Jennifer Aniston has revealed she endured a 20-year secret battle to have a baby.

In a rare conversation, the 56-year-old Friends star opened up in Harper’s Bazaar UK’s November issue, addressing misconceptions about her desire to become a mother. She spoke against the incorrect belief that she chose not to have children due to being a ‘selfish workaholic’.

Aniston expressed, “People were unaware of my personal journey, or the efforts I’ve made over the last 20 years to start a family, as I don’t publicly share my medical struggles.

“Such matters are private. However, it reaches a point where you can’t ignore the repeated narrative that I’m choosing not to have a baby or family because I’m self-centered and constantly working.”

‘It does affect me – I’m just a human being. We’re all human beings. That’s why I thought, “What the hell?”’

Jennifer Aniston revealed to Harper’s Bazaar her secret 20-year ordeal of trying to have a child, countering claims that her career-focus was a deliberate choice over motherhood.

She reflected, “No one knew about my personal experiences or the lengths I’ve gone to over two decades to try to have a family, because I keep my health issues private.”

She also added, “It’s nobody’s concern. Yet, there is a limit to enduring the ongoing portrayal that I deliberately avoid motherhood due to selfishness and work obsession.”

She concluded:’It does affect me – I’m just a human being. We’re all human beings. That’s why I thought, “What the hell?”’

However, the older Jennifer gets, the less she feels the need to ‘correct a false narrative.’

She explained: ‘The news cycle is so fast, it just goes away. 

‘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.’ 

Jennifer was married to actor Brad Pitt from 2000-2005. They split after he met actress Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

In 2022, Jennifer tragically revealed she had unsuccessfully tried IVF – and admitted she wished she had frozen her eggs years earlier.

‘It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,’ Jennifer said at the time.

‘My late 30s, 40s, I’d gone through really hard sh[*]t, and if it wasn’t for going through that, I would’ve never become who I was meant to be. I was trying to get pregnant.

‘All the years and years and years of speculation… It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it.

Jennifer was married to Brad Pitt from 2000-2005 but they split when she was aged 35 (pictured in 2004) – Jennifer admits: ‘My late 30s, 40s, I’d gone through really hard sh[*]t… I was trying to get pregnant’

It wasn’t until 2015 that Jennifer would settle down again, marrying Justin Theroux in 2015 but they split in 2018

‘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. But I have zero regrets.’

Jennifer was aged 35 when she split from Brad and previously said the suggestion he left her because she wouldn’t give him a child was an ‘absolute lie.’

Brad went on to have has six children with Angelina. Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.The eldest three are adopted and the youngest three are their biological children. 

They announced their split in 2016 after a now-infamous private plane incident in which Angelina accused Brad of being abusive toward her and the children.

Brad is thought to now have ‘virtually no contact with them.’

Meanwhile, Jennifer went on to marry actor Justin Theroux in 2015 when she was aged 46.

But theirs wasn’t to be a lasting romance. They divorced just three years later. 

In March, Justin remarried – in a secret ceremony – to new love Nicole Brydon Bloom.

‘Jennifer was one of the first to congratulate Justin on getting married,’ an insider exclusively told the Daily Mail in March. 

‘Yes, it took her by surprise but they have maintained a close friendship, and she is happy for him that he has found true love.’

The source added that the news was somewhat bittersweet for Aniston, despite the fact she approves of Theroux’s much-younger new spouse.

Jennifer also opened up about being an older successful actress in Hollywood as she hit back at there being expiration date for people in the public eye.

She said: ‘The societal idea of an expiration date just doesn’t exist anymore – it’s an old ideology. 

‘We’re here and we’re more than half the population… and would any of you schmucks be here if it weren’t for us anyway? 

‘The wisdom older women have to contribute is quite extraordinary, and it’s one of the areas where we’ve seen genuine progress in the film world.’ 

The star looked incredible as she posed for a series of black-and-white snaps for her new edtitorial 

She turned heads in a dramatic black dress with a delicate lace neckline 

She then slipped into a plunging long sleeve top and skirt as she posed for a chic snap

Back in July, it was revealed that Jennifer had officially found love again as she confirmed her passionate new romance with hunky hypnotist Jim Curtis.

The November issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK is on sale from October 9

After DailyMail.com exclusively revealed the Friends actress spent Fourth of July weekend with the life coach, Aniston packed on the PDA with Curtis on a romantic yacht break in Mallorca just days after.

A source told DailyMail.com: ‘Jennifer is dating Jim and is very happy, but she’s still taking things slowly for now.

‘Her friends have been buzzing with excitement over the new romance, and those who have met him think they are a perfect match.

‘They both share a deep love of doing “inner work” and Jen thinks that Jim is quite remarkable in that respect.

‘Jen has read just about every self-help book worth reading and Jim coming into her life has felt like fate.

‘It’s been a meeting of minds. Jen feels very connected to Jim as they have the same level of emotional intelligence, unlike some of her previous suitors.’

The November issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK is on sale from October 9.