Jennifer Aniston and her husband Justin Theroux have separated, as announced in a joint statement they published yesterday. The couple married in 2015 in a secret ceremony in their Bel Air home, after meeting on the set of the movie Wanderlust. They had hoped to keep the separation private, but said that the industry "cannot resist an opportunity to speculate". Ever since she made her debut on Friends in 1994, Jennifer Aniston has been in the spotlight. It hasn't always been easy to deal with, especially when the rumours start to spread about your personal life. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BXbjAnHlbx3/?hl=en&taken-by=justintheroux]] Aniston has spoken out about gossip culture in the past, such as in this 2016 interview with Marie Claire, in which she said: "My marital status has been shamed, my divorce status was shamed, my lack of a mate had been shamed, my nipples have been shamed. "It's like, why are we only looking at women through this particular lens of picking us apart? Why are we listening to it? "I just thought: 'I have worked too hard in this life and this career to be whittled down to a sad, childless human.'" Theroux, who is an actor, director and screenwriter, started a relationship with Aniston in 2011 and moved in together the following year. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BQZOcfMhlE-/?hl=en&taken-by=justintheroux]] As a pair, they released a joint statement about their separation, but believe that they are still going to remain friends: "In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation. We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship. "Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly. "Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another" Theroux is Aniston's second husband after Brad Pitt, who she split with in 2005 after five years of marriage. As the divorce was finalized, many started to believe that Pitt had been unfaithful to her on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith with co-star Angelina Jolie, who he eventually married. While Aniston later told The Hollywood Reporter that "Nobody did anything wrong" and that "sometimes things happen", that didn't stop people from assuming there was some foul play on Pitt's part. But with the recent news that Brad Pitt has split from wife Angelina Jolie, there are plenty out there who are thinking that something could happen between the two of them now that they are single. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ladykellygrace/status/964293773369933824]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Sonia_GoodGirl/status/964287359360548865]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/JerryDonut1/status/964291732522270725]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ashallann/status/964289717444448257]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/stephanietega/status/964305395626934272]] Since his divorce, Pitt has already become the subject of various rumors, with some even believing that there might be something between the actor and Jennifer Lawrence. It's unclear if Aniston and Pitt would even want to get back together, but who knows what could happen?

Justin Theroux shared a sweet birthday post dedicated to his ex Jennifer Aniston who turned 52 on February 11.

Taking to his Instagram Story, Theroux, 49, tagged the Friends actress in a black and white photo, captioning it: “Happy Birthday Jennifer Aniston.”

The actor evidently still has platonic love for his former flame as he also made sure to include a red heart emoji so that the second half of the caption read: "Love you B [his nickname for Aniston]."

The couple called it quits back in February of 2017 after two years of marriage and seven years together.

Credit: Justin Theroux / Instagram

In a joint statement that they released to the Associated Press, Aniston and Theroux revealed that their decision to break up was "mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year."

Despite no longer being together, the pair seem to have remained good friends. In fact, every year since their break up, Theroux has sent Aniston a birthday tribute on social media.

And now that The Morning Show star is on Instagram herself – after joining in 2019, Theroux is finally able to actually tag her in the yearly birthday posts.

A little while after the couple called it quits back in 2018, Aniston spoke to ELLE  about her former romances, which included her famous marriage to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005.

Credit: PA Images

"My marriages, they've been very successful, in [my] personal opinion," Aniston told the magazine. "And when they came to an end, it was a choice that was made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes happiness didn't exist within that arrangement anymore." 

She added:

"Sure, there were bumps, and not every moment felt fantastic, obviously, but at the end of it, this is our one life and I would not stay in a situation out of fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of not being able to survive. 

“To stay in a marriage based on fear feels like you're doing your one life a disservice. When the work has been put in and it doesn't seem that there's an option of it working, that's okay. That's not a failure."

Regardless of the fact that celebrities are often exceptionally good looking, and have stacks of cash in the bank, they too struggle in the pursuit of everlasting love. While everyone can tell when a celebrity affair is headed to disaster (normally whenever Taylor Swift is involved), there are a few that seem so perfect that vast swathes of the internet brand them "couple goals". There's Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and of course, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.

However - as the last few months have proved - the course of true love never does run smooth. Veritable golden couple, Chris Pratt and Anna Faris announced their separation after eight years of marriage last August, and now Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have called it quits too. The Friends star and Theroux had been together for seven years, after meeting on the set of 2008's Tropic Thunder. They wed two and a half years ago in a "surprise" ceremony.

And as could be expected, the rumour-mill has gone into overdrive. While most tabloids are churning out the usual intel - that Aniston still believes in love, that their relationship had been in trouble for a while, and that the possibility of a reconciliation with Brad Pitt is highly unlikely - US Weekly has a slightly wilder take. Apparently, a source has revealed that Jennifer Aniston kept post-it notes that Brad Pitt wrote her during their marriage, and Justin Theroux found them.

While we're not ones to buy into tabloid speculation, this story is so out there that it could possibly, just possibly, be true. A source told US Weekly that Justin Theroux reportedly "stumbled upon old Post-it notes Brad had written". They were allegedly "Sweet little Post-its like, ‘You looked nice tonight’ or ‘Miss you already."

Unsurprisingly, these notes had a big impact on their relationship. "Jen assured him they weren’t a big deal, but Justin wasn’t thrilled… Justin had moments of insecurity like that," the source continued.

I mean, we're just grateful that he didn't break up with her on a post-it note - á la Sex and the City.

Other publications, however, have stayed away from the speculation and have tried to shut down rumours that Brad-Jen 2.0 could happen."They’ve been over each other for longer than they were ever together," a source, reportedly with knowledge of Aniston's and Pitt's current relationship, told People. "Now you add six kids on his side and each of them having their own assorted battle scars into the mix? Forget it. It’s not going to happen."

In a statement to The Associated Press, the pair announced that the decision to separate was "mutual" and "lovingly made at the end of last year".

"We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship. Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly. Whatever else is printed about us that is not directly from us, is someone else’s fictional narrative. Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another," Aniston and Theroux stated.

While there's no way to asses the reliability of such assertions, one thing's for sure, people are still carrying a torch for Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. I mean, it's been 13 years, folks - how many is it going to take for you to get over this one?

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt divorced in 2005 - but 14 years later, are they back in contact?

It would certainly seem so, given that fact that Brad was caught on camera sneaking into his former wife's 50th birthday party yesterday.

Fans went wild with speculation after the Fight Club star was spotted making an appearance at Sunset Tower in Los Angeles to celebrate Jennifer's big five-oh.

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The pair hasn't been photographed together since their split - and this sure was a close call with them finally in the same building! But, what did it all mean?

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Honestly, no one really knows what's going on between the exes but them - but there have been rumours swirling for months that they began talking again when Brad announced his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

In 2017, it was claimed that the 55-year-old tracked down the Friends star's phone number through a "tangled web" of contacts, and reached out to her with a happy birthday text. They allegedly began talking afterwards, with Brad "confiding" in Jen about his split.

"Brad has confided in Jen," a source reportedly said. "Brad told her he's having a hard time with his split and they exchanged a few texts reminiscing about the past."

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The actor certainly wasn't the only A-lister at Jennifer's 50th party, with dozens of celebrities turning up to the event. This included Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Amal Clooney, Kate Hudson, Reese Witherspoon, Ellen Degeneres, Robert Downey Jr. and Demi Moore.

Not a bad guest list, huh?

Jennifer is currently thought to be single, after divorcing from actor Justin Theroux at the end of 2017. Brad, on the other hand, is rumoured to be dating Charlize Theron after they were introduced by her ex-fiancé Sean Penn.

A source reportedly said: "They have been casually seeing each other for nearly a month now. They’ve been friends for some time — ironically through Sean — but things have developed."

Brad and Jen caused a media frenzy when they first got together back in 1998, after being set up by their agents. They were married for five years before Brad met Angelina on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

However, despite going through two divorces, Jennifer doesn't feel like her marriages were "failures".

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Opening up about her personal life in the January 2019 issue of Elle, the Dumplin's star stated that a relationship still has value, even if it comes to an early end.

"I don’t feel a void. I really don’t," the 50-year-old told Elle. "My marriages, they’ve been very successful, in [my] personal opinion. And when they came to an end, it was a choice that was made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes happiness doesn’t exist within that arrangement anymore."

She continued: "Sure, there were bumps, and not every moment felt fantastic, obviously, but at the end of it, this is our one life and I would not stay in a situation out of fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of not being able to survive.

"To stay in a marriage based on fear feels like you’re doing your one life a disservice. When the work has been put in and it doesn’t seem that there’s an option of it working, that’s okay. That’s not a failure. We have these clichés around all of this that need to be reworked and retooled, you know? Because it’s very narrow-minded thinking."

Hear, hear, Jen! We hope you had a fantastic birthday - you deserve it.

There are very few celebrities out there whose personal lives have fallen under as much scrutiny as Jennifer Aniston's. For the majority of her professional life, the former Friends actress has been a constant source of media speculation when it comes to the delicate subject of her relationship status. The drama first began back in 1998, when Jen first got involved with none other than Brad Pitt. The two immediately hit it off, and soon Pitt had popped the question and proposed to her. The couple tied the knot in a ceremony in 2000 in Malibu, and all was rosy for a while.

Then Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie hooked up during the production of the movie Mr and Mrs Smith, and in 2005 Brad and Jen announced their separation, divorcing later that year. Aniston was portrayed in the press as a broken-hearted victim by the tabloids, despite the fact that she appeared to have coped remarkably well with the breakup. Now that her and actor Justin Theroux have split after being together for seven years, the media has gone right back to portraying Aniston as an emotional wreck.

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As you can imagine, Aniston is less than enthused about being cast as such a sad sack, and was quick to address the misconceptions regarding her love life in a recent interview with InStyle Magazine. Aniston stated: "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. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors."

"No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. 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?"

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She added: "Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff. When a couple breaks up in Hollywood, it’s the woman who is scorned. The woman is left sad and alone. She’s the failure... F that. When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?"

Sources close to the star have suggested that Anniston is currently dating two guys, and that her new dates are allegedly a tech titan that a mutual friend introduced her to who has recently separated from his wife, while the second is apparently "an industry creative she met when they started working on a project together several months ago." Good for her I say. It sounds like she's really living her best life.