Why Jennifer Aniston Believes Her Past Marriages Were Actually 'Very Successful'

It wouldn't be a Jennifer Aniston profile without a few questions about the constant attention on her personal life, especially in regards to children and marriage.

The "Dumplin'" star just did an interview with Elle for the publication's January cover, where she reflected back on her relationships with both Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux, though didn't mention either of them by name.

Addressing the outdated societal norms dictating that, by her age, 49, women should be married and having kids, she said, "That's a fairy tale. That's the mold we're slowly trying to break out of."

And while she's living single after her split from Theroux in 2017, Aniston said she doesn't "feel a void" in her life because of it.

"I really don't. My marriages, they've been very successful, in [my] personal opinion," she continued. "And when they came to an end, it was a choice that was made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes happiness didn't exist within that arrangement anymore. Sure, there were bumps, and not every moment felt fantastic, obviously, but at the end of it, this is our one life and I would not stay in a situation out of fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of not being able to survive."

"To stay in a marriage based on fear feels like you're doing your one life a disservice. When the work has been put in and it doesn't seem that there's an option of it working, that's okay," she continued. "That's not a failure. We have these clichés around all of this that need to be reworked and retooled, you know? Because it's very narrow-minded thinking."

Aniston added that keeping the focus on her personal life diminishes "everything I have succeeded at, and that I have built and created."

She wasn't done yet.

"It's such a shallow lens that people look through. It's the only place to point a finger at me as though it's my damage — like it's some sort of a scarlet letter on me that I haven't yet procreated, or maybe won't ever procreate," she continued.

That being said, Elle still asked her about possibly having kids in the future.

"Some people are just built to be wives and have babies. I don't know how naturally that comes to me," she explained. "Who knows what the future holds in terms of a child and a partnership — how that child comes in...or doesn't? And now with science and miracles, we can do things at different times than we used to be able to."

Looking back, Jen said her priorities were never about getting married, but instead about "finding a home that felt safe."

The January issue of Elle hits newsstands December 18. "Dumplin'" is streaming on Netflix now.