The one where Jen breaks the internet
NO MATTER HOW hard we wished for a reunion, the last time we saw Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross and Joey in one place was on the final episode of Friends in 2004. Until last week. On 15 October, Jennifer Aniston uploaded a selfie with the cast, publicly reunited for the first time in 15 years, with the caption ‘And now we’re Instagram FRIENDS too. HI INSTAGRAM’.
It wasn’t just that long-anticipated photo that got everyone in a tizz, though. It was the fact that Jennifer Aniston has finally joined the 2.8 billion of us on social media – after years of resistance. Within five hours she became the fastest person to ever reach a million followers, and her first photo had nine million likes within 24 hours. At one point her unexpected arrival on the site caused it to crash – the first time a single person had caused such a surge (now that’s breaking the internet, Kim).
‘Jen has always shied away from sharing her private life in this way because she’s spent so many years trying to keep herself out of the spotlight,’ a source close to the actor tells Grazia. ‘But, since turning 50, she’s is in a very different mindset. She wants to have some fun, and realises that social media isn’t necessarily the dark, negative thing she had thought. She likes the idea of having control of what she presents to the world, and showing who she is, on her terms.’ She gave it a lot of thought, even setting up what she called an anonymous ‘stalker account’ first.
The final push, though, came from Reese Witherspoon, her long-time friend and co-star in new Appletv+ drama The Morning Show. While Jennifer has long feared the repercussions of opening herself up too much, Reese explained to her that she uses Instagram to address inaccurate reports. ‘Listening to [Reese] talk about it, how you can actually kind of have a little bit more control over the narrative that’s out there, and right some wrongs, sounds intriguing,’ Jen said last week.
Last year, she told US Vogue that she had been worn down by public scrutiny, explaining, ‘I couldn’t hear this narrative any more about being pregnant or not pregnant; you have no idea what is going on personally in our lives and why that is or is not happening.’ But, following her 2018 split from her second husband, Justin Theroux (who she now follows on Instagram), Jen has had something of a rebirth, says our source. ‘Speaking out in that way really helped. Now Jen is far more carefree, she doesn’t really care what anyone thinks of her and is ready to leave all of the tumult and drama of her thirties and forties behind her. Jen is like a different person now in terms of how she sees her fame and all of the noise around it. She’s ready to do her own thing.’
This also applies to her love life. During an interview with Howard Stern on 9 October, Jen said that she wasn’t keen on being set up on dates, adding, ‘I don’t like it. I hate it.’ However, our source says, ‘It’s impossible for her to go on dating apps, or just meet someone at a bar. And while Jen doesn’t like being set up, she has become more open to going out on fun, lighthearted dates, which she picks with the help of her friends and team. She’s relaxed about being single – these dates are totally on her terms. Jen is the happiest and most self-assured she’s felt in years.’
You can have a little bit more control over the narrative on Instagram