Why Jennifer Aniston’s Ex-Husband Justin Theroux Won’t Talk About Her Publicly

Justin Theroux has a very good reason for not talking about his relationship with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston: If he doesn’t say anything, there can’t be any headlines about them. The White House Plumbers star and Aniston married in 2015 and split three years later.

In a new Esquire interview alongside his White House Plumbers co-star Woody Harrelson, Theroux was asked what it was like to see social media users theorize about his relationship with Aniston. “There’s something to, once you’re out of that, where I want all of my relationships to exist within the four walls of whatever room we’re in,” The Leftovers star explained. “And I’m not trying to be evasive, but I talk to Jen-I don’t talk about Jen. People will always want to gossip and say things, but you have to find that balance.”

Theroux said the experience of being in a public relationship made it clear to him that it is “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,” he said. “So it’s a classic no-comment situation for me.”

Aniston and Theroux met while working on Wanderlust in 2011. They got engaged in August 20212 and married in August 2015. In February 2018, the former couple told The Associated Press they separated in late 2017. They described the decision as “mutual and lovingly made,” and only confirmed it publicly to stop wild speculation in the media.

“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,” they said. “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.” They hoped to continue their “cherished friendship.”

Aniston, 54, and Theroux, 51, have remained close. Just last month, the two were seen having dinner in New York City with Jason Bateman and his wife, Amanda Anka. The Friends star also joked about showing Theroux the renovations she did to the office he used when they lived together. “You can imagine he likes things black and dark,” she told Allure. “After he moved out, ‘I lightened it up, stripped it all. He came over [the other day] and was like, ‘What the f— did you do?’ I said, ‘I brought the light back in, buddy.’”

Theroux and Harrelson’s Watergate miniseries White House Plumbers premiered on HBO Monday and is also streaming on HBO Max. Aniston’s The Morning Show will return for its third season on Apple TV+ this fall. The show was already renewed for a fourth season.