“Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate,” says Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston’s just done a cover story for InStyle magazine, and she’s shed light on how the constant chatter about her being “heartbroken” and pining for a baby has affected her.

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Talk about her all you like, but with great friends, new projects, and still-perfect hair, September cover star Jennifer Aniston is doing just fine. And at 49, she knows who she is. That means no boundaries, no bullshit, and lots of laughing. “For the most part I can sit back and laugh at the ridiculous headlines because they have gotten more and more absurd,” she tells her close friend @MMcNearney, who interviewed her for her refreshingly candid cover story. “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.” Read the full interview at the link in bio. | Photographed by @BenHassett; Styled by @JuliaVonBoehm

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“Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish”

Speaking to Molly McNearny, Jen admitted being fodder for the tabloids was getting very, very old – and the way women are positioned competitively (hello Meghan and Kate!) and/or deemed to be somehow unworthy if they don’t partner up and reproduce is completely unfair.

“Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff,” Jen pointed out. “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?”

“It’s pretty crazy,” she admitted. “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.”

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“They don’t know what I’ve been through medically”

Noting that men are rarely cast as the ‘sad and alone’ party when a relationship ends, Jen points out that there is little room for sensitivity, nuance or compassion in these narratives.

“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.”

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Jen also explained that there’s so much more to her story than unfounded assertions about her character and goals. 

“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,” she noted.

“Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate. Maybe I have other things I’m supposed to do?”