this cycle was going to keep taking place unless she did something about it.
She decided to stop being quiet and speak up for herself and for other women in her situation. There is nothing wrong with women who have no husband and no children, and this type of thinking needs to be left in the past.
Sexism
In Aniston's opinion, the whole issue was rooted in sexism. She felt that it was only women who were scrutinized and questioned for not having children, while men choose not to have kids all the time and nobody bats an eye.
She did an interview with InStyle where she said: > " "The misconceptions are 'Jen can't keep a man,' and 'Jen refuses to have a baby because she's selfish and committed to her career.Still, there's nothing wrong with not having kids."
Not Damaged
She went on to say: > "There is a pressure on women to be mothers, and if they are not, then they're deemed damaged goods. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn't to procreate. Maybe I have other things I'm supposed to do."
Even though her words inspired many women, they didn't stop the tabloids from making up rumors about her. In 2018, she spoke about the issue once more. Can't she catch a break?
Happiness
In an interview with Elle, she said: > "What quantifies happiness in someone's life isn't the ideal that was created in the '50s. It's not like you hear that narrative about any men."
And she definitely has a point. While society gives us a prototype of the "ideal" life, everyone's definition of happiness is different. While some may find happiness in a family or a marriage, others are happy living different lives.
Changes
Sadly, the gossip world is still the same as it was 20 years ago. However, what has changed is Aniston's attitude towards the celebrity world. She now isn't afraid of speaking up and standing up for herself and other women in her situation.
In her own words: > "We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies."