Reason Jennifer Aniston chose not to adopt amid years of infertility struggles

For years, Jennifer Aniston’s personal life has been the subject of endless speculation: from her relationships to the persistent question of why she never had children, but she recently opened up in rare detail about her journey through infertility and the decisions that came with it.

During a candid conversation on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s Armchair Expert podcast, the Friends star reflected on how her experience shaped her outlook on motherhood.

After decades of tabloid rumors and assumptions about her private life - especially since divorcing Brad Pitt in 2005 - she’s finally setting the record straight, and her honesty cuts through years of gossip with refreshing clarity.

It turns out that, despite public assumptions, adoption was never something Aniston, 56, wanted to pursue.

She told the hosts: "When people say, ‘But you can adopt,’ I don’t want to adopt.

Jennifer Aniston opened up about why adoption was never part of her plan (Dia Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images)

"I want my own DNA in a little person. That’s the only way, selfish or not, whatever that is, I’ve wanted it."

Aniston has been open about her attempts to have children in the past, revealing to Allure in 2022 that she had undergone rounds of IVF and tried just about everything possible

She clarified: "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."

She also shared that she wished someone had told her earlier to freeze her eggs, adding: "You just don’t think [about] it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed."

While some might expect such experiences to leave her with regret about not entering the world of parenting, Aniston described her current state as one of peace and acceptance.

Aniston was married to Brad Pitt between 2000 - 2005 (Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage)

Back on the recent podcast appearance, when co-host Padman admitted she still wasn’t sure whether she wanted children herself and asked if Aniston had made peace with her own decision, the actor replied: "It’s so peaceful. But I will say there’s a point where it’s, like, out of my control.

"There’s literally nothing I can do about it."

Now dating life coach Jim Curtis, Aniston admitted there were moments in her past when she thought certain partners 'would have made some good kids'.

Still, she said those feelings 'pass within three seconds'.

In a separate interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, Aniston also addressed the years of speculation around her life, especially the narrative that painted her as selfish for not having children.

The actress has been candid about not having children (Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

She said: "They didn’t know my story, or what I’d been going through over the past 20 years to try to pursue a family, because I don’t go out there and tell them my medical woes."

Reacting to this same treatment she still seems to get to this day, she further noted: "That’s not anybody’s business. But there comes a point when you can’t not hear it — the narrative about how I won’t have a baby, won’t have a family, because I’m selfish, a workaholic.

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