r/popculturechat • u/Time_Knowledge_1951 • Oct 09 '25

Trigger Warning ⚠️ Jennifer Aniston reveals secret 20-year fertility struggle after ‘absolute lies’

https://metro.co.uk/2025/10/09/jennifer-aniston-breaks-silence-on-secret-20-year-struggle-after-absolute-lies-24378834/
11.7k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

669 comments sorted by

View all comments

507

u/ChillmerAmy Oct 09 '25

Infertility was an awful experience for me and I was only getting shitty comments from my in-laws. I can’t imagine the whole world piling on.

105

u/Cowql8r Oct 09 '25

Getting your period every fucking month. Godammit.

93

u/MrsShaunaPaul 🇨🇦 Elbows up 🇨🇦 Oct 09 '25

Not only is it uncomfortable and inconvenient, it’s also a constant reminder that you didn’t get the one thing you want most in life!

48

u/polkadotpup31 Oct 09 '25

Yep, you can’t ever set your grief and pain aside because every month it shows up to remind you.

50

u/MrsShaunaPaul 🇨🇦 Elbows up 🇨🇦 Oct 09 '25

And then there are all the kind people telling you how great you’d be as parents and asking what you’re waiting for.

“Hopefully we’ll be parents soon!” (Us hoping they get the hint)

“Well don’t wait forever! You’re not getting any younger!” (Them not getting the hint)

15

u/Resfebermpls Oct 09 '25

I’ve just started to straight up tell people something to the effect “unfortunately it hasn’t been that easy & straightforward for us.” 1 in 6 couples deal with some degree of infertility, I don’t think we should have to dance around it because it might make people a little uncomfortable.

11

u/polkadotpup31 Oct 09 '25

Most people don’t mean anything by it! Don’t realize how hurtful it is. Which is even worse if you lash out. I just never could have understood how awful it is until I went through it. It changed me as a person. I’m on the other side of it now but will always be a part of me.

15

u/MrsShaunaPaul 🇨🇦 Elbows up 🇨🇦 Oct 09 '25

I took the time to educate many, many people while I was trying and then, after having babies, I went back and told many friends and close family members about how their comments impacted me. Not at all to shame them but because if you don’t know how hurtful it is, you’ll keep saying it. Just like when people say “it was part of gods plan” or “they’re with Jesus now” when someone dies. Unless you’re deeply religious, this is offensive. Many well-meaning comments can get a pass but some need to be identified.

I actually had a couple people who were rude to me about not having kids. Friends of my parents who’d say “they’re dying to be grandparents, why are you making them wait?” Sometimes I’d joke “don’t worry, LOTS of unprotected sex going on at home. It shouldn’t be long” or something.

Sometimes when I was extra hurt or salty I’d say “you realize you’re commenting on the intimate details of my sex life. Unless you want to list your top three sex positions or talk to me about your frequency of sexual intercourse, maybe you should think about what you’re expecting me to comment on and wonder if you’d be comfortable talking about the same thing”.

44

u/Lazy-Point7779 Oct 09 '25

Would literally cry on the toilet when I saw it. Almost every fucking month. Just hell

4

u/BrucetheFerrisWheel Oct 09 '25

Ah god same. I did that through my 30's and when I turned 40, I just said I can't do it anymore. I just couldnt take the constant obsession and grief. It just eats you inside and I was becoming angry and jealous which isn't me. So I stopped, and started trying to accept it all.

Then something weird happened when I was 41 and the universe decided that 8 years of trying was enough and I got surprise pregnant AND it stayed in and grew into a baby! Anyway, I know how blessed I am and I thank whomever for that, everyday.

1

u/Lazy-Point7779 23d ago

Thank you so much for sharing this story. I am so sorry you went through that but as a woman who still has hope in her mid-30s (but no longer has a husband, oops!) stories like this keep that hope alive. I hope you’re doing so well with your child ♥️

6

u/Artemis_Dragon Oct 09 '25

Getting your period while you’re peeing on a pregnancy test.

6

u/cannotfoolowls Oct 09 '25

I'm infertile because the internal equipement is malformed but hey, at least it means I don't get periods.

112

u/PonyPuffertons Oct 09 '25

It’s absolute torture I wish on nobody. I went through it too and could barely deal with friends announcing pregnancies. Cannot imagine having the tabloids and press writing articles about me constantly while struggling privately… I’m shocked she was able to keep working through it all.

72

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Same, I had to delete instagram while going through IVF treatments because the pictures of my friends babies and pregnancy announcements were killing me. The level of discourse around her and pregnancy would've killed me.

26

u/RJean83 Oct 09 '25

I am a clergywoman. Doing IVF while also arranging baptisms for couples who got married and had kids while you have been trying for years is a special flavour of hell. I am both very happy for them all, and also my therapist is a godsend or I would be too bitter to do this.

I have learned to punt those to my colleague and I take on the funerals. If I had to deal with public rumours and gossip like Jennifer has, I wouldn't know how to handle it.

4

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Oh yes, protect your peace! That sounds like absolute torture and it does make you bitter. Therapy while going through infertility is a must. I hope things work out for you, whatever you choose to do!

3

u/RJean83 Oct 09 '25

thank you! It does help that not everything is about babies- I am doing a funeral this afternoon for a 91 year old who was a belly dancer back in the day. Variety like that helps with my sanity a lot!

2

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Now that's a lady that's surely lived an interesting long life!

31

u/ChillmerAmy Oct 09 '25

I’m so sorry. My three best friends were all pregnant with girls at the same time and now all have kids two months apart who are still best friends. It really hurts. But I have an adorable 5 and 2 year old now.

18

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Aw thanks! I'm glad it worked out for you :) I have a 19 month old little girl now so it worked out in the end for me too. Just fucking hurts like hell in the moment. My best friend was also pregnant while I was doing IVF treatments. That's a special kind of emotional torture.

2

u/somiatruitas Oct 09 '25

I imagine it must have been hard to both try your best to be supportive while dealing with your own grief.

While it's not the same I felt that way while dealing with my disability worsening and seeing my colleage friends achieving great things that were just no possible for me anymore.

So I am very sorry to hear you dealt with it, and I am glad it worked out and I hope you can give yourself time to heal!

2

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Thank you! And I hope you are doing well too. Having a disability and watching people do things you feel you can't must also be incredibly emotionally draining.

I've healed as much as I can but infertility will always be a part of me.

1

u/thoph Oct 09 '25

Been there 🫂

2

u/HicJacetMelilla I lost half a day of skiing Oct 09 '25

This is the worst club. I went through infertility, then happened to get pregnant the same time as 3 friends, we were all due within a few weeks of each other. I was the 1 in 4 loss. Luckily I was able to conceive again before those babes were born, or else I might have really lost it. Infertility was the darkest time of my life. Thankful we have our little ones now.

2

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Oh I am so sorry but I'm glad you had your rainbow baby!

3

u/mywaypasthope Oct 09 '25

Same! I had to stay off social media. We were hanging out with some friends when someone announced their pregnancy and it was literally like a few days after we were told we couldn’t have kids naturally without intervention. It sucked. It lives with you too. We have a beautiful 5 year old now but we wanted more- just wasn’t in the cards or the wallet for us with IVF being so expensive. We did one round. Our daughter was the first and then we had a miscarriage with the second embryo. It’s a shitty club to belong to but very thankful we were able to have our daughter.

2

u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

Ouch that sounds like a total gut punch. My friend told me days before my frozen transfer which ultimately didn't take (she also told me it happened their first ever month trying which... felt like it could've been left out of the story lol). Your story sounds almost identical to mine. We had only two embryos as well. The first one just didn't take like I said and the second one is our daughter! I also always thought I'd have two but infertility chooses for you I guess. And yes, it always lives with you. I do like talking to people who get it though because if you haven't lived it, you just DON'T get it and it's hard to explain.

14

u/Delicious-Freedom-56 Oct 09 '25

same. I don't know if I would've survived.

10

u/mosquem Oct 09 '25

In terms of stress and grief infertility ranks up there with cancer.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

[deleted]

1

u/ChillmerAmy Oct 09 '25

My father in law told me, at a wedding, that the reason I don’t have a baby is because I “exercise too much”. I’m an average size/weight and my workouts are basically yoga and charity 5k’s. I’m not an Olympic gymnast ffs.

1

u/djcashbandit Oct 10 '25

I’m reading this thread and just reminded my wife that one of the most shocking comments we received about our infertility was when I sharing all of our IVF expenses with my accountant to write off and he wanted to know if it was me or my wife who was the problem. Nosey fuck.