Actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have officially ended their relationship after two-plus years of marriage.
The couple announced that they had separated late last year in a joint statement obtained by HuffPost on Thursday.
The breakup, which Aniston and Theroux had intended to keep private at least for a while, was “mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year,” according to the couple. They decided to publicly announce the split in an attempt to “reduce any further speculation” and “gossip.”
“We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship,” the couple said in their statement.
“Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly.”
Aniston and Theroux met on the set of “Tropic Thunder” in 2007 and got engaged five years later. They were married on Aug. 5, 2015.
The actors do not have kids together, but they intend to stay friends and maintain their “deep respect and love” for each other, according to the couple.
Aniston, a hot topic for celebrity gossip sites, has previously criticized tabloid culture and the media’s obsession with her private life. In a 2016 essay for HuffPost, the actress said she was fed up with the incessant focus on her body, her personal decisions and whether or not she was pregnant. Last August, nearly a year after that commentary was published, she told Vogue that the gossip surrounding her personal life hadn’t let up. The statement reads as follows:
In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation. This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year. We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship. Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly. Whatever else is printed about us that is not directly from us, is someone else’s fictional narrative. Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another.
source: Huffingtonpost.com
