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Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Brand Image 

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Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Brand Image 

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Mukherjee, D. (2009). Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Brand Image. SSRN Electronic Journal.

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Awkward! Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston avoid each other at Critics Choice Awards

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Awkward! Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston avoid each other at Critics Choice Awards

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Jennifer Aniston attend the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actors Justin Theroux (L) and Jennifer Aniston attend the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actress/director Angelina Jolie attends the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actress Jennifer Aniston attends the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Director Angelina Jolie attends the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actors Angelina Jolie (L) and Eddie Redmayne attend the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actress/director Angelina Jolie attends the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actors Jennifer Aniston (L) and Justin Theroux during the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium

Actresses Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston shared their first red carpet in six years.

Hollywood might be a small town and the 'love rivals', as some tabloids would have you believe, have managed to successfully avoid sharing an event or bumping into one another and have only been pictured at the same event twice in ten years.

Ten years ago, Brad Pitt split from his then-wife Aniston and months later, he was in a relationship with Jolie.
Read more: 'He would have been the one' - Jennifer Aniston reveals her first love died of a brain tumour
But last night, the two leading ladies were both up for gongs at the Critics Choice Awards, where the former Friends star happily posed alongside fiance Justin Theroux, but her ex-husband was nowhere to be seen.

Jennifer was up for Best Actress for her transformative role in indie film Cake, losing out to Julianne Moore, while Angelina was nominated for Best Director for Unbroken, losing out to Richard Linklater.

The blonde bombshell championed this season's tuxedo trend in a Gucci creation with Christian Louboutin shoes, Fred Leighton jewelelry and Amrit necklace.
Read more: Angelina Jolie breaks down live on air as fan praises her 'courage and bravery' for undergoing a double mastectomy
Meanwhile, the mum-of-six dazzled in a metallic silk gown by Versace, and was comfortable in the knowledge that the duo were seated on opposite sides of the room.

The only other public event the pair both attended was the 2009 Oscars, where Jen avoided the red carpet with then-boyfriend John Mayer.

Just last week, Aniston said she found it bizarre that she and Jolie's names are still pitted against one another, saying: "It's ridiculous - that the two names have to go into the same sentence and there has to be a compare-and-despair thing," she said.

And when asked about Angelina Jolie's unfavourable portrayal in the Sony email leak, she responded: "I don't want to give any fuel to the fire."

Online Editors

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Awkward! Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston avoid each other at Critics Choice Awards - Independent.ie

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Actresses Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston shared their first red carpet in six years. Hollywood might be a small town and the 'love rivals', as some tabloids would have you believe, have managed to successfully avoid sharing an event or bumping into one another and have only been pictured at the same event twice in ten years.

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Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie Still Hate Each Other – Nothing’s Changed

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Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie Still Hate Each Other – Nothing’s Changed

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New reports confirm that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie hate each other as much as ever and we are not surprised. So you know all those interviews that Jennifer Aniston has been giving talking about how much she has forgiven Angelina Jolie and how much she 'loved' Unbroken? Yeah, that's just a load of tosh designed to make her good look. We've been saying as much for the past week, but a new report from Star Magazine also confirms it.

Star's report goes into detail about how Jennifer and Angelina avoided each other on the Critics Choice Awards red carpet, specifically going out of their way to stay out of each other's paths. Legitimate news outlets have also confirmed that, claiming that Angelina Jolie only decided to walk the carpet after Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux had gone into the venue. Plus, they requested to be seated far away from each other, and they stuck to their 'sides' of the show as opposed to mingling with everyone.

Star's source adds, "Jen and Angelina never spoke to each other, but you could tell they were very aware of each other's presence. You could really sense the tension between them. Their animosity is baffling, but the truth is, they hate each other and always will."

I don't understand the comment about the animosity being 'baffling'. How exactly is it baffling? Angelina Jolie fell in love with Jennifer Aniston's husband ten years ago, and Jennifer spent the next decade passive-aggressively dissing Angelina in the media and playing the victim - DESPITE the fact that Jennifer and Brad were over long before Angelina came into the picture.

But of course, the media sensationalized the story - with Jennifer's help - and it became all about Angelina, the homewrecker. So obviously Jennifer is trying to make that worse by pretending that she's graciously over the whole thing, which in turn makes Angelina look even worse for not speaking out. A true media expert, that Jennifer Aniston.

What do you guys think? Do Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston still hate each other? And is their hate feud still in full swing, or have they both calmed down? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Angelina Jolie departing on a flight at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California on January 23, 2015. Jolie has been busy as of late promoting the film 'Unbroken,' which she produced and directed. FameFlynet PLEASE HELP CDL GROW, SHARE on FACEBOOK and TWEET THIS POST!

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Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie Still Hate Each Other - Nothing's Changed

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New reports confirm that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie hate each other as much as ever and we are not surprised. So you know all those interviews that Jennifer Aniston has been giving talking about how much she has forgiven Angelina Jolie and how much she 'loved' Unbroken?

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Jennifer Aniston writes a powerful peice.

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Let me start by saying that addressing gossip is something I have never done. I don't like to give energy to the business of lies, but I wanted to participate in a larger conversation that has already begun and needs to continue. Since I'm not on social media, I decided to put my thoughts here in writing.

For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up. I'm fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of "journalism," the "First Amendment" and "celebrity news."

Every day my husband and I are harassed by dozens of aggressive photographers staked outside our home who will go to shocking lengths to obtain any kind of photo, even if it means endangering us or the unlucky pedestrians who happen to be nearby. But setting aside the public safety aspect, I want to focus on the bigger picture of what this insane tabloid ritual represents to all of us.

If I am some kind of symbol to some people out there, then clearly I am an example of the lens through which we, as a society, view our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, female friends and colleagues. The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing. The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty. Sometimes cultural standards just need a different perspective so we can see them for what they really are - a collective acceptance... a subconscious agreement. We are in charge of our agreement. Little girls everywhere are absorbing our agreement, passive or otherwise. And it begins early. The message that girls are not pretty unless they're incredibly thin, that they're not worthy of our attention unless they look like a supermodel or an actress on the cover of a magazine is something we're all willingly buying into. This conditioning is something girls then carry into womanhood. We use celebrity "news" to perpetuate this dehumanizing view of females, focused solely on one's physical appearance, which tabloids turn into a sporting event of speculation. Is she pregnant? Is she eating too much? Has she let herself go? Is her marriage on the rocks because the camera detects some physical "imperfection"?

The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing.

I used to tell myself that tabloids were like comic books, not to be taken seriously, just a soap opera for people to follow when they need a distraction. But I really can't tell myself that anymore because the reality is the stalking and objectification I've experienced first-hand, going on decades now, reflects the warped way we calculatea woman's worth.

This past month in particular has illuminated for me how much we define a woman's value based on her marital and maternal status. The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover whether or not I am pregnant (for the bajillionth time... but who's counting) points to the perpetuation of this notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they're not married with children. In this last boring news cycle about my personal life there have been mass shootings, wildfires, major decisions by the Supreme Court, an upcoming election, and any number of more newsworthy issues that "journalists" could dedicate their resources towards.

Here's where I come out on this topic: we are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone. Let's make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as examples. Let's make that decision consciously, outside of the tabloid noise. We don't need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own "happily ever after" for ourselves.

We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies.

I have grown tired of being part of this narrative. Yes, I may become a mother some day, and since I'm laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know. But I'm not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way, as our celebrity news culture would lead us all to believe. I resent being made to feel "less than" because my body is changing and/or I had a burger for lunch and was photographed from a weird angle and therefore deemed one of two things: "pregnant" or "fat." Not to mention the painful awkwardness that comes with being congratulated by friends, coworkers and strangers alike on one's fictional pregnancy (often a dozen times in a single day).

From years of experience, I've learned tabloid practices, however dangerous, will not change, at least not any time soon. What can change is our awareness and reaction to the toxic messages buried within these seemingly harmless stories served up as truth and shaping our ideas of who we are. We get to decide how much we buy into what's being served up, and maybe some day the tabloids will be forced to see the world through a different, more humanized lens because consumers have just stopped buying the bullshit.

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Jennifer Aniston: 'For The Record, I Am Not Pregnant. What I Am Is Fed Up'

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Let me start by saying that addressing gossip is something I have never done. I don't like to give energy to the business of lies, but I wanted to participate in a larger conversation that has already begun and needs to continue. Since I'm not on social media, I decided to put my thoughts here in writing.

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2016 Jennifer Aniston's Powerful Message to Tabloids

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2016 Jennifer Aniston's Powerful Message to Tabloids

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"The actress discussed the passionate piece she wrote addressing gossip publications, her motivation behind it, and her inspiring message."

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Jennifer Aniston's Powerful Message to Tabloids

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The real reason Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston got divorced

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The real reason Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston got divorced

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It's been more than a decade since the breakup of Jennifer Aniston's marriage to Brad Pitt. Though both actors eventually moved on to relationships with other people, the public remains fixated on figuring out what went wrong for the one-time "it couple." Although observers are often willing to place the majority of the blame on interference by Angelina Jolie, it turns out there are multiple reasons as to why Aniston and Pitt called it quits.

You may be surprised to know there was trouble in paradise before anyone ever heard of Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Brad Pitt felt he was "wasting his life" while married to Jennifer Aniston

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As much as we'd like to think Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston would still be together had it not been for an alleged affair with Angelina Jolie, statements by Pitt indicate he was probably already looking for an out before he found it in his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star. In Pitt's own words, he "got burnt out and felt that [he] was wasting [his] opportunity." We can only assume he meant he was "wasting his life" in an unhappy marriage instead of being honest about his own feelings.

By contrast, Jennifer Aniston seemed ready to work on their decaying marriage. "Those moments where it looks like 'Uh-oh, this isn't working!' - those are the most important, transformative moments," said Aniston. "That's not Brad's view of it. We believe in different things, I guess."

Aniston allegedly wanted children immediately, while Pitt did not

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An article in Vanity Fair revealed that Jen Aniston had hoped to be pregnant during the same window of time she found herself divorcing Brad Pitt. According to an unnamed mutual friend of the ex-lovers, "When Brad and Jen were in the marriage, having a baby was not his priority - ever. It was an abstract desire for him, whereas for Jen it was much more immediate."

Unfortunately, thanks to Brad Pitt spending so much time with then new flame Angelina Jolie and her adopted children, the public and media opted to believe the exact opposite. Headlines of the time declared that Pitt dumped Aniston because she selfishly put her acting career ahead of his desire to start a family. The stigma associated with her alleged "failure" remains so strong, Aniston felt compelled to address the misogynistic viewpoint in a 2016 Huffington Post article.

It's worth noting that although Aniston insisted at the time of her divorce from Pitt that she did want children and would have them at some point, she remains childless - and is unapologetic about the fact.

Too much pressure?

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The "Sexiest Man Alive" married "America's Sweetheart," and the public fell in love. Expectations were high from the very beginning. New York Daily News reported that immediately after Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston married, they moved into a "a $1.7 million, 14,000 square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills, California." They were constantly in the public eye and there were very public hopes that Pitt and Aniston would eventually have a beautiful blond-haired child for everyone to fawn over.

The couple may have felt an intense amount of pressure to keep up perfect appearances and always pretend to be more in love than what they felt at any given time. The need to live up to the high standards of millions of total strangers could have proven too much in the end.

Both of their careers were exploding at the same time

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It's hard enough to be there for each other when one partner in a relationship is very busy. In the case of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, both actors were in high demand when they married. That meant that it was very hard for them to be together whenever they wanted. Aniston admitted there were times she really wanted Pitt to be there for her, but he couldn't be due to a busy schedule.

As theInternational Business Times reports, the two were spending an ever increasing amount of time apart thanks to his working on films like Ocean's Twelve and Troy while she was at work on The Good Girl. Although they made an appearance together at the 2004 Primetime Emmy Awards, leading the public to believe everything was just fine - despite their conflicting schedules - the two would announce to the world that their marriage was over just a few short months later.

Pitt's drug issues might have clouded his judgment

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In an interview with Esquire, Brad Pitt admitted he was on drugs at the time of their divorce. "For a long time I thought I did too much damage - drug damage." Pitt said that he was "burn out" from his lifestyle, and felt he needed a change. Unfortunately for Aniston, this out-with-the-old attitude meant that in addition to changing up his lifestyle, he also wanted to remove himself from their relationship.

Pitt may have lied about his relationship with Angelina Jolie

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The Aniston-Pitt-Jolie situation is a tricky one. Allegedly, Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt were already in the midst of a divorce when the actor began his relationship with Angelina Jolie. When Vanity Fair writer Leslie Bennets asked about the "gracious, no-one-is-to-blame announcement of their separation," Aniston said as far as she knew, the statement was true. However, she was admittedly shocked when immediately afterward, Pitt was photographed with Jolie, "frolicking on the beach with Maddox at a romantic resort in Africa."

Aniston, who by contrast kept a decidedly low profile following the separation, admitted to being "shocked," by how quickly her ex moved on. So quickly that it seemed to justify rumors of infidelity. AsUs Weekly points out, Jolie and Pitt met and fell in love while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Filming took place during January 2004. Pitt didn't officially separate from Aniston until about a year later. With this in mind, it seems like a situation where Aniston was duped into believing the problems in her marriage weren't related to infidelity when there are reports that seem to contradict this.

Because relationships "are complicated"

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In Jen Aniston's own words, there is no simple or singular explanation for why her marriage to Brad Pitt never worked out. "It's just complicated," says Aniston. "Relationships are complicated, whether they're friendships or business relationships or parent relationships. I don't think anybody in a marriage gets to a point where they feel like 'We've got it!' You're two people continually evolving." As for relationships falling apart, she adds, "There are all these levels of growth - and when you stop growing together, that's when the problems happen."

We may never really know

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Despite the decade-long examination of this failed celebrity relationship, the truth is...we may never really know the truth as to what went wrong for Pitt and Aniston. It makes sense. If the very people in the relationship don't both fully comprehend where things went wrong, it only stands to reason that eager outsiders will be just as confused, if not more so.

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The real reason Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston got divorced

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Getty Images It's been more than a decade since the breakup of Jennifer Aniston's marriage to Brad Pitt. Though both actors eventually moved on to relationships with other people, the public remains fixated on figuring out what went wrong for the one-time "it couple."

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Flying with Nicole Kidman or Jennifer Aniston? Brand funnel stages’ influence on brand personality

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Flying with Nicole Kidman or Jennifer Aniston? Brand funnel stages’ influence on brand personality

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Kotsi, F. and Slak Valek, N., 2018. Flying with Nicole Kidman or Jennifer Aniston? Brand funnel stages’ influence on brand personality. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(3), pp.365-376.

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Jennifer Aniston chats to Matt and Alex about Office Christmas Party on The One Show November 2016

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Jennifer Aniston Allegedly Spent A Whopping $1.46 Million To Look Young

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Jennifer Aniston Allegedly Spent A Whopping $1.46 Million To Look Young

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Jennifer Aniston reportedly spent a whopping amount of $1.46 million to look young. And that's more or less the price you pay to look exactly like a younger version of yourself. Aniston's picture from 17 years ago at the Oscars proved that the Hollywood actress had indeed, aged gracefully. Jennifer spent a whopping amount of $1.4 million to maintain her looks and keep that youthful glow.

We See No Difference

There's no big difference when we put two pictures of Jennifer Aniston together, albeit taken at different times; one was during Oscar's Vanity Fair party in 2000, while the other was taken during this year's Oscars. The most astonishing is the fine similarity between the photos. It's as if they were taken weeks apart. How did Aniston manage to deliberately freeze time and still look young despite the passing of years?

At the 2017 Oscars ceremony, Jennifer Aniston wowed audiences as she was styled to perfection in a cleavage-baring black Versace gown. The sequin-embedded dress features a thigh-high slit and plunging neckline that dropped all the way down to her navel. The blonde beauty finished her look with her straight hair parted at the center, and carried a glitzy designer clutch. Jennifer's look at the Oscars was obviously inspired by what she wore during the Oscar's Vanity Fair party way back in 2000.

The now-48-year-old actress wore the same cleavage-baring number. Her blonde tresses were styled in the same way, and we just can't help but notice the close similarity between the two pictures. That tan, the shape of her lips and face, and her blue eyes; not much has changed, which leads us to the question, did Jennifer Aniston take a dip in the fountain of youth?

According to Daily Mail, Aniston's ageless comparison is due to a number of skin care treatments, face lifts, and a regimen on maintaining her complexion and youth. Jennifer Aniston reportedly spent a whooping amount of $1,463,520 to perfect that semblance of her old self. It's practically worth it if you're a celebrity like Jennifer Aniston, who has a reported net worth of around $130 million. That's what celebs do, anyway. Their salary relies on their gorgeous looks; therefore, it's expected of them to exhaust all efforts and means in maintaining their good attributes.

Let's Dissect The Litany Of Treatments She Has To Undergo

Jennifer Aniston spent a whopping amount of $1.4 million and even if this expense is less than a quarter of her net worth, you might be curious as to why Aniston reached that huge sum.

Maintaining a strict diet costs her around $19,000. Aniston confessed that she wasn't really diet-conscious at first, but was forced to think twice after a scouting agent old her she's "too chubby." Eventually, Aniston applied the Atkins diet and she was also reported to be a client of Diet Designs, a Hollywood-based company which delivers balanced meals to superstar clients.

"Breakfast is usually avocado on Ezekiel toast or a smoothie," Jennifer revealed. "For me, not eating gluten is more of a vanity thing. A diet heavy in carbs is not that great in terms of weight."

Aniston spent $8,000 to maintain a fresh-faced look and includes non-invasive facial lasers which remove acne scars and wrinkles, as well as numerous face lifts which tightens the skin. Fitness fanatic Jen spent around a total of $48,000 for her legs, makeup, brows, tan, and neck. Another $24,000 for rhinoplasty (she's had it done twice) and a possible $6,000 done on her breasts through a process called mastopexy, which perks up and firms the breasts, instead of enlarging them. Add that and you have about $86,400 and multiply it for 17 years, you get $1.4 million worth of treatments.

[Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]

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Jennifer Aniston Allegedly Spent A Whopping $1.46 Million To Look Young

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Jennifer Aniston reportedly spent a whopping amount of $1.46 million to look young. And that's more or less the price you pay to look exactly like a younger version of yourself. Aniston's picture from 17 years ago at the Oscars proved that the Hollywood actress had indeed, aged gracefully.

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Jennifer Aniston Looks Completely Heartbroken In 1st Appearance Since Announcing Split

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Jennifer Aniston Looks Completely Heartbroken In 1st Appearance Since Announcing Split

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Fresh off announcing her split from Justin Theroux, Jennifer Aniston was seen leaving the premiere of 'Game Night' in LA, and she looked SO miserable. Poor, Jen!

There's no doubt Jennifer Aniston, 49, is going through a difficult time right now, and there's no shame in letting it show! Photographed leaving the Feb. 21 premiere of Game Night in LA, Jennifer looked very sad, and we are totally feeling for her! The actress was wrapped up in a long jacket and scarf, and we have to say, we give her major props for stepping out during such a painful time. While Jen isn't actually in Game Night, she was there to show her support for her fellow actor friends, including Jason Bateman, 49, whom she's been close to for 20 years. And of course she looked gorgeous for the event - despite her solemn expression! CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW PICS OF JEN LOOKING SAD.

In the photos, Jen is walking into a parking garage sandwiched between two other women. She has on gorgeous high heels and is carrying a clutch. Her signature blonde hair is worn long and straight, and she seems to be wearing minimal makeup. Although she's also sporting glasses, her distraught face is very clear in the images. Click here to see pics of Jennifer Aniston with her ex Brad Pitt.

While we all know Jen is a pro at being in the spotlight, we can only imagine the heartbreak she's currently going though. After all, just days ago on Feb. 15, she and Justin released a statement confirming they have officially separated after seven years together. "In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation," the former couple announced in a joint statement. "This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year. We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship."

Since the shocking reveal, fans have speculated about the cause of their breakup. While some say Jen's ex-husband, Brad Pitt, 54, is to blame, other reports have claimed the Jennifer and Justin had wanted to start a family together but couldn't. "When Jen met Justin, she had almost given up on the idea that she would have kids," a source recently told People magazine. "They wanted to have a baby, but it didn't work out." Either way, Jennifer proved last night that she's at least TRYING to remain strong and positive!

Tell us, HollywoodLifers - are you surprised Jennifer looked so sad? Do you think she and Justin have any chance of staying together?

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Jennifer Aniston Looks Completely Heartbroken In 1st Appearance Since Announcing Split

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There's no doubt Jennifer Aniston , 49, is going through a difficult time right now, and there's no shame in letting it show! Photographed leaving the Feb. 21 premiere of Game Night in LA, Jennifer looked very sad, and we are totally feeling for her!

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Jennifer Aniston Finally Pregnant At 48 Years Old?

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Jennifer Aniston Finally Pregnant At 48 Years Old?

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Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have been married more than a year, so the inevitable pregnancy rumors will begin. According to the latest cover issue of Star Magazine, Jennifer Aniston is 'finally' pregnant at 48 years old.

Now, we've heard in the past that Jennifer Aniston has struggled to get pregnant, even back when she was married to Brad Pitt. In fact, one of the most persistent rumors is that Brad Pitt dumped Jennifer Aniston because she couldn't get pregnant, and he wanted children so badly. The fact that he went on to start a family with Angelina Jolie immediately after their divorce speaks to that rumor.

So poor single Jennifer struggled for a few years, until she met fellow famewhore-in-chief, Justin Theroux. The two stayed together, against all odds, and even decided to get married. And now, they are reportedly going to start having babies.

Sources tell Star, "It's taken Jen and Justin 16 months of IVF treatments, and they've been through so much heartache along the way, but now it seems their baby dreams have finally come true." The source also adds, "I'm sure they've already planned to throw two baby showers in L.A., one for Jen and one for Justin, since this is his first time being a dad."

Well, first - Jennifer Aniston pregnancy rumors are nothing new. We've heard this time and time again, and this is probably the 400th time that tabloids have come out with a Jennifer Aniston Is Pregnant! Cover. However, we have to question - could this time actually be true? You can only throw darts at the board for so long before they start sticking to the board, and this might be an instance where the tabloids have guessed about it or so long that it's now coming true.

However - even if Jennifer Aniston is pregnant (and that's a big if) - it is extremely unlikely that they're planning on throwing two baby showers; that seems excessive, even for them. While a pregnancy would undoubtedly be good news for the couple, they would probably want to keep it undercover - at least for a little while - and throwing two big baby showers isn't going to help them keep the news discreet.

Or heck, maybe they want the attention - they'll be able to use the pregnancy to sell their movies, TV shows, etc. Come back to CDL for all your Jennifer Aniston news and updates. Do you think Jennifer is pregnant this time?
Image Credit: FameFlynet

Do You Think Jennifer Is Pregnant This Time?

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Jennifer Aniston Finally Pregnant At 48 Years Old?

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Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have been married more than a year, so the inevitable pregnancy rumors will begin. According to the latest cover issue of Star Magazine, Jennifer Aniston is 'finally' pregnant at 48 years old. Now, we've heard in the past that Jennifer Aniston has struggled to ge

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This Emirates Airlines commercial is so snobby it will make you scream

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This Emirates Airlines commercial is so snobby it will make you scream

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Do you hear that? It's the sound of us screaming at the top of our lungs because this Emirates Airlines' commercial is quite possibly the snobbiest thing we have ever seen.

The commercial features a very confused Jennifer Aniston walking around an airplane in a bathrobe desperately seeking the plane's shower. When the crew tells her there is no shower, and even worse, no bar, she shakes herself awake to find it was all a nightmare, and that she's safe and comfy in her Emirates Airline's airplane bed.

Oh and just when you think it's over, the commercial cuts to Aniston complaining to her airplane's BARTENDER about her nightmare.

This is a pretty ridiculous advertisement considering that a roundtrip first-class ticket on Emirates to Dubai costs around $25,000.

We're kinda surprised Jennifer Aniston, who has always marketed herself as the approachable, friendly, girl-next-door, Rachel Green-kind-of-person, made the decision to help Emirates sell its outrageous first-class package.

But seriously this commercial's TL;DR: "I had a nightmare that I was poor!"

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This Emirates Airlines commercial is so snobby it will make you scream

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Do you hear that? It's the sound of us screaming at the top of our lungs because this Emirates Airlines' commercial is quite possibly the snobbiest thing we have ever seen. The commercial features a very confused Jennifer Aniston walking around an airplane in a bathrobe desperately seeking the plane's shower.

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Shock pictures: Jennifer Aniston cradles baby bump

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Shock pictures: Jennifer Aniston cradles baby bump

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Jennifer Aniston has been spotted cradling what fans believe is a growing baby bump while filming in Montreal.

A source close to the actress has spilled that she may finally be pregnant!

'She's told some close friends that she can't wait to finally show off her bump and share the happy news with her fans, who she knows have also waited so long for her to get her dream ending,' reveals a source.

The actress has reportedly told friends that she's feeling 'extremely nauseous' and increasingly tired - both big telltale signs a baby could be on the way.

The insider also reveals that friends have been told the baby's due in January 2019.

In 2015, while still married to Justin Theroux, Jen hinted they were struggling with conception, telling The Hollywood Reporter: 'Who knows if it's going to happen?'

While the actress has an uncertain future ahead of her with former flame Brad Pitt, 54, she has said previously she doesn't 'have to settle with a man' to have a kid.

A friend tells: 'Jennifer couldn't be happier.'

'Despite being warned that at 49 her chances of falling pregnant were slim, a miracle may happen,' adds the source.

'She's getting help from a top fertility doctor in Beverly Hills, who she describes as a 'magician' and she hopes all her dreams come true.'

You can see the amazing pics of Jen's growing baby bump here.

Georgia Mars
Georgia Mars is a Digital Content Editor at New Idea Magazine. As a self-professed celeb expert, Georgia claims to know everything about everyone! When she's not digging deep for the next big celebrity scoop, you can find Georgia catching up on the latest reality TV.

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Shocking pictures: Jennifer Aniston cradles baby bump

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Jennifer Aniston has been spotted cradling what fans believe is a growing baby bump while filming in Montreal. A source close to the actress has spilled that she may finally be pregnant!

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For Jennifer Aniston, it's all about the polish. She has virtually made a career out of being a middle-aged woman who glows like a teenager.

And so, as you might expect, her highly paid team is now doing its best to airbrush her brief, doomed marriage to actor Justin Theroux out of existence, and allow her to exit with as much dignity intact as possible.

The couple announced on Thursday night that they are separating. 'This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year,' said a statement.

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

It is a very inconvenient fact that Aniston - famously dumped by first husband Brad Pitt after he fell in love with Angelina Jolie - is getting divorced again and thus perpetuating the 'poor Jen' stereotype.

I'm told that those headlines drive her to fits of shrieking fury.

The statement about their split was issued in haste after denials in recent weeks that the marriage was floundering.

They made the decision to split after a make-or-break holiday in December in Mexico, but it seems they would have been content for the fiction of romantic contentment to continue - were it not for gossip of Theroux's behaviour at a celebrity party in New York last month.

There are suggestions that Theroux was behaving 'like a very single man' at a post-Grammys bash. Some even suggest he was kissing another woman - 'cherished friendship' with Aniston notwithstanding.

The rumours explain the stern words in their statement, drafted by their PR, no doubt straining every nerve to squash that 'Poor Jen' narrative.

'Given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly . . . Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another.'

In plain English: no one dares say that Jen's been dumped again.

What is to follow will be a bloodless divorce. Sources indicate that before they married in August 2015, Theroux was required to sign a pre-nuptial agreement.

The negotiations, aimed at protecting Aniston's £147 million fortune, went on for months.

In truth, you would always have had to be an optimist to count on the success of a union between Theroux, 46, an arty, motorbike-loving New Yorker and Jennifer Aniston, 49, a middle-aged superstar with masses of baggage.

As we shall see, Theroux openly deplores the mainstream culture which made his wife rich. He once sneered: 'If I was roped into a seven-year TV contract, I'd probably hang myself.'

Aniston, of course, earned her fortune on the TV show Friends over the course of a decade.

The son of a corporate lawyer and Washington Post writer, Theroux was persuaded into marriage much against his instincts, having said for years that he wasn't the marrying kind

During their relationship, he steadfastly refused to tone down his unconventional lifestyle and recently posted a picture of himself hanging out with the heavily tattooed rapper Wiz Khalifa, who was quite obviously smoking a large marijuana joint.

After their marriage, rumours of dalliances with co-stars followed, always swiftly denied.

There were near constant separations due to work, with his HBO TV project The Leftovers being filmed in New York while his wife made movies in Hollywood.

He and Jennifer had got together after making the film Wanderlust together in 2010. He dumped his live-in girlfriend, costume designer Heidi Bivens in mid-2011 and took up with Aniston.

He proposed in August 2012 on his 41st birthday, and they married exactly three years later.

Jennifer's post-Brad romances with actor Vince Vaughn and musician John Mayer had been disasters, but she described Theroux as the 'nicest person in the world'. This may have been evidence of some serious romantic optimism.

A highly intelligent but unusual man, Theroux collects, for instance, both human and animal teeth.

Some of this grisly collection were housed 'in a candy dish' at his New York home - a gruesome surprise for the unwary visitor.

In pride of place in his apartment are two pictures: one of girl disfigured by syphilis; another of two toddlers playing with a syringe.

They are a kind of monument to ghastly gothic-tinged bad taste and an immature sense of humour which you might think actively unpleasant.

Jennifer remarked: 'I remember thinking he was very dark. At first you think he could be like a serial killer.' She chose, though, to see him instead as 'quirky and hip', and indeed, his scripts for box-office hits Tropic Thunder and Iron Man 2 have showcased undoubted talent.

The arrival of Aniston in his life certainly changed it. The respected columnist Jeanette Charlton reported early on in the romance that the pair had taken a private jet to Hawaii, with Aniston picking up the bill. 'Justin can't keep up with Jennifer's limousine lifestyle, so she's pretty much paying for everything,' she said.

Justin, more at home in hipster New York hangouts, was suddenly by her side at the Sunset Tower hotel in LA, where they mix a low-calorie Martini especially for her.

Theroux tried to fit in. He shaved off his beard, tidied up his beetling brows and developed an apparent weakness for a spray tan.

Theroux was also reliably there for Jennifer's red carpet events. He was fully behind her when she released a furious open letter in 2016 after speculation raged that she might be pregnant.

He said: 'I was very, very proud of her for writing that. She expressed herself beautifully.'

Just before they got engaged, Jennifer spent £14 million on a new home in Los Angeles, complete with a vineyard, and £6 million on two connecting apartments in New York's Greenwich Village.

She says she's never been able to settle in New York because of the media attention, but she loved their Bel Air mansion.

Bizarrely, she told Architectural Digest, in an interview published last week, that she doesn't like to work as much any more. 'I look at my husband and my dogs and our home, and there's nowhere else I want to be,' she said. Perhaps it was wishful thinking.

Theroux and Aniston bought chickens for their Bel Air garden, and he said: 'You get beautiful fresh eggs every morning. We both walk down there to collect the eggs. It's a joint effort.'

But clearly there wasn't enough 'joint effort' to sustain a marriage.

Their break-up was very much a re-run of her final days with Brad Pitt - one last holiday before declaring it over.

Aniston and Theroux went to their usual holiday resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with mutual friends Jason Bateman and his wife, Amanda Anka.

US Weekly said: 'Amanda has been the mediator, trying to get Jen and Justin to save their marriage. It didn't work.'

Now, the internet is alight with suggestions that Jennifer and Brad Pitt might reconnect - after all his marriage to Angelina Jolie is over.

But no one who knows how deeply Brad hurt Aniston and how long it took her to rebuild her life after their 2005 divorce thinks that this is even remotely possible.

A source says: 'There is no way back there. She will be fine without Justin, and she doesn't need Brad Pitt, either.'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For Jennifer Aniston, it's all about the polish. She has virtually made a career out of being a middle-aged woman who glows like a teenager. And so, as you might expect, her highly paid team is now doing its best to airbrush her brief, doomed marriage to actor Justin Theroux out of existence, and allow her to exit with as much dignity intact as possible.

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In The Limelight and Under The Microscope: Forms and Functions of Female Celebrity 

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In The Limelight and Under The Microscope: Forms and Functions of Female Celebrity 

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Negra, D. and Holmes, S. eds., 2011. In the limelight and under the microscope: forms and functions of female celebrity. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

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In the Limelight and Under the Microscope

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This timely collection explores the politics of female celebrity across a range of contemporary and historical media contexts. Amidst concerns about the apparent 'decline' in the currency of modern fame ('famous for being famous'), as well as debates about the shifting parameters of public/private visibility, it is female celebrities who are positioned as the most active discursive terrain.

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Aveeno Postively Radiant TV Commercial, 'Positive Attitude' Ft. Jennifer Aniston

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Aveeno Postively Radiant TV Commercial, 'Positive Attitude' Ft. Jennifer Aniston

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Ad ID: 1249466 30s 2015 ( Inactive )

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About Aveeno Postively Radiant TV Commercial, 'Positive Attitude' Ft. Jennifer Aniston

Actress Jennifer Aniston is having quite the busy day full of phone calls and emails. Her day doesn't get any less demanding, as her dog begs for a walk. She makes sure to start the day with a positive attitude and Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer.

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Aveeno Postively Radiant TV Commercial, 'Positive Attitude' Ft. Jennifer Aniston

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Actress Jennifer Aniston is having quite the busy day full of phone calls and emails. Her day doesn't get any less demanding, as her dog begs for a walk. She makes sure to start the day with a positive attitude and Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer.

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Join Jennifer Aniston this holiday season to help kids fight cancer

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Join Jennifer Aniston this holiday season to help kids fight cancer

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Join Jennifer Aniston this holiday season to help kids fight cancer

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Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion TV Commercial, 'Healthy' Feat. Jennifer Aniston

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Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion TV Commercial, 'Healthy' Feat. Jennifer Aniston

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Ad ID: 1221107 30s 2015 ( Inactive )

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About Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion TV Commercial, 'Healthy' Feat. Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston lends us some healthy advice: Eat well, live well and take care of what makes you who you are. As a part of following this philosophy, she trusts Aveeno's Daily Moisturizing Lotion. Its active naturals and vitamins help to make the skin healthy and beautiful.

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Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion TV Commercial, 'Healthy' Feat. Jennifer Aniston

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Jennifer Aniston lends us some healthy advice: Eat well, live well and take care of what makes you who you are. As a part of following this philosophy, she trusts Aveeno's Daily Moisturizing Lotion. Its active naturals and vitamins help to make the skin healthy and beautiful.

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Lynx commercial with Jennifer Aniston 1996 

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Lynx commercial with Jennifer Aniston 1996 

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Lynx commercial with Jennifer Aniston 1996

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Jennifer Aniston Chats about Dry Eye from EyeLove

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Jennifer Aniston's Annoyingly Rich Emirates Ad | What's Trending Now

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Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s

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Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s

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Jennifer Aniston and Tina Fey: Girls with Glasses.

Pomerance, M. ed., (2011). Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s. Rutgers University Press

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In the 2000s, new technologies transformed the experiences of movie-going and movie-making, giving us the first generation of stars to be just as famous on the computer screen as on the silver screen.Shining in Shadows examines a wide range of Hollywood icons from a turbulent decade for the film industry and for America itself.

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Jennifer Aniston starred as Rachel Green In Friends for a decade

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Jennifer Aniston starred as Rachel Green In Friends for a decade

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Friends   Best of Rachel all Seasons Funny Moments

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Jennifer Aniston Weight Gain Sparks Pregnancy Rumours

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Jennifer Aniston Weight Gain Sparks Pregnancy Rumours

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Jennifer Aniston has blamed her latest pregnancy rumours on her "little break" from the gym.

The former Friends star is known for her strict exercise routine and honed physique, but has relaxed her strenuous regime a little, which has led to claims she and fiance Justin Theroux are excepting a baby.

However, the Horrible Bosses 2 actress - who is constantly quizzed about when she is planning to marry and start a family - said she feels good about gaining a few pounds.

Jennifer Aniston said she's happy about gaining a bit of weight (Ian West/PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Jen, 45, has been quoted as telling Look magazine: "For the last year and a half I went from being a crazy workout girl to sort of saying, 'My body wants a little break.'

"The only downside to that of course is that there's that couple of extra pounds and 4,000 pregnancy rumours too, but you know, other than that, it all feels great."

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Jennifer Aniston: Weight gain sparks pregnancy stories

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Jennifer Aniston has blamed her latest pregnancy rumours on her "little break" from the gym. The former Friends star is known for her strict exercise routine and honed physique, but has relaxed her strenuous regime a little, which has led to claims she and fiance Justin Theroux are excepting a baby.

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Daily Moisturising Lotion Advert with Jennifer Aniston

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Daily Moisturising Lotion Advert with Jennifer Aniston

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2004 Interview - 'A Fairwell to friends'

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2004 Interview - 'A Fairwell to friends'

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Jennifer Aniston does an interview speaking about her life in the public eye, the pressure to become a mother, and sexism from the media.

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I met Jen (don't roll your eyes at me - that's what we call her) in my kitchen about six years ago when my husband, Jimmy [Kimmel], and I invited our friend Justin [Theroux] over for pizza with his new girlfriend. At first I was a bit starstruck that Rachel Green was standing near my bananas. She was wearing black jeans, a black tank top, and wedge sandals, and she smelled like vacation. But my nerves faded as soon as she hugged me, pulled a lime off our tree for her vodka rocks, and dissected The Bachelor. I was expecting pretension (that's on me). I got authenticity and real connection. She was immediately warm, like an old friend. She's magnetic like that. At 49, she knows who she is. That means no boundaries, no bullshit, and a lot of laughing.

MOLLY MCNEARNEY: I want to start this interview off light. When are you getting back together with Brad? Did Justin ever wear your jeans? And when are the twins due?

JENNIFER ANISTON: [laughs] You're the only person who could start an interview like that and actually send me into hysterics and not hives.

MM: Well, I admire your ability to remain poised and balanced even while others desperately try to tell your story for you. How do you do it?

JA: There are definitely moments of not being balanced and poised, but I do that all in my own personal space. 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.

MM: What is the biggest misconception about you?

JA: Oh, boy, there are so many. Let's see. I'll just Google myself and find out. [starts typing] Oh, look, I'm having a $100,000 revenge makeover!

MM: I didn't want to say anything, but you really need one. But wow, the tabloids are relentless.

JA: It's pretty crazy. 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. First, with all due respect, I'm not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what's going on behind closed doors. 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.

MM: Yes! For starters you have this new movie coming up, Dumplin'. You play an ex-pageant queen, and you do it beautifully. Did you ever want to be in a beauty pageant when you were younger?

JA: That's hysterical. No. Do you know what I looked like as a kid? The truth is, that's all changing now. That's what this movie is all about. It's about redefining beauty and how we as a society interpret what beauty is. I love that the Miss America pageant is going to get rid of the swimsuit competition altogether.

MM: Me too. I'm sure my daughter will be shocked when I tell her that was actually a quantifiable form of judging women in my lifetime.

JA: Definitely! You know, a swimsuit body is a body in a swimsuit, no matter what that body is. It's time to just stop thinking beauty is in the shape of a size 4 and the right butt size and the right waist size and the right measurements. It's just old. We've done it. We've been there. Let's move on.
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MM: What was it like exploring the pageant world to prepare for Dumplin'?

JA: I had so much fun. There are women devoting their lives to training young girls for pageants, and it's the real deal. I loved those women and really enjoyed getting into their minds. My character is an ex-pageant queen who is fun but broken. It's a beautiful mother-daughter story. And, of course, there's the amazing musical element: Dumplin' is an homage to Dolly Parton, who wrote a few original songs for this film.

MM: Dolly is incredible.

JA: She's magic. I remember the first thing she said to me when she walked into my house. I said, "I don't know how you do everything you're still doing." She said, "Well, I dreamed myself into a corner, and now I gotta live up to it."

MM: Everything she says is a bumper sticker.

JA: When Dolly and I watched the movie together, we were in a theater full of people who didn't know we were sitting in the back. During one of the funnier parts, she's stifling her laugh and whispers to me, "They can't hear my laugh. They'll know my laugh." A couple of minutes later I look over and she's crying, and she says, "But they don't know my tears."

MM: I really wish there were an audio button on this page that readers could push right now to hear the impression you just did of Dolly Parton. It was flawless.
VIDEO: Steal Jennifer Aniston's Pre-Photo Shoot Routine
JA: [in Parton's voice] Aw, thank you, darlin'.

MM: What would your talent be if you were a pageant girl?

JA: My talents are not baton twirling or Hula-Hooping or tap dancing or ventriloquism or yodeling. I would be eliminated right away. Out. No talent.

MM: How about you get up on stage and make a margarita? You're really good at that. Tell us how.

JA: Oh, lord, it's barely a recipe. It's basically silver tequila with lime juice shaken and over rocks. And some people like a little Cointreau, some don't. It's a cleaner margarita. No sugar, no mixes, no agave. I don't like sweet drinks.

MM: I like mine with a Twizzler as a straw. Dumplin' is written, produced, and directed primarily by women. The leads are all women. The timing is perfect for such a film.

JA: Yes, lots of great women in front of and behind the camera. All extraordinarily qualified. This wasn't because it was mandatory; it wasn't because of a movement. They're a part of this movie because they are exceptionally talented. Rachel Morrison was our DP on Cake and the first woman nominated for best cinematography [for Mudbound] at the Oscars. She's a badass. We need to find more women like her and give them the opportunities. It's like mining for gold. We shouldn't be shoving female directors and producers down each other's throats because we have to. Then we're making those decisions from a place of fear.
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MM: Have you ever been sexually harassed in the workplace?

JA: I've definitely had some sloppy moves made on me by other actors, and I handled it by walking away. I've never had anyone in a position of power make me feel uncomfortable and leverage that over me. In my personal experience I've been treated worse verbally and energetically by some women in this industry.

MM: Have you experienced sexism in your career?

JA: I've definitely had my fair share of sexism in the media. Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff. 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?

MM: Never happens. Do you have hope for change as a result of Time's Up and #MeToo?

JA: Yes, and it's long overdue. But we also need to be better at listening to one another. That includes men. They need to be part of this conversation. When everyone is mad and aggressive, people become too afraid to speak and there is no conversation. Same goes for politics. We need to include each other, to hear each other out. We can't stoop to the anger. Michelle Obama said it best: "When they go low, we go high." We should all be living by that if we want real progress.

MM: I worry social media may be slowing that progress with its expectation that everyone look good all the time. Are you active on social media, or do you just turn all that off?

JA: I don't have Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram accounts. I will totally admit that I can dip into Instagram and sort of be a secret voyeur.

MM: You're a creeper!

JA: I'm a creeper. There are times when I'll look through and think, "Oh my god, what a time suck!" I've been with people who spend maybe an hour figuring out this one post, and you're like, "That just took up an hour of your life, and it's gone in 60 seconds." It feels like we are losing connection. I think we're losing conversation. It's hard enough being a teenager and feeling like you fit in. Now we're actively creating an environment and a platform for you to tell someone, "I like you" or "I don't like you." That seems like an unhealthy formula for already-insecure adolescents. We're pouring fuel on a fire.

MM: I couldn't imagine dealing with that pressure when I was a teenager.

JA: Our friends have 10- and 11-year-olds on Instagram. They're starting way younger than when I even gave a crap about what I looked like or what makeup I wore or what guy I liked. I think iPhones and Snapchat and all this stuff is just fueling narcissism. People are using filters and all sorts of tools to mask who they really are.

MM: How was your confidence as a kid?

JA: I was one of those kids who got sort of bullied, and I don't know why.

MM: No one's going to believe that.

JA: Ha! But they will believe I'm pregnant three times a year. I was one of the kids who the others would decide to make fun of. It was an odd period of time during fifth, sixth, seventh grades. I was a little on the chubby side, so I was just that kid. Childhood is such a vulnerable time, and I'm sure a part of me believed all that they teased me about. Thankfully, I didn't have a phone or social media to look at and think, "Oh, I'm not this, I'm not that." I just wanted to have fun and play capture the flag.
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MM: Did you ever imagine yourself as an actor?

JA: I didn't see myself as anything. I was just trying to get through the day. [laughs] In sixth grade I would write skits and act them out with a couple of friends, and we thought we were hilarious. Or we would go to Central Park, and when the cherry blossoms were in bloom we would act out scenes from The Wizard of Oz. We went to the Rudolf Steiner School, which is one of those arts-and-craftsy schools. It wasn't big on academics, but I can whittle you a lion out of a piece of mahogany like nobody's business.

MM: I've seen that lion. Now, for some silly questions. Have you ever punched someone?

JA: OK, let's be honest. I've had a moment when I've totally wanted to do it, yes, but it's in your fantasy, it's in your head. I wouldn't actually go through with it.

MM: No, you're too zen for that. What is a fear you wish you could overcome?

JA: Fear of flying. It started in my 20s. It was a weird, scary flight. Afterward I began noticing the stories on the news about plane crashes, and I became all-consumed with the idea of dying on an airplane. It was so out of control in my brain. So, yeah, that's something I'd like to get rid of. It's so irrational.

MM: What hobby would you like to master?

JA: Sculpting. Twelve years ago I had a beautiful art studio, and that was my dream then. I still want to take the time to have those moments for myself. I had a wheel, and I had a bunch of clay.
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MM: Let's get you back on the wheel. If your house were on fire, dogs are out, you are out, all the people you love are out, what is the one thing you grab?

JA: This actually happened. When we had to be evacuated in December for the wildfires, I took my dogs, I grabbed underwear, my toothbrush, and a change of clothes. Just get my dogs and me out of here. They're my kids!

MM: You're a good dog person. You just light up when you're around them.

JA: I do. They make me happy. But so do your kids.

MM: You are so good with my children. When I did not have children, I liked people's kids, but they were fun for, like, 10 minutes. But you are so genuinely invested in your friends' children that the kids end up buying you Mother's Day presents. You also have a home that kids want to go to. You have really mastered hosting families at your house.

JA: I love those rascals. Also, they're good kids. I have to say, we're lucky. There's not one kid in the group where you think, "That little brat."

MM: What's your exercise of choice?

JA: Last year I discovered boxing, and I love it. I have this trainer named Leyon, who I believe hung the moon. It's the longest workout I've actually stayed with consistently other than yoga. There's something about the mental aspect of boxing - the drills, your brain has to work, you're not just sitting on a bike. It's amazing.

MM: I knew you wanted to punch someone!

JA: Boxing is a great way to get aggression out. You get a mental release of all this crap you're taking into your ears and eyes every day and have little fantasy moments imagining who you're punching. I'm just grateful it's not actually the person, even though there's one person. You know what I mean. It's all good.

MM: What about Friends? Will Friends ever come back?

JA: Before that show ended, people were asking if we were coming back. Courteney [Cox] and Lisa [Kudrow] and I talk about it. I fantasize about it. It really was the greatest job I ever had. I don't know what it would look like today, but you never know. So many shows are being successfully rebooted. I know Matt LeBlanc doesn't want to be asked that question anymore. But maybe we could talk him into it. If we give it some time, Lisa, Courteney, and I could reboot The Golden Girls and spend our last years together on wicker furniture.

MM: I feel like if you choose to, you will have the longest career you want. Do you think you're going to do this forever?

JA: I've never been someone who knows how to answer, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" I do know that lately I've had moments. The world we're in is so challenging right now, the scrutiny, the way people interact. There's just bad behavior around us a lot. There have been moments when I would just love to get out of Dodge and move to Switzerland - or somewhere - and start anew. Just have this shit behind me. Does it really matter? Are we really doing anything? What is my life's purpose? Every seven years I try to sum up what I am doing and what I want to make my focus. I'm trying to make better choices. I went through a period of saying yes to projects that I shouldn't have, but I felt like, "How dare I say no?" Now I'm trying to get better at saying no and to be a part of projects that actually, really matter à la Dumplin' or The Goree Girls or this other film we're working on called The Fixer, about an amazing crisis manager named Denise White.

MM: Good. You need to keep going. The world is shit right now, and we need some Aniston movie escape.

JA: I'm grateful as long as people still want me to come to the party. I think I'll always want to keep acting as long as there's a desire for me to do it. As long as I'm fulfilled in other ways creatively, spiritually, and all of that stuff, I know that I could do this until they put me in a home.
Fashion editor: Julia Von Boehm. Hair: Chris McMillan/Kérastase/Starworks Group. Makeup: Gucci Westman/Westman Atelier/Home Agency. Manicure: Miwa Kobayashi. Production: Brandon Zagha.
For more stories like this, pick up the September issue of InStyle, available on newsstands and for digital download Aug. 10.

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I met Jen (don't roll your eyes at me - that's what we call her) in my kitchen about six years ago when my husband, Jimmy [Kimmel], and I invited our friend Justin [Theroux] over for pizza with his new girlfriend. At first I was a bit starstruck that Rachel Green was standing near my bananas.

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1996 - Jennifer Aniston’s advertising capital was explicitly tied to her status as a member of the Friends ensemble

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1996 - Jennifer Aniston’s advertising capital was explicitly tied to her status as a member of the Friends ensemble

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Friends - Who's Going to Drink the Diet Coke? (1996) Commercials

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2006 Interview with Vanity Fair - "The Unsinkable Jennifer Aniston"

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2006 Interview with Vanity Fair - "The Unsinkable Jennifer Aniston"

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One of Anistons first Interviews following split with Brad Pitt.

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The whole world watched as her "perfect" marriage fell apart. Only her closest friends knew what really happened. Now, in Jennifer Aniston's first interview since she split from Brad Pitt, she spills her heart, and some tears, to Vanity Fair, sharing her shock and confusion over Pitt's liaison with Angelina Jolie, her desire for a family, and her deep, conflicting emotions (anger, hurt, exasperation, tenderness) toward the man she still loves.

When Jennifer Aniston opens the door to the Malibu bungalow she's been holed up in lately, she gives me a radiant smile and an effusive hello.

Then she bursts into tears.

We have scarcely sat down in the living room, a serene little haven simply furnished with cushy white sofas and white flowers and white candles, when her face crumples. She is instantly aghast.

"I haven't been feeling emotional lately, really I haven't," she wails, fluttering her hands like Rachel Green in distress, except that this time it isn't funny.

Other than the 24-hour security detail guarding her safety, Aniston is all alone in the modest rental where she has camped out while dealing with the end of her marriage to Brad Pitt-and its devastating aftermath, which has been far worse than the actual split. The last few months have brought an endless nightmare of hurtful headlines about her soon-to-be-ex-husband, along with blatantly fraudulent stories about herself, in the tabloids and supermarket gossip magazines. Pursued around the clock by the rabid paparazzi she refers to as "ratzies," she is ambushed even on her own deck by photographers who lurk on the beach outside her door, spying on her every move.

As she squeezes her eyes shut in an effort to stop crying, the scene provides a painful contrast with the last time we met. Little more than a year ago, I interviewed Pitt at the Beverly Hills mansion that he and Aniston had just spent two years renovating. A testament to both his passion for architecture and the couple's hopeful vision of their shared future, the beautiful old house awaited only a baby in a bassinet to complete a picture-perfect existence.

When I left, they both walked me out to my car. Their home, its windows lit and welcoming, glowed in the twilight. As we said our good-byes, Pitt and Aniston leaned together in the driveway, arms twined around each other. Her head rested trustingly on his buff chest, still pumped up from his rigorous training to play the warrior Achilles in Troy.

They seemed the most fortunate couple imaginable-two beautiful superstars who had hit the jackpot, earning not only fame and riches but also an enduring love. Their fans had long been captivated by the romance of America's Sweetheart and the Sexiest Man in the World, and now they were ready to begin a thrilling new chapter. Aniston's 10-year run on Friends was ending, and she and Pitt had vowed to start a family when her stupendously successful television series was finished.

Pitt's final words to me reinforced the impression of connubial bliss: "I'm happier than I've ever been." But the ensuing months brought an onslaught of rumors that he had gotten involved with Angelina Jolie while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Instead of the joyful announcement many had anticipated from the Pitts, there was only silence. The New Year began with photographs of the beautiful couple strolling hand in hand along the beach on Anguilla, looking relaxed and happy. Immediately the buzz shifted into rhapsodic re-appraisals of the state of their union.

And then came the oh-so-civilized announcement, on January 7, that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were separating-that their parting was "the result of much thoughtful consideration," that it was not caused by "any of the speculation reported by the tabloid media," and that they would remain "committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another."

If Pitt had kept a low profile in the months to come, that might even have turned out to be true. Instead, the ominous drumroll of gossip began to crescendo as he and Jolie rendezvoused in exotic locales, still denying that they were an item. With the paparazzi snapping away, Pitt stepped into what looked suspiciously like a paternal role with Jolie's adopted Cambodian son, Maddox.

"It was extremely hurtful to Jen that he was seen with another woman so quickly after they were separated," says Andrea Bendewald, an actress who has been one of Aniston's closest friends since they were teenagers.

Instead of being reviled as The Other Woman, Jolie posed for pictures on an energetic round of appearances as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations-and then trumped even that public-relations bonanza by adopting another orphan, an African girl whose parents had died of AIDS. In the blink of an eye, the twice-divorced Jolie-previously known as a tattooed vixen with a taste for bisexuality, heroin, brotherly incest, mental institutions, and wearing her husbands' blood-had morphed into a globe-trotting humanitarian who seemed to be channeling Audrey Hepburn.

For the 36-year-old Aniston, who had expected to spend the past year being pregnant, the pain of watching this spectacle unfold was compounded by vicious rumors about herself. As misogynist as they were false, sensationalistic stories claimed the real reason the marriage ended was that Aniston refused to have Pitt's baby because she was so ambitious she cared only about her career.

Even now, that sexist slur makes her face darken. "A man divorcing would never be accused of choosing career over children," she says. "That really pissed me off. I've never in my life said I didn't want to have children. I did and I do and I will! The women that inspire me are the ones who have careers and children; why would I want to limit myself? I've always wanted to have children, and I would never give up that experience for a career. I want to have it all."

Aniston's intimates note acidly that Pitt could have done more to refute the mean-spirited rumor that his wife wouldn't bear his child, which reinforced the impression that he had good cause to leave her for Earth Mother Jolie. To some, this looks like sheer hypocrisy.

"When Brad and Jen were in the marriage, having a baby was not his priority-ever," says one mutual friend. "It was an abstract desire for him, whereas for Jen it was much more immediate. So is there a part of Brad that's diabolical? Did he think, I need to get out of this marriage, but I want to come out smelling like a rose, so I'm going to let Jen be cast as the ultra-feminist and I'm going to get cast as the poor husband who couldn't get a baby and so had to move on?"

As the image wars raged in the gossip media, a heartbroken Aniston retreated to her Malibu hideaway to lick her wounds in private, accompanied only by her elderly corgi-terrier mix, Norman, who spends most of his time snoring on his dog bed. Public sympathy seemed to be on her side; the Hollywood boutique Kitson reported that its "Team Aniston" T-shirts were outselling "Team Jolie" T-shirts by a margin of 25 to 1. But that was cold comfort as Aniston was assaulted by one provocation after another.

When the Pitts split up, Brad insisted he hadn't slept with Jolie, and Aniston accepted his denial. "She wasn't naïve," says Kristin Hahn, an executive at the Pitts' production company, Plan B. "She's not suggesting she didn't know there was an enchantment, and a friendship. But Brad was saying, 'This is not about another woman.'"

The moment he and Aniston separated, however, he re-emerged in what looked like a full-blown affair with Jolie. Struggling to accept a separation she never wanted, Aniston found that the "facts" she had been told kept shifting like quicksand beneath her feet. When I ask about that gracious, no-one-is-to-blame announcement of their separation, she takes a deep breath. "What we said was true-"

As I raise my eyebrows, she pauses for a moment, and then adds carefully, "-as far as I knew. We wrote it together, very consciously, and felt very good about it. We exited this relationship as beautifully as we entered it."

All Aniston wanted then was to figure out what happened; how did the happy life they'd planned drift so far off course? But everything changed on April 29, when photographs broke of Brad and Angelina frolicking on the beach with Maddox at a romantic resort in Africa. "The world was shocked, and I was shocked," she says, still bending over backward not to excoriate her ex.

But to say that this news was like pouring salt in the wound would understate its impact considerably; how about pouring molten lava into the hole where somebody ripped your heart out?

And then things got worse.

The skies over Los Angeles are uncharacteristically gray today, and the Pacific shimmers with an opalescent sheen. Although the weather is gloomy, the ocean is calm; waves lap gently at the shoreline, making a soft shushing sound that Aniston has found very soothing lately.

"That's quite a backyard, in my opinion," she says as we stand on her deck, watching the hypnotic rhythm of the waves. "Just being able to go to the water's edge and scream-"

She grins. "Not too loudly. You don't want people to think that you're crazy. But it can be very cathartic."

She is wearing a white tank top and white drawstring linen pants, with a vivid lavender cashmere cardiwrap around her to ward off the unseasonable chill. Formidably toned by yoga, her body is in superb shape, but despite her tanned skin and megawatt smile she looks fragile and wan.

She remains resolutely upbeat nonetheless, casting her current situation in the most positive light possible. "It's beautiful here; I love it," she says. "I've always wanted to have a little Malibu beach house, and it feels good. I'm enjoying simplifying things."

Although the bungalow was dark and depressing when she first saw it, a quickie makeover has transformed it into a cozy sanctuary that's far more representative of Aniston's personal taste than the showplace she and Pitt shared, where the décor seemed all hard edges and unforgiving materials. "Brad and I used to joke that every piece of furniture was either a museum piece or just uncomfortable," Aniston says. "He definitely had his sense of style, and I definitely have my sense of style, and sometimes they clashed. I wasn't so much into modern."

I mention Nicole Kidman's quip after splitting up with Tom Cruise, when she was asked what she looked forward to in her new life without the diminutive husband who had abruptly ended their marriage. "Wearing high heels again," Kidman retorted.

So I ask Aniston-who filed for divorce on March 25 and expects it to become final this fall-what she's enjoying about being on her own. "I can have a comfortable couch," she says with a wry smile.

In the tabloids and celebrity gossip magazines, the soap-opera version of her life continues to hurtle along like a runaway express train, rushing Aniston through major life stages with ludicrous speed: Jen Is Devastated! Jen Is Furious! Jen Gets Revenge! Jen Has a New Man! Jen Is Over Brad! Most of the stories are wrong. (No, Oprah didn't try to get Brad and Jen back together; no, Jen is not romantically involved with Vince Vaughn, her co-star in The Break-Up, a comedy about a separating couple who continue to live together, which they shot in Chicago over the summer.)

Other reports are just idiotically simpleminded, breathlessly advancing a plot that bears little resemblance to the long, complex, painful experience of getting over a divorce. While the tabloids insist on dividing Aniston's emotions into neat, distinct chapters, the reality is that pain and denial and anger and resignation all blur together, sometimes at the same moment-and the lengthy process of mourning is nowhere near over.

"There are many stages of grief," she says. "It's sad, something coming to an end. It cracks you open, in a way-cracks you open to feeling. When you try to avoid the pain, it creates greater pain. I'm a human being, having a human experience in front of the world. I wish it weren't in front of the world. I try really hard to rise above it."

Aniston is struggling to find a deeper meaning in the debacle. "I have to think there's some reason I have called this into my life," she says. "I have to believe that-otherwise it's just cruel."

Her friends are filled with admiration for the way she's handled the whole mess. "This woman is basically having a root canal without anesthesia, but she's really trying not to numb the pain or shove it under the rug," says Hahn. "She's grown so much, and she continues to grow on a daily basis, because every time you think, 'Well, I've dealt with this,' there's another hurdle to get over. It's a bit Job-like at the moment."

Aniston's response has been to retreat into her cocoon, "in an effort to take care of myself and my heart," she says. "I feel like I'm nesting. I love being home. I have friends that come over. My girlfriends I've had for 20 years. When things happen, the tribe gathers around and lifts you up. I've had lonely moments, sure, but I'm also enjoying being alone. There's no question it takes getting used to; I'm a partnership person, and if something happens your instinct is to share it-but you're no longer part of a couple. I definitely miss that. It's sort of like Bambi-like you're trying to learn how to walk. You're a little awkward; you stumble a little bit. The things you would do with your partner, you don't do. It's uncharted territory, but I think it's good for me to be a solo person right now. You're forced to re-discover yourself and take it to another level. If you can find a way to see the glass half full, these are the moments when you learn the most. I've had to re-introduce myself to myself in a way that's different."

She doesn't downplay the difficulties. "Am I lonely? Yes. Am I upset? Yes. Am I confused? Yes. Do I have my days when I've thrown a little pity party for myself? Absolutely. But I'm also doing really well," she says. "I've got an unbelievable support team, and I'm a tough cookie.... I believe in therapy; I think it's an incredible tool in educating the self on the self. I feel very strong. I'm really proud of how I've conducted myself."

A crucial part of Aniston's strategy has been to ignore the putrid stew of rumor, speculation, and outright falsehood in the tabloid media. "It's been very important for me not to read anything, not to see anything," she says. "It's been my saving grace. That stuff is just toxic for me right now. I probably avoided a lot of suffering by not engaging in it, not reading, not watching."

She gestures toward Norman, who has roused himself for a moment to check on his mistress's whereabouts. "It's like those dog cones," she says, encircling her neck as if putting on one of the plastic cones prescribed by vets to prevent dogs from scratching their ears. "I have my imaginary dog cone on, so I don't see anything. It just allows for a much more peaceful life."

Nevertheless, as Pitt publicly flaunted the instant family he had created with Jolie, the tableaux of their newfound togetherness were humiliating. "I would be a robot if I said I didn't feel moments of anger, of hurt, of embarrassment," Aniston acknowledges.

But she tries to keep the lurid details to herself. "She is grieving, but she's taken the high road," says Bendewald. "She's mourning the death of a marriage, and she's done it very privately. She can have her moments of rage, but she doesn't want to out him, and that keeps her heart clear. She's not bad-mouthing him. She doesn't want to make him the villain and her the victim."

Indeed, Aniston vehemently rejects the interpretation that she was left for another woman. "I don't feel like a victim," she says. "I've worked with this therapist for a long time, and her major focus is that you get one day of being a victim-and that's it. Then we take responsibility for our own input. To live in a victim place is pointing a finger at someone else, as if you have no control. Relationships are two people; everyone is accountable. A lot goes into a relationship coming together, and a lot goes into a relationship falling apart. She'd say, 'Even if it's 98 percent the other person's fault, it's 2 percent yours, and that's what we're going to focus on.' You can only clean up your side of the street."

These days, one index of recovery is the fact that Aniston's sardonic humor is resurfacing. When I tell her that my 13-year-old son is a big fan of hers, she doesn't miss a beat. "Is he single?" she asks, deadpan.

She'll toss off a crack about Pitt's startling transformation into a punky bleached blond. "Billy Idol called-he wants his look back," she murmurs with a sly smile.

By now she can even talk about those gut-wrenching photos of Jolie and Pitt in Kenya with mordant resignation rather than tears. "I can't say it was one of the highlights of my year," she says. "Who would deal with that and say, 'Isn't that sweet! That looks like fun!'? But shit happens. You joke and say, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'"

She sighs. "I feel like I've earned a superpower shield," she says. Then, afraid of sounding grandiose, she adds, "I'm not comparing my suffering to other people's suffering. Everybody has their own."

Aniston's friends were particularly horrified by W magazine's 60-page photo spread featuring Pitt and Jolie as an early-1960s-style married couple with a brood of miniature blond Brads. "You want to shake the shit out of him and say, 'Your timing sucks!'" says one. "He's made some choices that have been tremendously insensitive."

The W feature, which was entitled "Domestic Bliss," couldn't be blamed on the paparazzi; not only did Pitt conceptualize it, but he retained the international rights, so he actually profited from it. Aniston's eyes widen in surprise when I mention that last fact, and she grimaces. "I didn't know that," she says. But she refuses to indulge herself in an angry reaction. "Is it odd timing? Yeah. But it's not my life," she says. "He makes his choices. He can do-whatever. We're divorced, and you can see why."

She shakes her head in exasperation. "I can also imagine Brad having absolutely no clue why people would be appalled by it," she adds. "Brad is not mean-spirited; he would never intentionally try to rub something in my face. In hindsight, I can see him going, 'Oh-I can see that that was inconsiderate.' But I know Brad. Brad would say, 'That's art!'"

She rolls her eyes, pretending to screw something into her forehead. "There's a sensitivity chip that's missing," she says.

Aniston's friends are amazed at her willingness to give Pitt the benefit of the doubt, but they basically agree with her assessment. "I don't think he was trying to hurt Jen," says Courteney Cox, Aniston's dear friend and former co-star on Friends. "I don't think that Brad is malicious, or a liar. The W thing was his idea, but I don't think he thought that one through, about what it would look like to anyone else."

Although Aniston remains determined not to lash out, she sometimes questions her own restraint. "Why am I protecting him?" she exclaimed to one friend, only to continue with what she sees as the dignified course of action.

"I'm not interested in taking public potshots," she explains. "It's not my concern anymore. What happened to him after the separation-it's his life now. I've made a conscious effort not to add to the toxicity of this situation. I haven't retaliated. I don't want to be a part of it. I don't have a halo that I'm polishing here; everyone has their personal thoughts. But I would much rather everyone move on. I am not defined by this relationship. I am not defined by the part they're making me play in the triangle. It's maddening to me. But I had a mom who was very angry about her divorce, and made shots, and I don't want to play that out. If people are frustrated that I don't want to do that, I'm sorry. I'm figuring this out as I go along. This is my first time at this particular picnic."

As befits a storybook tale, the Pitts' marriage was the first for both of them, and some of Aniston's fondest memories are from the time they shared before the world discovered their romance. "We had so much fun falling in love," she says wistfully. "It was so private; we kept it to ourselves for so long. It was something we were really proud of."

But after the relationship became public, it was always difficult to reconcile their mythic image with the quotidian reality of their private life, which was more likely to involve watching television, ordering takeout, and having close friends over than swanning around on red carpets.

"We were put on a pedestal, but we were just a couple like anybody else," Aniston says. "When we were home, we'd watch the shows we loved, and one time there was this program called It's Good to Be Brad and Jen. It was all about us going to Scotland and Greece and having our matching S.U.V.'s, and it wasn't my life-I'd never even been to some of these places, but even I got sucked in. We're sitting there saying, 'Yeah, boy, it sure must be good to be Brad and Jen!' So is it our responsibility to demystify this, to say, 'This is not what it's like-it's not that fabulous, not that great'? There's no doubt our life is fortunate, but ... "

But even golden couples struggle with the formidable challenges of marriage. "It's like the ebb and flow of every relationship," Aniston says. "It's hard; it gets easy; it gets fun again. What's hard to sustain is some ideal that it's perfect. That's ridiculous. What's fantastic about marriage is getting through those ebbs and flows with the same person, and looking across the room and saying, 'I'm still here. And I still love you.' You re-meet, reconnect. You have marriages within marriages within marriages. That's what I love about marriage. That's what I want in marriage. It's unfortunate, but we live in a very disposable society. Those moments where it looks like 'Uh-oh, this isn't working!'-those are the most important, transformative moments. Most couples draw up divorce papers when they're missing out on an amazing moment of deepening and enlightenment and connection."

She sighs heavily and turns away to light a Merit cigarette. "That's not Brad's view of it," she says, glum again. "We believe in different things, I guess. You can't force a relationship, even if it's your view of how you would like it to be conducted. Obviously two people leave a relationship because there's a different thought pattern happening. My goal is to try and achieve a very deep, committed relationship. That's what I'm interested in, but it's someone's prerogative to be or not to be in or out of a relationship."

"I think Jen wanted to work it out, and I don't think he wanted to work it out," Andrea Bendewald observes. "I don't think he knew what he wanted."

Nevertheless, Aniston has only kind words about her marriage. "I still feel so lucky to have experienced it. I wouldn't know what I know now if I hadn't been married to Brad," she says. "I love Brad; I really love him. I will love him for the rest of my life. He's a fantastic man. I don't regret any of it, and I'm not going to beat myself up about it. We spent seven very intense years together; we taught each other a lot-about healing, and about fun. We helped each other through a lot, and I really value that. It was a beautiful, complicated relationship. The sad thing, for me, is the way it's been reduced to a Hollywood cliché-or maybe it's just a human cliché. I have a lot of compassion for everyone going through this."

As for what went wrong, Aniston rejects any simplistic explanation. "It's just complicated," she says. "Relationships are complicated, whether they're friendships or business relationships or parent relationships. I don't think anybody in a marriage gets to a point where they feel like 'We've got it!' You're two people continually evolving, and there will be times when those changes clash. There are all these levels of growth-and when you stop growing together, that's when the problems happen."

Friends say that it was always difficult for Aniston and Pitt to maintain the intimacy they craved while juggling their demanding work schedules, which often required long separations. Those tensions notwithstanding, Aniston believed her marriage was the real thing. "We both did," she says.

So what happened? "I think-it changed," she says haltingly. "We both changed."

She sighs again. "You do the best you can, and I think we did. We did the best we could."

Both of them? She looks me straight in the eye. "Both parties," she says.

But nagging questions remain about Pitt's conduct during the months leading up to their separation. "She was committed to the marriage," says Bendewald. "He wanted to figure out who he was and what he wanted, but he seemed to want to do it without being married. She wanted him to figure out what he wanted and stay married. He didn't think he could do that, so at that point she was like, 'O.K., go figure it out.'"

Throughout that period, Pitt insisted that his relationship with Jolie was not the cause of his marital discontent, but his actions since the separation have suggested otherwise.

"I just don't know what happened," Aniston admits. "There's a lot I don't understand, a lot I don't know, and probably never will know, really. So I choose to take away with me as much integrity and dignity and respect for what that relationship was as I can. I feel as if I'm trying to scrounge around and pick up the pieces in the midst of this media circus."

Does she buy Brad's claim that he didn't cheat on her before they separated? "I choose to believe my husband," Aniston says. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised by anything, but I would much rather choose to believe him."

Their friends are still trying to parse what happened with Jolie. "I don't think he started an affair physically, but I think he was attracted to her," says Courteney Cox, who vacationed with her husband, David Arquette, and the Pitts on Anguilla just before they announced their separation. "There was a connection, and he was honest about that with Jen. Most of the time, when people are attracted to other people, they don't tell. At least he was honest about it. It was an attraction that he fought for a period of time."

He may have been fighting it, but Pitt virtually checked out of his marriage as soon as he began working with Jolie, according to Aniston's intimates. "He was gone," says one.

Aniston has met Jolie only once, when she took a passing opportunity to say hello. "It was on the lot of Friends -I pulled over and introduced myself," Aniston recalls. "I said, 'Brad is so excited about working with you. I hope you guys have a really good time.'"

But he soon became emotionally unavailable to his wife, at a time when she needed him desperately. Pitt's withdrawal coincided with the end of Friends, which Aniston experienced as a huge loss. "That was really painful. It was a family, and I don't do great with families splitting up," says Aniston, who was deeply wounded by her parents' bitter divorce, which happened when she was 9. "It was hard to have such a wonderful constant in your life, a place to go every day, and then all of a sudden it's not there."

When she reached out for her husband's support, she didn't get it. "He just wasn't there for me," she says.

To the amazement of Aniston's friends, Pitt didn't even show up for the final taping of Friends.

"He was working," she says, still defending him, even though movie stars have been known to request changes in a shooting schedule to accommodate events that are important to them.

Although she isn't talking to Pitt these days, Aniston remains in regular contact with his mother, whom she loves dearly, and she doesn't rule out a better relationship with Brad in the future. "I really do hope that someday we can be friends again," she says.

She certainly doesn't regret her four-and-a-half-year marriage-not even the million-dollar wedding with 50,000 flowers, a 40-member gospel choir, a Greek bouzouki band, and fireworks exploding over the Pacific. ("It was fantastic!" she says.) But she does have other regrets.

"There's a lot I would probably do differently," she says. "I'd take more vacations-getting away from work, enjoying each other in different environments. But there was always something preventing it; either he was working or I was."

She made more profound mistakes as well. "I wouldn't give over so much of myself, which I did at times," she admits. "It was that thing about being a nurturer; I love taking care of people, and I definitely put his needs before mine sometimes. It's seamless; somewhere along the way, you sort of lose yourself. You just don't know when it happens. It's such an insidious thing, you don't really see where it started-and where you ended. There's no one to blame but yourself. I've always been that way in relationships, even with my mom. It's not the healthiest. I feel like I've broken the pattern now. I'll never let myself down like that again. I feel like my sense of self is being strengthened because of it."

Aniston's unhappy family history colored her experience of marriage from the outset. "I come from a fighting family, and I had a tough time arguing," she says. "Fighting scared me. I wouldn't speak up for myself. That's something I've learned; I will always speak my mind."

In recent months, the process of healing from the breakup with Brad has also created a new openness to healing relations with her mother. Their estrangement began nearly a decade ago, when Nancy Aniston gossiped about Jennifer on a television show, and worsened when she tried to cash in on Jennifer's fame by writing an appalling book called From Mother and Daughter to Friends. Jennifer severed all contact, but she is now re-assessing their relationship.

"We've exchanged messages," she says. "Our doors are open. We're taking baby steps. It's a good thing."

Although Aniston incurred criticism for distancing herself from her mother, who did not attend her wedding, she offers no apologies. "I feel pretty good about the choices I've made. The choice of not speaking to Mom for a while-that's ours. Nobody else has to understand it. The same thing with Brad and myself," she says. "I wouldn't change my childhood, I wouldn't change my heartaches, I wouldn't change my successes. I wouldn't change any of it, because I really love who I am, and am continuing to become.

"Besides, it's all in the past," she adds. "This doesn't kill you. You move on. You can't let the devastation of a divorce take over and win-let it make you this bitter, closed-off, angry, skeptical person. Then you're just falling victim to it. You don't want to shut your heart down. You don't want to feel that when a marriage ends, your life is over. You can survive anything. Compared to what other people are surviving out there in the world, this is not so bad, in the grand scheme of things. Human endurance is unbelievable. Think of what mothers of soldiers have to rise above! Everything's relative."

She looks down at her firm, fit body. "Nothing's broke," she says.

Catching the quizzical look on my face, she concedes, "Maybe a little bruised."

A few weeks later, on a stiflingly hot day in Chicago, Aniston and I are sitting in her hotel suite looking out on Lake Michigan, which is studded with little white boats. I've just told her about the gossip magazine that says she's registered here as "Mrs. Smith." The report claims Aniston is taking perverse pleasure in making hotel staffers address her as Mrs. Smith, even though they know perfectly well who she is.

The only problem with this amusing tidbit is that it's not true. "I wish I'd thought of it," says Aniston, who is registered under an entirely different, although equally humorous, name.

Despite her vow of abstinence, she succumbed to a celebrity magazine the other evening-and immediately regretted it. "I feel like I've fallen off the wagon," she moans. Unfortunately, the first publication she picked up featured an insult from Kimberly Stewart, Rod's party-girl daughter. "She said I'm homely," Aniston says. "It literally ruined my night. I got my feelings very hurt, actually. That was my instant Karma."

She has always fretted about her appearance, although that is often hard for others to believe. Posing for her Vanity Fair cover shoot, Aniston was equally fetching in French-dance-hall-girl black stockings and in a half-open oversize shirt that evoked every man's favorite just-rolled-out-of-bed look. With her tousled hair, cobalt-blue eyes, and dazzling smile, she seemed the ultimate adorable sexpot. Far from pining away in seclusion, she appeared to be sending a far more spirited message-like "Eat your heart out, Brad!"

But Aniston has never been able to reconcile the glamorous Jen on page or screen with the self-doubting woman she sees in the mirror, and the current tabloid coverage has exacerbated that gap. "It's literally two different people-the real me, and the 'Jen' they write about, 'fighting back,' 'getting revenge'-everything I couldn't be farther from wanting to do," she says. "So I'm back on the wagon."

When she arrived in Chicago to film The Break-Up, the gossip media, frantic for a new development, immediately plunged her into a torrid romance with her co-star, Vince Vaughn. This affair apparently does not exist.

"I adore Vince Vaughn, but I'm not going out with Vince Vaughn," she says. "I barely know the guy. We've exchanged a wine-and-cheese basket for the start of the movie, and we've gone out to dinner with the director and other people. We've got to get to know each other."

But is Aniston seeing him-or anyone else? "Nobody," she says firmly. "I like a lot of people, but I am sooo not 'in like' with anybody. I am really enjoying being by myself. I'm excited that I know there's somebody out there for me, but I am absolutely in no rush. This is all very fresh, very new. This was a seven-year relationship that was very dear, very complicated, very special. I need to honor it."

Aside from her initial flurry of tears, Aniston remains calm and thoughtful through hours of conversation with me over the course of several weeks. But there is one final topic to be addressed, and it's the most hurtful of all. The rumor that Jolie is pregnant with Pitt's child has swept around the world; some reports even have her finishing her first trimester.

When I ask Aniston about that, she looks as if I've stabbed her in the heart. Her eyes well up and spill over. Several long minutes go by as the tears keep rolling down her cheeks; she bites her lip, seemingly unable to speak. Finally she shakes her head; this subject is simply too excruciating to discuss.

"My worst fear is that Jen will have to face them having a baby together soon, because that would be beyond beyond painful," says Kristin Hahn.

Fortunately, there are many other things to keep Aniston occupied these days. Although she took some time off after Friends ended, she has since shot several movies, and the coming months will bring a series of premieres. First up is Derailed, a thriller starring Aniston and Clive Owen as two married strangers who meet on a train and arrange a hotel-room tryst-only to have an armed man burst in, rape the woman, and beat the man and blackmail him, setting off a horrific chain of events. The film will make adultery look about as appealing as Fatal Attraction did, according to Aniston: "It will be one of those movies you leave and say, 'The affair thing? Maybe not!'"

Then there's Rumor Has It, whose plot revolves around a young reporter's conviction that The Graduate was based on her family, and that she herself is adopted. Mark Ruffalo plays her fiancé, and Shirley MacLaine is the Mrs. Robinson character, with Kevin Costner as the Benjamin Braddock who may or may not be Aniston's father.

Yet another upcoming film is Friends with Money, in which Aniston portrays a pothead maid whose friends-played by Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack, and Frances McDormand-are all married and far more successful in life.

Aniston is also re-evaluating her future role at Plan B, the production company she formed with Pitt and Brad Grey, who has since become chairman of Paramount. Pitt is now assuming the lead role at Plan B, but Aniston says she will still produce movies through the company.

"I'm excited about what the future holds," she says. "I'm not a fortune-teller; I have no idea how it will play out. People say, 'What are you going to do?' I don't know. I kind of love that not knowing."

She is trying to outgrow some youthful illusions. Prince Charming let her down, and Aniston no longer believes in one true love. "I think there are many people, many soul mates," she says.

But she still has faith in the redeeming power of love itself. "It's out there," she says. "It will happen. There's an amazing man that's wandering the streets right now who's the father of my children. In five years I would hope to be married and have a kid. I still believe in marriage 100 percent. When I hear people say that they would never do it again, it's like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Why would you ever close your heart down?"

She gives me a sheepish smile. "Maybe it's a fairy tale, but I believe in happily ever after."

Leslie Bennetts is a Vanity Fair contributing editor.

Jennifer Aniston in Vanity Fair

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The whole world watched as her "perfect" marriage fell apart. Only her closest friends knew what really happened. Now, in Jennifer Aniston's first interview since she split from Brad Pitt, she spills her heart, and some tears, to Vanity Fair, sharing her shock and confusion over Pitt's liaison with Angelina Jolie, her desire for a family, and her deep, conflicting emotions (anger, hurt, exasperation, tenderness) toward the man she still loves.

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2018  "9 Famous Men Who Have Been More Than Friends With Jennifer Aniston"

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2018  "9 Famous Men Who Have Been More Than Friends With Jennifer Aniston"

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After Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's 2005 split, the former Friends actress became one of the most famous, loved, and worried-about female celebrities of our time. Seriously, have people ever been more concerned about a stranger's love life? Their five-year marriage may go down in history books, but it wasn't the first high-profile relationship for either of the stars. Jen went on to date other hot celebrity guys (including a couple of costars) before eventually marrying Justin Theroux in 2015. Sadly, the couple announced their separation on Thursday, saying it "was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year."

While Jen has made headlines for her past relationships, she has also served as an inspiration for women and will forever be one of the shining examples of resiliency after a bad breakup. Look back at the famous men who have been "more than friends" with the beloved actress.

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9 Famous Men Who Have Been More Than Friends With Jennifer Aniston

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After Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's 2005 split, the former Friends actress became one of the most famous, loved, and worried-about female celebrities of our time. Seriously, have people ever been more concerned about a stranger's love life? Their five-year marriage may go down in history books, but it wasn't the first high-profile relationship for either of the stars.

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W MAGAZINE

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Were Jennifer Aniston's life a movie, she'd be on the verge of some very big trouble. After all, as every filmgoer knows, it's always just at that glowing, warm-fuzzy moment when the heroine seems to have found success, true love and a generally soft-focus, montage-like existence that you can be sure all hell is about to break loose.

To recap: The actress recently agreed to a 10th season of "Friends," thereby making the show's 26 million fans very happy and some NBC executives positively ecstatic; she's contentedly married to Hollywood's number-one golden-streaked princeling, Brad Pitt; she's banished her wicked (or at least, very ill-mannered) memoir-writing mother from the proverbial kingdom until further notice; she's won over the fire-breathing critics with her turn as a windbreaker-clad Madame Bovary in The Good Girl, and she's bought herself an enormous manse in Beverly Hills, where she and Mr. Pitt plan to raise somewhere between two and seven children, depending on whom you ask. In movieland, storm clouds would be gathering fast.

Of course, Jennifer Aniston's life is not a movie, and instead of heading for a third-act reversal, she just keeps leaping from mountaintop to mountaintop. While many small-screen stars move on to roles in KFC commercials, watered-down spin-offs and straight-to-video flops, she's nabbed coveted starring parts opposite two of Hollywood's biggest box-office deities, Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller, thereby finding herself in the tiny golden circle of first-name-only stars like Cameron and Julia and Reese.

"Jennifer just has 'it,'" says Tom Shadyac, who's currently directing her in the Carrey film Bruce Almighty. "If you look at the handful of A-list actors that exist in Hollywood, you realize that the thing they all share, in addition to being beautiful and talented, is this amazing relatability. When you watch Jennifer, she manages to amaze you and make you feel like she might be your next-door neighbor at the same time, which, when you consider how much money she makes and who she's married to, is pretty incredible."

All of which helps to explain why, despite letting herself be dragged back to Central Perk for another round of lattes next season, Aniston is just about ready for life after Rachel. "I mean, I'm completely terrified about 'Friends' coming to an end, but I'm also dying for it to end, you know?" she says cheerfully, sitting on the terrace of the modest Hollywood Hills "love nest," as it's invariably described, that she and Pitt will soon surrender in favor of the $13.5 million six-bedroom French Normandy number they recently purchased. It's a crisp, clear December afternoon, and the actress-who's dressed in faded Levi's and a tight charcoal-gray turtleneck sweater-looks terrific, her fabled honey-toned hair tumbling casually around her shoulders.

"The weird thing about The Good Girl was that suddenly all these people were like, 'Wow, look what you can do!'" adds the 33-year-old actress, who had previously earned raves for her roles in Office Space and Wendy Wasserstein's The Object of My Affection. "Like I've been doing sh---y work for the last nine years or something. Suddenly they're like, 'Hey, she's really an actress,' as if I were just some bulls--- comedienne before."

"People who do comedy are always underrated because they make it look so easy," says Aniston's agent, Kevin Huvane. "So it was exciting to see Jen challenge herself with a film like The Good Girl -which is pretty much the antithesis of 'Friends'-and get the sort of recognition she deserves. I don't think there's any limit to what she can do."

The film has opened up a "whole new horizon" for her she says. "It feels like this new set of opportunities." For instance, she's been thinking about doing a Broadway musical. "Singing scares me, so I think that might be fun."

Which is not to say that she's about to forgo her comedic roots. Despite the Oscar buzz swirling around her dramatic turn in The Good Girl, she'll return to comedy in both Bruce Almighty and a new project by Meet the Parents writer John Hamburg. "It's a pretty big departure for her," Hamburg notes. "She plays this wild woman who draws Ben Stiller out of his shell-someone who's very loose, which is not the way Rachel is at all." Hamburg chuckles. "I mean, I'm not asking Jennifer to wear a prosthetic nose or anything, but it's very different, and she's very conscious of that. I remember when she first came on the set, she said, 'If you feel like I start doing a Rachel thing, just tell me, okay?'"

As is true of many comic performers, Aniston developed her breezy charm to cope with a difficult childhood. Born in the San Fernando Valley to struggling actors John and Nancy, she spent her kindergarten year in Greece before the family relocated to New York's Upper West Side, where her father found work playing the sexy devil Victor on Days of Our Lives. But as the marriage disintegrated, Aniston found herself trying desperately to ease the tension. "I was always the mediator," she says. "I was always trying to smooth things over and get everybody to laugh." Despite her best efforts, her parents divorced when she was nine, and she spent the rest of her childhood living with her mother and unwittingly honing her comedic timing with a steady after-school diet of sitcoms. "God, I loved 'Joanie Loves Chachi,'" she says with a grin. "We didn't have a VCR, so I used to sit by the TV with a tape recorder when it was on, and then go to sleep singing along with the theme song."

Her goal, in those days, was to be a soap star. "'General Hospital' was my favorite," she says, "because their makeup was always perfect, and the hair, and the clothes-I loved that." Aniston takes a drag off her Merit cigarette. "Looking back, of course, I realize it wasn't a good thing. I was always reading those beauty magazines and wanting to become this unattainable thing. Then one day, you're in it-you're the girl in the pictures, and suddenly you realize it's all smoke and mirrors, airbrushing, lighting, stretching. No wonder people are killing themselves. Starving themselves. Popping pills. They're all trying to achieve something impossible."

That may seem easy for her to say-especially if you believe the press reports about how Aniston lost 30 pounds to become Rachel. "It was actually 10," she says with a laugh. "I mean, I was huge, apparently." She rolls her eyes. "The idea that I got 'Friends' because I got thin isn't true at all."

Almost as soon as the word "thin" comes out of her mouth, Aniston checks herself. "I got healthy," she says. "I don't think I got thin. I think I got healthy. I eat food now." She pauses, and it's clear that food has not always been a simple issue in her past. "Like a year before I met Brad, I started getting to a place where I was sick a lot, and my energy was low and I wasn't happy," she continues, "so then I started taking vitamins and exercising like a fiend, and maybe went too far on that, because you get in that Zone Diet thing and you get kind of addicted to that. But now I am kind of in a happy medium where I just do what I do. If I can work out, I do, but I don't go crazy. I'm just healthy." The past few years, she adds, have brought a sense of self-acceptance with regard to her body, which leaves room for indulgences like a "killer" homemade Thanksgiving sandwich with plenty of mayo and stuffing.

Aniston glances out toward the Pacific sunset and shakes her head. "But I mean, I just don't get why anyone still cares about this stuff," she says. "Who starts the intrigue, you know? Who starts the fascination? Let me tell you, it's not the actors. Never is there an actor who says, 'I want to be everywhere! I want to be so disgustingly everywhere that people are saying, Okay, that's enough. We've seen enough of her.'"

In Aniston's case, despite the fact that her life has been pondered and repondered from every conceivable angle, the public thirst for her remains unquenched. "It'll be interesting to see if it dies down at all once 'Friends' is over," says the actress, who was once approached in the sauna at L.A.'s Burke Williams Spa by fans requesting a group photo and who recently had to have a police escort shuttle her home after being swarmed by paparazzi while out shopping. "At the moment, there are those days when you drive out of your driveway and there's a car parked at the bottom of the hill, just waiting for you, and you look at them and think, 'This is what your life has come to? You're going to follow someone to the market and to the doctor and to get their hair colored? This is how you've chosen to spend your day?'"

Paparazzi aren't the only ones who've sought to profit from Aniston's personal life. In 1999, her mother published her memories of Jennifer's childhood-including the gory details of the divorce-in a stomach-turning tell-all called From Mother and Daughter to Friends. "I don't think my mother understood how it would make me feel to have all that stuff broadcast," says Aniston, who is clearly still emotionally bruised by the experience. "But then, of course, when I told her, she still didn't get it," she continues, her tone twisting slightly in anger, "or she just didn't care how I felt."

Still, Aniston seems certain that the two will reconcile eventually. "It's just a matter of time," says the actress, who credits "years of therapy" with helping her understand the situation. "I don't need an apology because I already know the truth, and if I approach her with an expectation of an apology it could just lead to disappointment," she says. "I just, at some point I'll just have to let go and decide to forgive her, which I can't do yet."

She shakes her head sadly. "The bummer is that we were so dirt poor when I was growing up, and now there's plenty of money, and I feel like we should be able to enjoy it together."

Indeed, Aniston says she's still routinely floored by the paycheck she takes home every week for "Friends." "That's not something I'll ever get used to," she says.

Not that she and Pitt aren't having an awfully good time trying. In addition to the Beverly Hills house-complete with waterfall pool-the couple also purchased a sprawling oceanfront estate in Santa Barbara that Aniston refers to as Brad's Baby.

"Brad's a land man," she explains. "He wants land, land, land." And land isn't Pitt's only domestic interest either. He and Aniston have been renovating the Beverly Hills house since they purchased it in June 2001 and are still "not quite there yet," she admits. "We were just going to do the floors," she says drily. "But Brad has such an incredible eye, and he gets in there and sort of says, 'Well, how high can this ceiling go?' and 'What's behind that wall?'

"He definitely has strong opinions about aesthetics, and I admire that so much," she goes on. "It's hard, though, because the one thing I thought I could do well was put homes together, but it's something that really matters to him, so we've learned to make decisions that we both feel good about. And I actually think our marriage is even better now because we've been through this stuff. We've settled in; we've survived the whole house-construction aspect, and that's a big thing. It's not always easy. It takes work."

And yes, even the occasional dustup. "We do fight," admits Aniston, a self-confessed "conflict avoider." Then she clarifies, "Well, we have discussions. I am not a fan of fighting when it is screaming. I like accomplishing something. But I don't trust a couple that says they don't fight." Nevertheless, she remains in awe of what she refers to as her husband's general kindness. "He'll hate me for saying that," she chuckles, "but when you grow up in a family where people are not always very kind to each other, you realize how important that is."

Asked how it feels to have found the love of her life, Aniston offers a rather cryptic answer: "Is he the love of my life? I think you're always sort of wondering, 'Are you the love of my life?' I mean, I don't know, I've never been someone who says, 'He's the love of my life.' He's certainly a big love in my life." She pauses. "And I know that we have something special, especially in all this chaos. In this nutty, brilliant, wonderful, hard business that we have, it's nice to have somebody who's anchored and knows you, really knows all of you."

That sort of unconditional acceptance, Aniston adds, seems gradually to be helping her to come to terms with herself as well. "If there's one thing I'm proud of, it's that I've finally gotten over not liking myself," she says. "It's took me 10 years to really notice, Wow, you're not really nice to yourself, are you? You really don't like yourself very much. And then it took a long time to get to the point where I do like myself, but I actually do now. I'm a pretty happy person these days." She smiles that sad, beautiful smile. "I think too much, but otherwise, I'm happy."

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Headed into her 10th season of "Friends" (and getting ready to move into the $13.5 Beverly Hills mansion she's purchased with husband Brad Pitt), the actress talks about making the leap to movies and finally feeling comfortable in her skin. (February 2003)

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2003 Golden Globes Winner 'Best performance by an actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy 

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2003 Golden Globes Winner 'Best performance by an actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy 

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"From the Woman Who ‘Had It All’ to the Tragic, Ageing Spinster: The Shifting Star Persona of Jennifer Aniston"

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"From the Woman Who ‘Had It All’ to the Tragic, Ageing Spinster: The Shifting Star Persona of Jennifer Aniston"

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Holmes, S. and Jermyn, D. (2015). Women, celebrity and cultures of ageing.