Why Jen’s so fab at 50
Independent, beautiful... and said to finally become a mum
It has long been her dream to become a mom – she believes there’ll never be a better time
CLOSE FRIEND ON JENNIFER’S AIM OF ADOPTING A CHILD
WHEN she wakes up tomorrow on her 50th birthday and swings those toned legs out of bed at her €18million Bel Air mansion, Jennifer Aniston will look in the mirror and like what she sees.
Because despite all the ups and downs of her rollercoaster love life, the Friends star’s reflection is the one steady thing that has never let her down.
She looks almost as good now as she did the moment she walked into Central Perk coffee bar as the muchloved ditzy Rachel in the pilot episode of the hit comedy in 1994.
And although she’ll be hitting her half century with no man in her life, Jennifer is believed to be ready to celebrate the milestone by making another long-held dream come true – becoming a mum.
The actress is said to be in the early stages of adopting a child from a Mexican orphanage she has quietly supported for years.
She helped set up a charity nearly 10 years ago for the Casa Hogar Sion care home for children after a visit there, in a dangerous border town blighted by drugs crime.
Now a close friend says she feels the time is right to get even more personally involved.
“It has long been her dream to become a mom – and she believes there will never be a better time than now, even without a husband or partner,” said our source.
SHOCK
“She has set the ball rolling to adopt a child from the care home. Her lawyer has also been briefed that she wants this to happen as soon as possible.”
The news will come as a shock to fans who have always believed the star has never wanted a family throughout a love life littered with broken relationships, including failed marriages to actors Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux.
Yet although true happiness with a man continues to elude her, Jennifer has certainly aced it at staying young.
It’s all been down to a lifestyle likely to bring a groan from the legions of female fans who both adore and envy her – healthy eating, exercise, drinking lots of water and, as her fitness guru Mandy Ingber reveals, an undying love of yoga.
Jennifer first turned to it as rumours swirled about her five-year marriage to Brad Pitt – who was to run off with Angelina Jolie in 2005.
She was pictured practising alone on a beach. And as she prepared for her second doomed marriage – to actor Justin Theroux in 2015 – the star revealed she used yoga to calm her pre-wedding nerves.
“It kinda helps you prepare for everything,” said Jennifer, whose other exes include actors Tate Donovan, Vince Vaughn, singer John Mayer and model Paul Sculfor.
“Honestly, it’s like meditation. It allows anything coming at you throughout the day to be doable.”
She spends so much time with Mandy, who also works with stars Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Beckinsale, they have become good friends.
Mandy said: “With Jennifer, I’d do 30 minutes of spinning, 40 minutes of yoga, incorporating some of my hybrid which is a yoga pose paired with toning exercise.
“We’d do power yoga, vinyasa flow and then some yin yoga stretching, then finish with the infrared sauna.” While Jen puts those shapely legs down to yoga, two years into her marriage with Justin she claimed having a giggle with him helped keep away the wrinkles. She said: “I’m lucky as Justin is the funniest person I’ve met. Laughter is one of the great keys to staying youthful.”
But the fun didn’t last. The pair separated in February last year after just two and a half years. This time Jennifer took up boxing training to release her stress. She hired coach Leyon Azubuike to keep her in shape – and when she gushed about him on a chat show in December, calling him her “gentle giant”, it sparked rumours they
were dating. Leyon fuelled that with an Instagram post that Jennifer is “very special” to him. He says she’s a natural when it comes to training. “There are things we have to modify because she can adapt very quickly,” he said. “Jennifer is a good athlete. “We introduce different things to ramp up the training so she can make gains.” She applies equal commitment to healthy heating – sticking to a lowcarb, high-protein, gluten-free plan. Her day starts with warm lemon water to kick-start the metabolism, then a shake or avocado and eggs. Lunch is usually a salad with protein, and in the evening it’s lean meat like turkey, while courgettes are substituted for pasta in a vegetable lasagne. Jen has admitted her favourite snack is frozen grapes, which she discovered at a spa. Everything else is about working around the margins with creams and lotions. “We need to be really good and mindful of what we eat and how we take care of our skin,” she said. “Getting a good night’s sleep is important, as is water, water, water.” The star has tried out different cleansers but always goes back to a Neutrogena Cleansing Bar which costs €2.60, followed by “whatever toner of the month I’m using”.
In the 90s she dabbled with fake tan, but now uses Aveeno moisturiser on her body and mixes it with sunscreen for her face.
Studies have proved wearing a sunscreen as low as SPF 15 can help prevent wrinkles. Then there’s her crowning glory – the wonderful hair that inspired women everywhere to ask their hairdressers for “the Rachel cut” in the 1990s.
But Jennifer said: “It was a pain in the butt, to be honest, one of the hardest hairstyles to maintain.”
Her celebrity stylist Chris Mcmillan has says he trims her hair every six weeks but adds: “She takes care of it. She doesn’t rip through it when she brushes it after a shower. And she lets her hair dry on its own when not working.” Not having children has helped slow her ageing process – but it looks that is about to change. A friend says Jennifer – who stars in box office comedy hit film Dumplin’ – has already been looking for a country retreat far from Hollywood where she can raise an adopted child in peace. She viewed at least three estates last month during a visit to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The pal said: “She fell in love with the area, which is almost 1,000 miles from LA. Once she has found the perfect retreat, she will go ahead with the adoption.” grace.macaskill@reachplc.com
We’d do 30 mins of spinning, 40 mins of yoga, then finish with the infrared sauna MANDY INGBER JENNIFER’S CLOSE PAL AND YOGA GURU