Jennifer Aniston has opened up about the fallout from her parents’ acrimonious split and the negative impact their divorce has had on her own romantic relationships.
The 54-year-old actress has been married twice herself; first to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005, then to Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2018, but she admits her “difficult” childhood experiences didn’t exactly make her desperate to say “I do.”
“It was always kind of hard for me in relationships, I think, because I was kind of alone,” she explained in an interview with Wall Street Journal.
‘Don’t know. My parents, watching over my family’s relationship, wouldn’t let me say, “Oh, I can’t wait to do that,” she said, referring to her father John Aniston and her mother Nancy Dow.
John, who sadly passed away in November 2022, married Nancy in 1965, but the couple’s relationship ended when Jennifer was just nine years old, and they divorced in 1980.
Jennifer Aniston has opened up about her “difficult” love life in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal
The Friends star admitted it’s still a ‘challenge’ for her to be open about what she wants and needs in a relationship
The 54-year-old actress (seen in a childhood photo with her parents) famously had a rocky relationship with her mother Nancy Dow and father John Aniston
Love from the past: The Friends star was married to fellow actor Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005
Speaking about the long-term effects their tumultuous divorce had on her own romantic relationships, the Friends star admitted that it felt “easier” just to be alone.
“I didn’t like the idea of sacrificing who you were or what you needed, so I didn’t really know how to do that,” she said, before adding, “So it was almost easier to just kind of to be solo. So I had no real training in that give and take.’
These days, the Around Came Polly star is focused on making sure she doesn’t sacrifice her own desires to please someone else.
“It’s about not being afraid to say what you need and what you want. And it’s still a challenge for me in a relationship,” Jennifer explained.
“I’m really good at every other job I have, and that’s about the only area that’s kind of…” she added before walking off, joking that her dog is who she “sleeps” with.
Jennifer’s comments come just weeks after it was revealed she’s leaning on her ex-husband Justin for support as she continues to mourn the loss of her father.
The Morning Show star was left deeply saddened by the death of her father, Days of Our Lives star John, who passed away last November at the age of 89.
Internal sources told DailyMail.com that her long-running battle with grief helped the actress stick to a close-knit support system, including some of her father’s former co-stars on the long-running soap opera.
Single lady: Jennifer said it felt ‘easier’ to be alone and ‘just be a little bit solo’
Former Couple: Jennifer was married to Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2018
Daddy’s girl: Jennifer pictured with her father John Aniston, who sadly passed away in November 2022
Before: Jennifer’s mother Nancy Dow was married to John from 1965 to 1980
Justin was also a good source of comfort, with the actor calling her almost every day to comfort her, insiders said.
The couple married in 2015 after four years of dating and shocked fans when they announced their separation just two years later.
Despite their split, the two have stated that they still maintain a close relationship and occasionally celebrate birthdays and holidays together.
In a rare, candid interview earlier this year, Justin himself revealed that the exes still keep in touch via text, FaceTime, and phone calls.
Jennifer is also said to be on good terms with her first husband Brad, who married Angelina Jolie in 2014. The couple have six children and Angelina filed for divorce in September 2016, with the couple being declared legally single in April 2019.
Brad and Jennifer reunited onscreen for the first time in decades in September 2020 when they joined a star-studded table reading the 1982 film Fast Times At Ridgemont High during lockdown via Zoom.
Speaking of their reunion the following year while appearing on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, Jennifer said, “It was definitely fun.
“You know, Brad and I are friends. For example, we are friends and we speak,” she added.
Throwback: Jennifer pictured as a young girl with her father John, who starred in Days of our Lives
Made up: Jennifer had a strained relationship with John in the past, but they had grown closer before his death in 2022
Jennifer’s divorce from Brad in 2005 prompted her to reach out to her mother Nancy, despite having been estranged from her for nearly a decade.
The mother and daughter did not speak for six years after Nancy wrote a book about their relationship in 1999 entitled From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir.
Prior to that, Jennifer had a strained relationship with her father, who left home when she was just nine years old.
In a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she revealed that one day she asked her father why he left her mother, but said he explained terribly well what had broken their family.
He’s not a good communicator. Maybe if my parents had talked more. There were signs, but knowing my father, he probably didn’t say anything,” Jennifer said at the time.
“But my father explained and apologized as best he could, and that’s enough. We made it up. There are still parts that are hard for me, but I’m an adult. I can’t blame my parents anymore,” she added.