Jennifer Aniston has revealed she tried IVF in an attempt to get pregnant but has “zero regrets” now that “ship has sailed”.
In an interview with Allure magazine, the Friends actress, 53, also branded suggestions her marriage ended because she did not want to have children as “absolute lies”.
Aniston, best known as Rachel Green in the hit NBC sitcom, appeared on the cover of the magazine in a risque series of revealing designer outfits.
Discussing the effect media scrutiny has had on her over the years, she said: “I would say my late 30s, 40s, I’d gone through really hard shit, and if it wasn’t for going through that, I would’ve never become who I was meant to be.
“That’s why I have such gratitude for all those shitty things. Otherwise, I would’ve been stuck being this person that was so fearful, so nervous, so unsure of who they were. And now, I don’t fucking care.”
Aniston said she had been “trying to get pregnant” during that time.
“It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” she added.
“All the years and years and years of speculation… It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it.
“I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ You just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”
Adding that she has “zero regrets”, Aniston continued: “I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’ I don’t have to think about that anymore.”
Aniston married Brad Pitt in 2000 and they divorced five years later. She was with Justin Theroux from 2011 to 2018 and they married in 2015.
Aniston said there was a “narrative that I was just selfish” and that she only cared about her career.
“And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child,” she added.
“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. I don’t have anything to hide at this point.”