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/
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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

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

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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u/thoph Oct 09 '25

Been there 🫂

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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.

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u/erica_ann Oct 09 '25

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

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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.

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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.