Jennifer Aniston has further opened up about struggling with starting a family for 20 years, and the media scrutiny that has come with it.
She had written an op-ed about it
The Friends alum spoke to Harper’s Bazaar in an interview published on Thursday, October 9, explaining why she wrote her op-ed for The Huffington Post in 2016.
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She had written about the media scrutiny she faced over the years about whether she was pregnant.
Aniston said she was misunderstood
“They didn’t know my story, or what I’d been going through over the past 20 years to try to pursue a family, because I don’t go out there and tell them my medical woes,” the 56-year-old actress said.
“That’s not anybody’s business.”
But she got fed up with it
Explaining why she wrote the op-ed, Aniston added, “But there comes a point when you can’t not hear it — the narrative about how I won’t have a baby, won’t have a family, because I’m selfish, a workaholic.”
“It does affect me — I’m just a human being. We’re all human beings. That’s why I thought, ‘What the hell?’”
She wanted to be a voice for other women
The actress said she spoke up about it in order to be a voice for others who might be in the same situation as herself.
Aniston added that she knew a lot of people trying to have kids and build a family who also had to deal with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
She doesn’t like being asked about having kids
“So it did feel like it was not only for myself, but for any women who were struggling with the same issue,” the star explained.
Back in 2016, Aniston also told People that she gets asked about having kids more often than she would like.
It was always a question in interviews
“It’s not something that’s in our everyday life, quite honestly. It’s more questions that arise in a red carpet line or in an interview,” Aniston shared at the time.
“I just find it to be energy that is unnecessary and not really fair for those who may or may not [have children].”
Aniston believes the question is too personal
“Who knows what the reason is, why people aren’t having kids. There’s a lot of reasons that could be, and maybe it’s something that no one wants to discuss,” Aniston went on.
She added, “It’s everyone’s personal prerogative, that’s all.”
