Jennifer Aniston said she never considered adoption, explaining that despite facing infertility, she wanted to have a biological child.
During a Wondery+ early access episode of Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, "The Morning Show" actor, 56, opened up the subject.
The topic came about after co-host Monica Padman described freezing her eggs and her uncertainty about becoming a parent.
Asked whether she had found peace with not having children, Aniston said, "It's so peaceful."
"But I will say there's a point where it's like out of my control. There's literally nothing I can do about it," she added.
Addressing suggestions that she could adopt, Aniston said, "When people say, 'But you can adopt,' I don't want to adopt. I want my own DNA in a little person."
"That's the only way, selfish or not, whatever that is, I've wanted it."
She added that, although she has occasionally met someone and thought they "would have made some good kids," the feeling fades quickly.
According to Aniston, it will "pass within three seconds."
She said the idea of parenthood can become romanticized "on the other side of it because it's out of your control."
Reflecting on acceptance after fertility treatment, Aniston said, "It just wasn't in the plan, whatever the plan was" and described the moment medical options ended as difficult.
"It's very emotional, especially in the moment when they say, 'That's it,' because there is a weird moment when that happens."
Aniston has previously spoken about infertility, including in vitro fertilization.
In a 2022 interview with Allure, she said, "I was trying to get pregnant. It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road."
She described the scrutiny around her private life, saying, "All the years and years and years of speculation … it was really hard."
She added, "I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it."
"I would've given anything if someone had said to me, 'Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.'"
"You just don't think it. So here I am today — the ship has sailed."
Aniston said she has "zero regrets."
She added, "I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, 'Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.' I don't have to think about that anymore."
In a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar, Aniston also reflected on years of intense media speculation about possible pregnancies during her past marriages.
"They didn't know my story or what I'd been going through over the past 20 years to try to pursue a family, because I don't go out there and tell them my medical woes," said Aniston. "That's not anybody's business."
She added that there comes a point "when you can't not hear it."
"The narrative about how I won't have a baby, won't have a family, because I'm selfish, a workaholic," she said. "It does affect me — I'm just a human being."
"We're all human beings. That's why I thought, 'What the hell?'"
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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