Jen throws a fab 50 and embraces the ex-factor
Famous pals came along and Jennifer Aniston lobbed a social grenade by inviting Brad Pitt, writes Sophie Donaldson
‘Should you invite your ex to a significant celebration? A quick whip around the office and the resounding consensus is hell, no. The situation is rife with social peril’
YES, it’s only February and this might seem premature, but Jennifer Aniston’s 50th birthday deserves The Party of the Year crown, immediately. Never mind the Grammys or New York Fashion Week, the most sought-after invite last week — and the one that drew the most famous faces — was for her milestone birthday at the Sunset Tower hotel in West Hollywood.
Despite an attempted social media ban, photographs from the big bash have crept out — and my, what a bash it was. Whatever about 50 being the new 30, judging by this party, the 50th is the new 21st.
Jen was surrounded by famous pals like Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Moore, John Mayer and Reese Witherspoon, but there was one A-lister there nobody expected to see — ex-husband, Brad Pitt.
While their divorce bordered on the acrimonious, due to Pitt immediately coupling up with Angelina Jolie, the pair now enjoy a civilised friendship. It probably helps that Brad is currently in the midst of a divorce from Angelina — the invite may not have been extended if they were still happily married. However sanguine Jen is about inviting her ex to her milestone birthday, the invite has sparked watercooler debates everywhere.
Should you ever invite your ex to a significant celebration? A quick whip around the office and the resounding consensus is hell, no. The situation is rife with social peril, not just for yourself but for your family and friends who may not feel as ambivalent as you do about somebody who broke your heart. You can only imagine Kate and Demi circling Jen like lionesses as Brad loiters bashfully near the dips. For this is no regular ex — this is The Ex. The one who really made a mess of things by taking off with leggy Angelina with whom he generated a beautiful brood, a point of particular contention given the pressure Jennifer faced to have children while they were together.
Inviting The Ex to your milestone birthday is to lob a social grenade into what is supposed to be a fun-filled affair. For one thing, you can only imagine the strained small talk. Gregarious Ellen
probably found herself at a loss for words for the first time in her life, as she repeatedly reminded herself not to bring up the last time he appeared on her chat show and she gifted him and ‘Angie’ eight T-shirts, one for each family member, emblazoned with the slogan Jolie-Pitt. Courtney Cox was probably desperately trying to avoid any nostalgic trips down memory lane, lest they remember the last time they were at a big knees-up was Brad and Jen’s 2000 wedding. Just when guests thought things couldn’t get more uncomfortable, Gwynnie probably sauntered over to insist that if her and Chris Martin could consciously uncouple then he and Angelina could, too. Considering her and Brad’s history, and the fact that Jennifer went through her second divorce only months ago, matrimony was probably a taboo subject on the night. Funny though, that 50th birthdays aren’t too dissimilar to weddings. So long as the birthday girl (or bride) is happy on the big night, that’s all that really matters. Good friends are willing to wear hideous bridesmaid dresses, or make excruciating small talk with your ex-husband, in order to make the celebration a success. Perhaps a 50th birthday has more in common with a funeral — and no, not because middle-age means you’ve got one foot in the grave. A 50th birthday party is a like a funeral except that the person being celebrated is mercifully still alive.
Really though, there are far too few times that an individual will have so many disparate friends, family members and acquaintances gathered together to celebrate their life.
A 50th is a big ‘cheers’ to half a century spent on this earth. All going well, there will have been adventures, mistakes, lust, love, joy and certainly heartbreak.
There will have been good times and not so great ones. And so, after 50 thrilling years, it’s only fitting Jen gathered those who have been there for the good times and the bad — except Angelina, of course.