Jennifer Aniston on the Pressure to Have Kids: 'Maybe My Purpose on This Planet Isn't to Procreate'
Jennifer Aniston is many things—a successful actor, a supportive friend, a Smartwater spokesperson—but a heartbroken, lonely woman isn’t one of them.
In a new interview for the September issue of InStyle, Aniston opened up to close friend and Jimmy Kimmel Live! producer Molly McNearney about how, following her public split from husband Justin Theroux in February, she faced an extreme and unfair amount of scrutiny from the public.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Aniston said of the callous headlines that appeared following her divorce. “The misconceptions are ‘Jen can’t keep a man,’ and ‘Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career.’ Or that I’m sad and heartbroken.”
She also pointed out that this misconception about women—unmarried, childless women in particular—of a certain age just doesn’t exist for men. “Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff,” Aniston said. “When a couple breaks up in Hollywood, it’s the woman who is scorned. The woman is left sad and alone. She’s the failure. F that. When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?”
And this scrutiny about her personal life isn’t just cruel, it’s misinformed. “No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors,” she said. “No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. They don’t know what I’ve been through medically or emotionally. There is a pressure on women to be mothers, and if they are not, then they’re deemed damaged goods. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate. Maybe I have other things I’m supposed to do?”
While the intense attention from fans and media has been challenging for the star, she remembers to take it all in stride. “For the most part I can sit back and laugh at the ridiculous headlines because they have gotten more and more absurd. I guess they’re feeding into some sort of need the public has, but I focus on my work, my friends, my animals, and how we can make the world a better place. That other stuff is junk food that needs to go back in its drawer.”
Amen.
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