Justin Theroux Finally Speaks Out About His 'Gentle Separation' From Jennifer Aniston
Theroux and Aniston announced their divorce earlier in 2018.
At long last, Justin Theroux has addressed his split from his wife of two years, Jennifer Aniston.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, the actor revealed that although they had separated, there was no bad blood.
"The good news is that was probably the most — I’m choosing my words really carefully — it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity,” he told the outlet.
In fact, Theroux said he only experienced hostility from the media and the public, who made the split a bigger deal than it really was.
"In a weird way, just sort of navigating the inevitable perception of it is the exhausting part," he said. "How do you combat gossip and rumor? And it’s just on crack and steroids now."
He continued, “These are actually in reality small events that take place. But everything can feel like 10 on the Richter scale if you make the headline big enough and salacious enough."
After rumors of their breakup started swirling in February 2018, Theroux and Aniston issued a joint statement and shared they had gone their separate ways after two years together. They described their split as "two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship."
The 47-year-old actor, who stars in the recently released Netflix series Maniac, went on to clarify that the separation was nothing but civilized.
"Again, neither one of us is dead, neither one of us is looking to throw hatchets at each other,” he said. "It’s more like, it’s amicable. It’s boring, but, you know, we respected each other enough that it was as painless as it could be."
He did admit their friendship was tainted, although they're both actively working on it.
"It was heartbreaking,” he said, "only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day. But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of."
Aniston also addressed the breakup in an InStyle cover story just a month ago. She called out the sexist rumors about how she can't keep a man, and how she was "devastated" over the split.
"It’s pretty crazy. 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,'" Aniston said. "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."
For the most part, though, she's happy and unbothered.
"I can sit back and laugh at the ridiculous headlines because they have gotten more and more absurd," she dished. "I guess they’re feeding into some sort of need the public has, but I focus on my work, my friends, my animals, and how we can make the world a better place."
Now can we leave these two alone?
