Jen & Justin Why they split
Insiders reveal the couple’s nasty fights and long-running problems
When Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announced their split on February 16 after just two years of marriage, fans were stunned. But the news came as little surprise to their friends, who were astonished it took them so long to throw in the towel.
“The marriage had been dead for over a year, but Jen kept hoping for a miracle,” an insider says. “Things got so awkward and volatile that Justin made New York his primary home and said he could barely stand to be in the same room as Jen any more. She was obsessed with trying to save face and refused to let go, despite it being very obvious they had virtually nothing in common.”
As widely reported, Jen, 49, and Justin, 46, frequently bickered over where to live, with Jen refusing to move to New York and Justin complaining that LA was boring and superficial.
Woman’s Day can reveal they also fought over Justin’s refusal to start a family, with Jen pleading for years for them to adopt or try to have a baby via a surrogate.
“It became pretty toxic in the last year or so,” adds our insider. “Justin took the view that Jen was a pampered control freak, while she thought he was ungrateful and wasted the best years of her life. They became ships that passed in the night, and no amount of therapy or time apart could save them.”
Things came to a dramatic head over Christmas, when Justin moved his things out of Jen’s Bel Air mansion following a knockdown fight, and told their friends the marriage was dead.
“It was a horrible confrontation that involved a lot of namecalling and a lot of tears,” says the source. “Justin moved into a hotel but Jen persuaded him to come with her to Mexico over the New Year break for one more chance to work it out.
“But they barely spoke on that trip and both agreed it was pointless trying to cling on any longer. It was all about the exit strategy after that, because there was nothing left to fight for.”
‘No amount of therapy or time apart could save them’