Jennifer Aniston revealed that her parent’s strained marriage continues to impact her ability to be in a partnership.
“It was always a little bit difficult for me in relationships, I think, because I really was kind of alone,” Aniston said during a sit-down for WSJ. Magazine’s Fall Woman’s Style issue, which was published on Tuesday. “My parents, watching my family’s relationship, didn’t make me kind of go, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to do that.’”
“I didn’t like the idea of sacrificing who you were or what you needed, so I didn’t really know how to do that,” the “Morning Show” actor explained. “So it was almost easier to just be kind of solo. So I didn’t have any real training in that give-and-take.”
Aniston’s parents were famed “Days of Our Lives” actor John Aniston and actor Nancy Dow. Aniston and her mother, who died in 2016, were estranged for many years.
Relationships are “about not being afraid to say what you need and what you want. And it’s still a challenge for me in a relationship,” Aniston told WSJ. Magazine. “I’m really good at every other job I have, and that’s sort of the one area that’s a little….”
Gray Sorrenti for WSJ. Magazine
When prodded about her current love life, the actor quipped: “My dog. That’s who I’m sleeping with.”
Aniston has had highly public romances over the years, including marriages to Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux and partnerships with Tate Donovan, Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.
In an interview with Allure last year, the “Friends” star weighed in on whether she’d ever want to tie the knot again.
“Never say never, but I don’t have any interest,” she said, adding: “I’d love a relationship. Who knows?”
“There are moments I want to just crawl up in a ball and say, ‘I need support,’” Aniston said. “It would be wonderful to come home and fall into somebody’s arms and say, ‘That was a tough day.’”
Aniston’s full WSJ. Magazine interview appears online and in the WSJ. Magazine’s Fall Women’s 2023 Issue, which will be available on Sept. 2.