Perennial star Jennifer Aniston has opened up about work, life and – for the first time – IVF in a wide-ranging and rare interview.
Aniston is the cover girl for the last print issue of Allure magazine, released on Thursday (Australian time).
On the cover, the 53-year-old star wears the itty-bitty Chanel logo “nipplekini” previously worn by supermodels such Eva Herzigova and Stella Tennant. Inside, she poses in vintage designer looks as she gives one of her most in-depth interviews in years.
From the comfort of her Los Angeles home, Aniston delved into her views on social media and the fading light of Hollywood stardom. She also reveals the difficulties intense media speculation during a secret – and long-running – effort to have a baby.
‘Ship has sailed’ : Aniston’s IVF journey
For nearly two decades, magazines pondered ‘is she or isn’t she?’ about Aniston’s pregnancy status.
On Thursday, she revealed for the first time that she had tried throughout her late 30s and 40s to have a baby.
“I was trying to get pregnant. It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” she said.
“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 favour’.
“So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”
Although childless, Aniston said she had “zero regrets” – and even felt relief that it was no longer an issue for her. But she did hit back at the idea she was selfish for not having children, a topic the star also covered in a 2016 Huffington Post article.
“I just cared about my career. And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child. 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.”
Social media headache
Aniston outed herself as a hater of social media – despite her debut on Instagram crashing the platform as users rushed to follow her and like her first photo (a selfie of Aniston with Friends co-stars).
She said she opened the Instagram account only to launch a new haircare line, which was then delayed for two years.
“It’s torture for me. The reason I went on Instagram was to launch this line,” she said.
“It doesn’t come naturally.”
The 53-year-old star linked social media with poor body-image issues, and said she was glad to have grown up without it.
“Look, the internet, great intentions, right? Connect people socially, social networking. It goes back to how young girls feel about themselves, compare and despair.
“I feel the best in who I am today, better than I ever did in my 20s or 30s even, or my mid-40s. We needed to stop saying bad s— to ourselves.
“You’re going to be 65 one day and think, I looked f—ing great at 53.”
Changing nature of stardom
Aniston said celebrities were losing their glamorous sheen. “I’m a little choked up. I feel like it’s dying. There are no more movie stars. There’s no more glamour. Even the Oscar parties used to be so fun.”
Writing ambitions
We might soon hear more of Aniston’s story in her own words, with the actor musing that she will write her own memoir “one day”.
“I’ve spent so many years protecting my story about IVF. I’m so protective of these parts because I feel like there’s so little that I get to keep to myself,” she said.
“The [world] creates narratives that aren’t true, so I might as well tell the truth. I feel like I’m coming out of hibernation. I don’t have anything to hide.”
Tweet from @Allure_magazine
Nostalgic designer threads
With Aniston’s cover story marking the last print edition of Allure, which is going digital, it made sense the magazine would want to go out with a fashionable splash.
Aniston’s garments are a homage to 1990s and early 2000s fashion – suitable for the actor whose meteoric rise to fame was one of the hallmarks of the era in Hollywood.
The star is pictured decked out in a bold 2003 Dior logo belt and a 1997 Gucci G-string.
But perhaps the most striking – and definitely most talked-about – look was that 1996 Chanel micro-bikini top, which is little more than two tiny circles embroidered with Chanel’s logo.
