Jen Aniston's 'Affair' Pain Laid Bare: 'Friends' Icon Opens Up About Brutal Love Triangle Scandal With Ex Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie — 'It's a Shame It Had to Happen'
Jennifer Aniston has opened up about her rollercoaster romance.
Aug. 25 2025, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Jennifer Aniston opened up like never before about the pain of being involved in the brutal "love triangle" that tore apart her marriage to Brad Pitt 20 years ago, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Friends alum, 56, called getting entangled in Pitt falling for his Mr. and Mrs. Smith costar Angelina Jolie "a shame," as it led to her divorce from the Hollywood hunk, 61, after five years of marriage. Aniston became tabloid fodder for years to come, watching as Pitt went on to build a family and marry Jolie, 50, only to go through a highly public and messy divorce with the former maneater.
'Boy Did I Take It Personally'
Aniston and Pitt were Hollywood's hottest couple throughout their five-year marriaige.
Aniston dished to Vanity Fair that she repeated a mantra to herself as the breakup and "poor Jen" narratives continued for years, and she watched Pitt move on so publicly.
“Just pick yourself up by the bootstraps and keep on walking, girl," was what The Morning Show star said helped get her through each new day of headlines about the "love triangle" involving Jolie.
“It was such juicy reading for people. If they didn’t have their soap operas, they had their tabloids,” Aniston griped about how so many people followed her personal life and romantic heartbreak.
“It’s a shame that it had to happen, but it happened. And boy did I take it personally," Aniston spilled about those dark days of her being the jilted woman, as Pitt and Jolie made the cover of magazines everywhere for their then-red-hot romance and growing family.
'Such a Vulnerable Time'
Aniston tried to smile at the 2006 Oscars, a year after Pitt's affair destroyed their marriage.
The publication reminded Aniston how she let them into her home in 2005 for her first interview following her split from Pitt.
Titled The Unsinkable Jennifer Aniston, the actress cried multiple times and revealed, "Am I lonely? Yes. Am I upset? Yes. Am I confused? Yes. Do I have my days when I've thrown a little pity party for myself? Absolutely," although she alternately claimed to be "doing really well" following the former couple's divorce.
Twenty years later, when presented with her words during the dark time, Aniston mused, "I haven’t looked at that article in forever. I just remember the experience of doing it, which was kind of jarring. It was also such a vulnerable time. But yeah, that was one for the memoirs.”
Aniston spilled about how she couldn't contain her emotions during the 2005 interview, still reeling from heartache and public betrayal.
“I didn’t have a strong enough constitution to not get affected by it. We’re human beings, even though some people don’t want to believe we are,” she explained. “They think, You signed up for it, so you take it. But we really didn’t sign up for that.”
'That's Karma For You'
Pitt and Jolie's divorce battle raged on for eight ugly years.
Aniston went on to marry her Wanderlust co-star Justin Theroux in 2015, although the doomed union ended in 2018.
While their split was relatively drama-free, Pitt and Jolie's divorce in 2016 dragged on for eight years, as the exes went to war over child custody, property, and finances.
While the pair were declared legally single in 2019, their brutal battle didn't end in a settlement until December 2024. By then, all but the former couple's 17-year-old twins, Knox and Vivienne, were adults, and all four of the older children had cut off contact with their dad.
"Yeah, that’s karma for you!" Aniston reportedly bragged to friends in 2016 when Pitt and Jolie split, with the insider adding, "Jennifer always knew that this day would come."
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Aniston admitted she and Pitt's ex Gwyneth Paltrow still gossip about their former mutual love.
Aniston has gone on to find love again with professional hypnotist Jim Curtis, with the couple taking a romantic Fourth of July vacation to Spain.
However, the Derailed actress still has moments where she looks back on her romance with Pitt and has an interesting partner to trade stories with, revealing she and the Fury star's former fiancée, Gwyneth Paltrow, still swap tales about their time with the heartthrob.
"Oh, of course," Aniston blabbed in the Vanity Fair interview. "How can we not? We’re girls."
