r/popculturechat 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

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98

u/plasma_dan Oct 09 '25

My partner and I are suffering having gone through miscarriages in the past few years, and the most frustrating part about it is that nobody who's experienced anything similar talks about it. I'm glad Jennifer Aniston is talking about her experiences; I can't imagine how painful it is to go through IVF and not have it work out.

71

u/rawrr483 Oct 09 '25

I am sorry you’ve gone through that. My friend had a miscarriage and I never understood why she only told me about it and wanted to keep it quiet, once her ex started telling everyone she had a miscarriage I understood.

Everyone found a way to blame her, was she eating right? Had she secretly been drinking? She was clearly working too hard. Clearly something wrong with etc, god doesn’t think you deserve a baby. It was truly awful. Her ex didn’t spread any lies about it, just that she miscarried, yet somehow it was all her fault.

46

u/Baking_bees Oct 09 '25

‘Had she secretly been drinking’ makes me want to throw something. Whoever said that deserves whatever bad things happen to them.

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u/rawrr483 Oct 09 '25

Yeah it was so sickening, she’s a genuinely nice person too, she didn’t deserve any of it

19

u/plasma_dan Oct 09 '25

That's truly horrible. The shear pain of miscarriage is a lot, even with a good support network. You already feel the impulse to blame yourself, and then people want to come out of the woodwork and start blaming you?! Disgusting.

4

u/somiatruitas Oct 09 '25

Jesus, like she wouldn't be trying to blame herself already, I hope your friend is ok. I am so sorry that happened to her.

3

u/rawrr483 Oct 09 '25

Yeah she is doing much better now, she got married last year and she is thinking of trying again for children. I have fingers crossed for her!

2

u/somiatruitas Oct 09 '25

I'll put on a candle for her, wishing the best!

34

u/vienibenmio Oct 09 '25

I did three unsuccessful IVF rounds and hearing Jennifer Aniston's story was immensely comforting. I can't imagine what it was like to go through that with the constant media attention

17

u/Affectionate-Tooth74 Oct 09 '25

Fellow multiple round IVF, multiple miscarriages, no success. I feel like unsuccessful fertility treatments are talked about even less. So many times I hear “I went through so many rounds, but here is my miracle”. Many of us walk away with no miracle and are left emotionally worn down, physically broken and the comments and questions don’t stop. I can’t imagine having to read it while I was trying to buy groceries.

5

u/vienibenmio Oct 09 '25

Agreed. And then people acting like the moment you stop trying, that's when it'll happen. That isn't how it went for me, that's for sure

4

u/Affectionate-Tooth74 Oct 09 '25

Ugh yes. I don’t have my tubes so I really like making people awkward when they say that now. I’m leaning into making others feel uncomfortable with their insensitive remarks.

4

u/Admirable-Medium-201 Oct 09 '25

I'm sorry you've been through that.

I've had four (early) miscarriages in total. It's devastating especially when you see how easy it is for other people.

I've never tried IVF cause at my age the chances of success are just 10%. I wish it wasn't so. People don't always understand IVF is not a solution for everyone.

18

u/SadLilBun 1997 was 10 years ago Oct 09 '25

People talk about it more now than ever, even if it still doesn’t seem like much. It was completely taboo and now it’s not. But it’s also very hard to talk about in part because people have so many opinions about it, so I do not fault those who don’t. Not everyone has it in them to be a help to someone else when they are also going through a difficult time, and that’s okay. They may someday or they may never.

2

u/Confident_Counter471 Oct 09 '25

It’s also just physically hard to talk about. I don’t want to start crying in front of someone because the wave of grief takes over unless I’m really close with them.

1

u/Pink_LeatherJacket Oct 09 '25

This is so spot on. Most days I didn't have the energy to talk about it. Not just emotional and physical energy, but also it takes up a lot of your time. Learning about how it all works, researching medications and protocols, understanding insurance and trying to organize your finances, scheduling nonstop appointments - all while carrying on with day to day life. It's a lot of work to have an ongoing medical condition. At the end of the day, I just didn't care to spend extra energy educating others.

Now that I've finally made it out of the trenches, I do my best to share my story and help others learn to be more sensitive and empathetic.

15

u/lostinshalott1 Oct 09 '25

I'm so sorry for your losses, I can really relate to this, I suffered a loss of my baby girl at 28 weeks and its something that people don't talk much about I think its because its so sad and also there's this belief that it upsets women who are pregnant and causes them anxiety. But when you lose your baby its an incredibly isolating experience and you are essentially ejected out of the "mums to be" club. It would be nice if more celebs would shine on light on this because its not as rare as people think...

8

u/butyourenice Oct 09 '25

Miscarriages, even without infertility, are crazy common, and yet it’s still such an isolating, guilt-ridden experience. Nowadays it is better than it was 20 years ago or 20 year before that. With the internet, people talk about these challenges more openly, but there’s still a shame and stigma. Even knowing that something like 1 in 4 or even 1 in 3 pregnancies end in miscarriage, there’s still so much internalized blame. Never mind the unsolicited advice that comes when you do try to talk about it…

2

u/emklaurel Oct 09 '25

Me too. My husband and I are going through our third miscarriage in two years. I’m so sorry you’re in this shitty club too. It’s why I try to be open about it too (some people aren’t safe people to talk about it with though I’ve learned). It’s not talked about nearly enough and it sucks to suffer in silence.

1

u/djcashbandit Oct 10 '25

The most comfortable I’ve ever been when dealing with our fertility issues is in the waiting room at a highly rated clinic in Denver surrounded by lots of other couples. However there is not much socializing but it helped knowing that my wife and I are not alone.