Jennifer Aniston Says She’s Made Peace With Not Having Kids

Jennifer Aniston, 56, is no longer dwelling on what might have been, especially when it comes to motherhood.

The actor said she’s come to terms with not having kids after years of navigating fertility challenges and public scrutiny over her choices.

“It’s so peaceful. But I will say, well, there’s a point where it’s like, it’s out of my control. There’s literally nothing I can do about it,” Aniston told hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on Monday’s episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast.

She added that while others have suggested alternatives to having biological children, that path never felt right for her.

“And when people say, ‘But you can adopt.’ I don’t want to adopt. I want my own DNA in a little person. That’s the only way, selfish or not, whatever that is, I’ve wanted it to come,”Aniston said.

While there have been moments when she’s met someone and thought they “would have made some good kids,” she said that feeling usually passes “within three seconds.”

Aniston added that there’s a bit of “romanticizing” once she’s on the other side of it, because “it’s out of your control.”

“Just wasn’t in the plan. Whatever the plan was,” Aniston said.

After years of public scrutiny over her personal life, the “Friends” star told Allure in 2022 that she had tried to get pregnant through IVF treatments. She said she did not freeze her eggs, and added that “the ship has sailed.”

“I have zero regrets,” Aniston said. “I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’ I don’t have to think about that anymore.”

Aniston isn’t the only celebrity who has spoken about their decision not to have kids.

In 2013, Oprah Winfrey told The Hollywood Reporter that her busy schedule and career goals would have stopped her from being a good mom.

“If I had kids, my kids would hate me,” she said, adding that something in her life would have to give, and “it would’ve probably been them.”

In March, Chelsea Handler also spoke about her decision to not have kids during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

“I think, you know, another misconception about not having your own children is that people think I hate kids,” Handler said. “I don’t hate kids, I just don’t want one. It’s just like, I don’t want spaghetti Bolognese — I’m not interested, you know?”

A representative for Aniston did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.