When Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston began dating in the late 90s, they quickly cemented themselves as Hollywood's first modern power couple.
It was the stuff of tabloid dreams. While Pitt was moving into certified leading-man status, Aniston was the biggest star in the biggest sitcom of all time, commanding a paycheck of $US1 million for each episode of Friends.
But within just five years, it all came crashing down.
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It all began in 2004, when Pitt signed on to make Mr and Mrs Smith alongside Angelina Jolie.
As filming for the movie began, rumours of an affair between the co-stars started. Shortly afterwards, Pitt and Aniston separated.
Within just a couple of months, Pitt and Jolie became an official couple, posing together in an intimate W magazine shoot titled "Domestic Bliss".
Much like the rest of the world, Aniston was, understandably, "shocked".
"The world was shocked, and I was shocked," she told Vanity Fair.
"I'd be a robot if I said I didn't feel moments of anger, of hurt, of embarrassment."
It was around this time that a particular narrative began to take shape in the tabloids as Jolie and Aniston were plastered on magazine covers worldwide.
While Jolie was painted as the "bad girl" and a "home wrecker", Aniston was portrayed as "poor Jen". The innocent woman scorned.
Aniston's split from Pitt was over 15 years ago. Yet, to this day, the 'poor Jen' narrative persists.
Over the years, the sentiment has remained strong in the tabloid headlines - from her split from second husband Justin Theroux, to the fact that she hasn't had children. And Aniston certainly knows it.
In a profile with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Aniston reflected on the incessant attention paid to her private life.
"I used to take it all very personally - the pregnancy rumours and the whole, 'Oh, she chose career over kids' assumption. It’s like, 'You have no clue what’s going on with me personally, medically, why I can’t... can I have kids?'" she said.
"They don’t know anything, and it was really hurtful and just nasty."
For years, Aniston has faced intense speculation about why she didn't have children, coupled with endless pregnancy rumours when she has dared to touch her stomach in public.
Over the course of her career, Aniston has had at least 83 phantom pregnancies. And yes, she's also been pregnant with twins.
Well, according to the tabloids at least.
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"What the tabloids and the media did to people’s personal lives back then, regular people are doing now," Aniston told The Hollywood Reporter.
"Although I haven’t seen a tabloid in so long. Am I still having twins? Am I going to be the miracle mother at 52?"
It's not the first time that Aniston has spoken about the rumours that have plagued her personal life for years.
Speaking to Allure in 2014, Aniston addressed the public interest in her reproductive life.
"I don’t like [the pressure] that people put on me, on women - that you’ve failed yourself as a female because you haven’t procreated. I don’t think it’s fair," she said.
"You may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t mothering – dogs, friends, friends' children.
"This continually is said about me: that I was so career-driven and focused on myself, that I don’t want to be a mother, and how selfish that is."
Aniston also said the implication women without children are 'less' is grossly offensive.
"I have a lot of friends who decided not to have children, who can’t have children, or are trying but are having a difficult time," she said.
"There are all sorts of reasons why children aren’t in people’s lives, and no one has the right to assume. Its quite rude, insulting, and ignorant."
Similarly, speaking to InStyle in 2018, Aniston referred to the rumours as reckless.
"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. First, with all due respect, I'm not heartbroken," she shared.
"And second, those are reckless assumptions. 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. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate. Maybe I have other things I’m supposed to do?"
Indeed, Aniston has been doing lots of other things.
Other things like forming her own production company, winning a slew of awards, producing and starring in multiple television series, appearing as the face of some of the biggest brands on the planet, and donating to dozens of causes.
Yes, despite what the tabloids continue to believe, Jennifer Aniston is doing fine, thank you very much.
Feature Image: Getty.
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