Jennifer Aniston shares private twenty-year struggle to have kids

In a gut-wrenching new interview, Jennifer Aniston has bravely confronted the long-standing criticism she's faced for never having had a child of her own.

Ever since emerging onto the scene in the mid-90s – most famously landing the role of loveable fashionista Rachel Green on the hit sitcom Friends – tabloid mags have run headlines about the actress being pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or being sad for not being pregnant.

The 56-year-old was constantly branded the likes of 'unlucky in love', or 'desperate' for a baby, with fans and foes often overstepping by the mark by demanding to know why motherhood hadn't happened yet.

Eventually, in 2022, Aniston revealed the 'ship has sailed' with regards to getting pregnant.

Despite insisting at the time she has 'zero regrets' over this, the Marley & Me star reportedly still faces questions over her relationship woes, intimate health and parental trauma.

Aniston often played maternal roles in television (NBCU Photo Bank)

And this week, having finally grown tired of the heartbreaking speculation, Aniston has spoken out, making a courageous confession about her fertility in the hope of quietening down the discussions.

Sitting down with Harper's Bazaar, she began by combating the theory that her 'selfish workaholic' nature had hindered her biological timeline.

For reference, questions were first raised over Aniston's plans for parenthood following her divorce from ex-husband Brad Pitt in 2005, with critics assuming they'd called it quits over the actress' decision to prioritise her career.

This allegation, she told Allure back in 2022, was an 'absolute lie'.

"They didn’t know my story," the actress recalled of Hollywood's allegedly inside sources that spread such rumours. "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."

Aniston has spoken out about her fertility struggles (James Devaney/GC Images)

It turns out, however, while being criticised for not leaning into the maternal nature she famously exhibits in many of her on-screen roles, she was attempting to get pregnant.

Going on, Aniston told the publication she'd actually spent 20 years unsuccessfully enduring IVF.

"I knew a lot of women at the time who were trying to have kids, who were dealing with IVF," she continued. "So it did feel like it was not only for myself, but for any women who were struggling with the same issue."

Despite now vowing to use her hellish experience as a means of raising awareness of the mistreatment of female celebrities today with regards to reproductive expectations, Aniston admitted that this 'narrative' has often got the better of her.

Recalling the hellish period, the Horrible Bosses bombshell went on to admit: "It does affect me – I’m just a human being. We’re all human beings."

Critics questioned why she and Brad Pitt never had a child (Barry King/WireImage)

Thankfully, however, over time, Aniston has reluctantly accepted that there's no point in correcting every false narrative about her life, claiming this 'will happen' itself 'eventually'.

"The news cycle is so fast, it just goes away," the movie star went on. "Of course, there are times when I feel that sense of justice – when something has been said that isn’t true, and I need to right the wrong.

"And then I think, do I really? My family knows my truth, my friends know my truth."

She pledged, however, to continuing standing up for other women enduring the same ceaseless interrogations.

"That’s not anybody’s business," Aniston went on. "There comes a point when you can’t not hear the narrative about how I won’t have a baby, won’t have a family."