Everything Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Have Said About Their Post-Split Friendship

Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Everything Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Have Said About Their Post-Split Friendship

Making it work! Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux called it quits in February 2018, but they've worked hard to maintain a friendship since then. The former couple met for the first time in 2007 on the set of Tropic Thunder but didn't start dating until 2011 when they reunited as actors in the film Wanderlust. In August 2015, they tied the knot at their home in California. The ceremony was so top-secret that even their friends — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Bateman and Sandra Bullock, to name a few — didn't know they were attending a wedding until they arrived. The sneaky duo had told them they were coming over to celebrate Theroux's birthday. Two and a half years later, however, the pair announced that they were going their separate ways, but even in their breakup statement, they kept things civil. “In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation,” the pair told Us Weekly in a joint statement in February 2018. “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.” [jwplayer eEZHyqXD-zhNYySv2] Six months later, the Friends alum said that the split wasn't as devastating as some headlines made it out to be. “The misconceptions are ‘Jen can’t keep a man,’ and ‘Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career,'" she told InStyle in August 2018. “Or that I’m sad and heartbroken. First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. They don’t know what I’ve been through medically or emotionally.” The Inland Empire star echoed his ex's sentiments one month later, telling The New York Times that the breakup was as calm as such a thing could be. “The good news is that was probably the most — I’m choosing my words really carefully — it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity,” he said in September 2018. “In a weird way, just sort of navigating the inevitable perception of it is the exhausting part.” Since then, the twosome have stayed in each other's lives. In 2019, they even spent Thanksgiving together with friends including Bateman and Cox, and each February, Theroux wishes Aniston happy birthday via social media. Keep scrolling to read everything the former couple have said about their friendship:

Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Everything Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Have Said About Their Post-Split Friendship

Making it work! Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux called it quits in February 2018, but they've worked hard to maintain a friendship since then. The former couple met for the first time in 2007 on the set of Tropic Thunder but didn't start dating until 2011 when they reunited as actors in the film Wanderlust. In August 2015, they tied the knot at their home in California. The ceremony was so top-secret that even their friends — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Bateman and Sandra Bullock, to name a few — didn't know they were attending a wedding until they arrived. The sneaky duo had told them they were coming over to celebrate Theroux's birthday. Two and a half years later, however, the pair announced that they were going their separate ways, but even in their breakup statement, they kept things civil. “In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation,” the pair told Us Weekly in a joint statement in February 2018. “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.” [jwplayer eEZHyqXD-zhNYySv2] Six months later, the Friends alum said that the split wasn't as devastating as some headlines made it out to be. “The misconceptions are ‘Jen can’t keep a man,’ and ‘Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career,'" she told InStyle in August 2018. “Or that I’m sad and heartbroken. First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. They don’t know what I’ve been through medically or emotionally.” The Inland Empire star echoed his ex's sentiments one month later, telling The New York Times that the breakup was as calm as such a thing could be. “The good news is that was probably the most — I’m choosing my words really carefully — it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity,” he said in September 2018. “In a weird way, just sort of navigating the inevitable perception of it is the exhausting part.” Since then, the twosome have stayed in each other's lives. In 2019, they even spent Thanksgiving together with friends including Bateman and Cox, and each February, Theroux wishes Aniston happy birthday via social media. Keep scrolling to read everything the former couple have said about their friendship:

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Changing Together

“It was heartbreaking only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day," the Mulholland Drive actor told The New York Times of the pair's split in September 2018. "But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of.”

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No Regrets

Just over a year after her split from Theroux, Aniston said that her past relationships hadn't stopped her from wanting to find love again in the future. “My time on this planet has been about … It hasn’t looked a certain way," she told Harper's Bazaar in May 2019. "It’s my way; it’s what I’ve been given this round. But I would say I don’t find any of my past has given me a reason to harden up and create a shell or a wall of, ‘No more, that’s it, I’m closed.’”

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Still Proud

After the Friends With Money star made her record-breaking Instagram debut in October 2019, Theroux told Extra that he was proud of her achievement. “She has sworn she was not gonna do it, and then she did it,” he said. “I’m so proud of her — I thought it was so great. ...  The world’s about to learn what a hilarious woman she is if they don’t already. She’s gonna be good at this.”

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Follow Back

When the California native noticed that Theroux hadn't yet followed her on Instagram, she made sure to let him know it was non-negotiable. "She actually texted me. She said, 'You haven't followed me,' and I said, 'Of course I followed you!' and she's like, 'No you haven't!'" the Sex and the City alum told Entertainment Tonight in October 2019. "I realized I was one of the people caught in the glitch. ... [She] literally broke Instagram. People were having trouble being recognized as following."

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Coworkers Once More?

Asked in March 2021 whether he'd ever make a cameo on Aniston's Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, Theroux replied, "Listen, if they wanna send me some pages." He added that he speaks to his ex fairly often. “We check in,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “And I think we’re both having fabulous experiences working with Apple TV+. It’s that perfect balance of support, and also not controlling the creative.”

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Staying in Touch

“I would say we’ve remained friends,” the Tropic Thunder screenwriter told Esquire in April 2021. “We don’t talk every day, but we call each other. We FaceTime. We text.”

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Drama-Free

“Like it or not, we didn’t have that dramatic split, and we love each other,” the Mosquito Coast star told Esquire. “I’m sincere when I say that I cherish our friendship. We can not be together and still bring each other joy and friendship. Also, she makes me laugh very, very hard. She’s a hilarious person. It would be a loss if we weren’t in contact, for me personally. And I’d like to think the same for her.”

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In Each Other's Lives

Aniston opened up about her friendship with Theroux while showing off how she transformed his old office in her house. “You can imagine he likes things black and dark,” she joked to Allure in November 2022 about the room. “I lightened it up, stripped it all. He came over [the other day] and was like, ‘What the f–k did you do?’ I said, ‘I brought the light back in, buddy.’”

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No Comment

During a May 2023 interview with Esquire, Theroux noted, "I talk to Jen—I don’t talk about Jen," adding that he wasn't "trying to be evasive."

The White House Plumbers star added: "Having been in a public relationship, it’s much more fun not being in a public relationship. Me saying anything, even if it was something loving, it would just turn into a thing. So, it’s a classic no-comment situation for me."