In our society, women are often pressurised into settling down and having kids, even if they have no interest in childrearing at all. Motherhood is an incredible experience, and those women who welcome a new life should be congratulated - but that doesn't mean that we should shame women who don't want children into having them.
One person who knows this all too well is former Friends actress Jennifer Aniston. Despite turning 50 this year, Jen is still having to put up with rampant tabloid speculation about her relationships and possible pregnancies - gossip which has hounded her ever since she first started dating Brad Pitt.
Jen still looks great at 50; check out her yoga workout below:Back in the 90s, many people wondered why she and Brad didn't ever try for a baby. However, Jen has cleared up the issue herself in a letter written for the Huffington Post, in which she has addressed why hasn't ever gotten pregnant.
Aniston wrote:
"The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover whether or not I am pregnant ... points to the perpetuation of this notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they're not married with children ... Yes, I may become a mother someday, and since I'm laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know."
She added:
"But I'm not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way, as our celebrity news culture would lead us all to believe ... Let's make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as examples. We don't need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own 'happily ever after' for ourselves."
Way back in 2008, Jennifer denied that she never wanted kids, and blamed her ex-husband Brad for spreading the rumours that she was too invested in her career to raise a family. Indeed, she then told Vanity Fair that: "A man divorcing would never be accused of choosing career over children. That really p*sses me off. I’ve never in my life said I didn’t want to have children."
Remember that painfully awkward moment Jen and Angelina Jolie came face-to-face at the Golden Globes?However, this isn't the first time Jen's given us a candid confessional. Check out this recent interview, in which she opens up about turning fifty, getting older, and steamy photoshoots.
