Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announced their separation on Thursday, but a new report indicates they may never have been married in the first place.
The couple reportedly said their wedding vows in August of 2015, during a big reception at their mansion in Bel-Air. However, TMZ reports that there is no record of a marriage license for the couple in L.A. County records. The outlook looked as far back as 2010 and found nothing.
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L.A. County does issue confidential marriage licenses on occasion, but sources say Aniston and Theroux didn’t have one. It’s also possible that the couple got married in one of the other 57 counties in California, but sources close to Aniston told reporters that there’s also been a rumor that she wasn’t legally married to Theroux.
Reporters also asked many of the most prominent celebrity divorce lawyers in Hollywood, and they all confirmed that neither Aniston nor Theroux has contacted them.
Aniston and Theroux announced their separation in a statement to the Associated Press, which never specifically mentions marriage or divorce either. Aniston’s publicist wrote that their break-up “was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year.” They said they were only making the news public “in an effort to reduce any further speculation.”
“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,” said the statement released by Aniston’s longtime publicist, Stephen Huvane. “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.”
BREAKING: #JenniferAniston and #JustinTheroux announce they are separating in a statement to The Associated Press
โ AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) February 15, 2018
Aniston and Theroux said they’re “two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship.” Fans have noted that the statement doesn’t mention divorce at all, taking that for more evidence that the two were not legally married.
The couple got together in 2011, while working together on the film Wanderlust. They were engaged the following year. The couple has been under constant scrutiny and faced break-up rumors several times, though they’ve always denied them. While they reportedly split at the end of last year, they were seen together in Mexico over the holidays, according to photos published by The Sun.