Jennifer Aniston says therapy helps her deal with constant questions about her personal life

Actress says there’s ‘a lot of tough stuff’ that comes with being in public eye, such as pregnancy and marriage rumours

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Wednesday 23 June 2021 20:04 BST
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Jennifer Aniston opens up about therapy and dealing with constant spotlight
Jennifer Aniston opens up about therapy and dealing with constant spotlight (Getty Images)
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Jennifer Aniston has spoken candidly about some of the downsides of fame, revealing that she has relied on therapy to help her deal with the pressures of being in the public eye.

The actress opened up about the “tough stuff” that comes with being a celebrity during a new interview with People for the magazine’s July issue, where she said that she even has to deny rumours about her personal life to her friends and family.

“Self-awareness is key. I’ve really gotten a lot out of therapy. Just being a public person, there’s a lot of amazing things that come with that. But there’s also a lot of tough stuff, because we’re only human, and we tend to walk around with bullseyes on our heads,” the Friends star explained.

According to Aniston, this includes constant questions about her relationships and whether she is going to have children, with the actress revealing that even those in her personal circle fall victim to gossip.

She said: “Sometimes you can’t help family members or people sending stuff over going: ‘What is this? You’re having a baby? Are you getting married?” It’s like: ‘Oh, good gosh, when and how many years will it take for you to ignore that silliness?’”

But despite the constant public scrutiny of her personal life, Aniston told the outlet that she is in a “really peaceful place” and that she feels both fortunate and blessed.

“I’m in a really peaceful place. I have a job that I love, I have people in my life who are everything to me, and I have beautiful dogs,” she said, referring to her schnauzer mix Clyde, pitbull mix Sophie and Great Pyrenees mix Lord Chesterfield. “I’m just a very fortunate and blessed human being.”

However, the 52-year-old, who was previously married to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005 and Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2018, also revealed that she open to looking for a “fantastic partner”.

Explaining that she doesn’t know whether she would get married again, The Morning Show star told the outlet that it’s not on her “radar” but that she’s “interested in finding a fantastic partner and just living an enjoyable life and having fun with one another”.

The search for a partner won’t include using dating apps, however, as Aniston said that she is “going to just stick to the normal ways of dating”.

This is not the first time that Aniston has opened up about the societal pressures placed on her to have children, as she previously penned an essay for HuffPost in 2016, in which she condemned the media obsession regarding whether she is pregnant or not.

“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,” she wrote at the time.

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