After rising to fame as Rachel Green on the hit  TV sitcom “Friends,” Jennifer Aniston became one of the most beloved actresses in show business. That role earned her several awards, and her career has only grown since then.

Between all that work and awards, Aniston made sure to have some time for her personal life. In 1998, she began dating fellow actor Brad Pitt , and their relationship received instant media attention. They married two years later, and seemed to be madly in love. However, surprisingly, in 2005, the couple announced that they were ending their marriage, and their divorce was finalized that same year.

However, Aniston did not give up on love, and in 2015 she remarried. She and actor Justin Theroux began dating in 2011, and got engaged the following year, until they tied the knot in 2015. However, the couple separated at the end of 2017, and announced their divorce the following year.

Luckily, Aniston has found some peace in her personal life over the years. Her home has a very ” zen ” style and she has kept much of her private life out of the press, aside from her past relationships. Additionally, Aniston has managed to maintain a successful career, and she has also remained friends with her exes.

The actress also learned to heal her old wounds. For example, she managed to overcome the toxic relationship she had with her father. Read on to find out more about her life over the years.

Jennifer Aniston, John Aniston (1995), (Ron Galella, Ltd./Wireimage/Getty images)

On the hit sitcom ” Friends ,” Aniston played the iconic role of Rachel Green. Her character went through many personal ups and downs, especially when it came to her relationships. Rachel had a tumultuous relationship with Ross throughout the series, and at times had to work hard to keep her friendships together. She also had to learn to balance the dynamics of her parents’ recent divorce. But in her real life, Aniston has also had to learn to navigate a complicated parental relationship.

Within a few months, Jennifer has managed to become the new queen of Instagram . Although she only joined the social network in October 2020, she has quickly amassed a significant fan base: she currently has more than 40.2 million followers.



She recently posted a throwback photo of herself with her father, John Aniston , star of the  television series ” Days of Our Lives .” What many people don’t know is that although the two have since reconciled, John once abandoned his daughter and went an entire year without seeing her.

As the 50-year-old  celebrity celebrated the holidays, she managed to spark a little joy on the Internet by posting a sweet sepia-toned photo. The heartwarming image showed her as a little girl, hugging her father around the neck with her adorable little arms.

A more recent photo was posted shortly after, in which father and daughter also appeared together. The caption was simple but very sweet: “Spending Christmas with the being who created me. Then and now… I love you, daddy.

Jennifer Aniston, John Aniston (1998), (Frank Trapper/Corbis/Getty Images)

Although everything seems rosy and lovely now, the road to that joy was anything but easy. John and Nancy Dow were married and lived together from 1965 until 1980, when the “Days of Our Lives” star suddenly disappeared from Aniston’s life, without warning. Dow was also taken by surprise by her husband’s departure and did her best to adjust to life as a single mother.

As an adult, the actress opened up about the pain she suffered as a child due to her family relationships. According to an interview that appeared in The Rolling Stone in 1999, Aniston recalls the event that shattered her life as follows:

“My mother told me. I went to a birthday party and when I came back she said , ‘Your father is not going to be with us for a while.’ She didn’t say he was gone forever… I just remember sitting there crying, not understanding why he was gone.”

Sadly, Aniston didn’t hear from her father for a whole year. She candidly described the year she spent without him as sad and confusing. However, the man who plays Victor Kiriakis on “Days of Our Lives” reappeared out of nowhere.

“One day he just called us up and said, ‘Let’s go see Fantastic Four. ‘ So we had dinner and watched the show. After that, I started watching him on the weekends, and that started a whole new way of life for me.”

Over the years, Aniston has had the opportunity to learn more details about her parents’ traumatic separation. At first, there was an unhealthy dynamic where she tried to be too nice, doing everything she could to keep her father from abandoning her again. This prevented her from coming to terms with and expressing the anger she felt, something she wouldn’t do until much later.

Jennifer Aniston (2020), (David Livingston/Getty Images)

When asked if John had ever explained to her why he made that decision, Aniston said:

“Not at first. As I said, he’s not very expressive… But he explained it to me as best he could, he apologized, and that’s enough. We’ve made up now. There are still things that I find unpleasant, but I’m a grown woman. I can’t keep blaming my parents for everything.”

The talented actress also once told The Hollywood Reporter that her father did everything he could to discourage her from breaking into the acting world.

“My father’s advice was always the same: ‘Don’t do it. Study law or medicine instead.'”

Despite these warnings, Jennifer decided to give it a try, and she got going by contacting her father’s agent directly. Her father was therefore aware of her Hollywood journey, but kept a close eye on her.

As Aniston explained, the warning was ultimately misplaced, but she knew it was coming from the right person: “He knew it was a tough profession and he didn’t want anyone to break my heart. But it inspired me to try even harder.”

According to the Daily Mail , a source close to Aniston said that she and her father got back in touch during the pandemic, and started talking on the phone “almost every day.” The source noted : “Jen has forgiven her father for leaving home a long time ago.” They added : “It seems like she’s realized that life is too short, and she wants her relationship with John to be the best it can be.”