Aniston and Pitt announced
their separation in 2005, the same year Friends wrapped its
10-season run. In a new interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the actor revealed how
she dealt with all that change. “Well, I got a divorce and went into therapy,”
Aniston told DeGeneres during the host’s final episode of her talk
show.
“And then I did a movie
called The Break-Up. I just kinda leaned into the end. I just was
like, ‘You know what, guys? Let’s make this a completely new chapter. Let’s
just end everything and start new.’ It worked great.”
Aniston and Pitt were one of
Hollywood’s hottest couples for seven years and had been married for five when
they called it quits. “We would like to announce that after seven years
together we have decided to formally separate. For those who follow these sorts
of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of
any of the speculation reported by the tabloid media,” Aniston and Pitt wrote
in a joint statement to People on January 7, 2005.
“This decision is the result
of much thoughtful consideration. We happily remain committed and caring
friends with great love and admiration for one another. We ask in advance for
your kindness and sensitivity in the coming months.”
Months later, Brad Pitt
and Angelina Jolie went public with their relationship. The couple
eventually married in 2014 and divorced in 2019. Jennifer Aniston was also
married to actor Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2017. Aniston
remains close friends with both her ex-husbands.
“Brad and I are buddies. We’re
friends,” Aniston told Howard Stern in June 2021. “We speak, and
there’s no oddness at all.”
“I would say we’ve remained
friends,” Theroux told Esquire that same year. “We FaceTime. We
text. Like it or not, we didn’t have that dramatic split, and we love each
other. I’m sincere when I say that I cherish our friendship.”
He continued, “We cannot be
together and still bring each other joy and friendship. Also, she makes me
laugh very, very hard. She’s a hilarious person. It would be a loss if we
weren’t in contact, for me personally. And I’d like to think the same for her.”
