Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aniston and Theroux announce split to ‘reduce further speculation’

Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux said they were announcing their split after less than three years of marriage in order to cease speculation over their relationship.

The Hollywood stars said on Thursday they would continue their “cherished friendship” and would maintain “the deep respect and love” they had for each other.

The rumour mill had been swirling with speculation prior to the announcement, with occasions being detailed where the couple were apparently not side-by-side.

Aniston was shown celebrating her 49th birthday on Sunday with female friends including Courtney Cox, rather than with Theroux.

There had also been reports that Aniston was spending much of her time in Los Angeles, while Theroux was in New York.

Publications also detailed an apparent last-ditch attempt to save their marriage with a holiday to Mexico in January.

🏹…❤️✌️

A post shared by @ justintheroux on

In a joint statement, the pair announced they were splitting out of a “mutual and lovingly” made decision brokered at the end of last year.

“In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation,” they said.

“We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship.

“Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly.”

The 87th Academy Awards – Arrivals – Los Angeles
Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston in 2015 (Ian West/PA)

The Friends star and the Mulholland Drive actor married in August 2015, having become engaged three years earlier. They do not have children.

Aniston, who previously wed Brad Pitt, had recently hit out at gossip culture, telling Marie Claire: “My marital status has been shamed, my divorce status was shamed, my lack of a mate had been shamed, my nipples have been shamed.

“It’s like, why are we only looking at women through this particular lens of picking us apart? Why are we listening to it? I just thought: I have worked too hard in this life and this career to be whittled down to a sad, childless human.”

But their wishes that rumours will cease seem not to have been heeded with those on social media already speculating Aniston and Pitt could reunite.