Justin Theroux is clearing the air about his breakup with Jennifer Aniston and even has some words of wisdom on relationships.
The actor talked about the dissolution of his marriage to the “Friends” star in an interview with Esquire published Thursday, dispelling rumors about why the pair parted ways. Reports indicated the duo, who had been romantically linked since 2011, married in 2015, and separated and divorced in 2018, had disagreed over whether they’d live in New York or Los Angeles.
“That’s a narrative that is not true, for the most part,” Theroux told Esquire.
“Look, people create narratives that make themselves feel better or simplify things for them. That whole ‘This person likes rock ’n’ roll, that person likes jazz. Of course!’ That’s just not the case. It’s an oversimplification,” he said, not offering any addition commentary on the matter.
Theroux explained that he and Aniston have “remained friends.”
“We don’t talk every day, but we call each other. We FaceTime. We text,” he said.
As to how he navigates “the complicated emotional terrain” left after a breakup, Theroux insisted that because he and Aniston “didn’t have that dramatic split,” they “love each other.”
“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,” he shared.
Theroux said he believes when one gets “good at relationships ― and here I am, single ― if you love the person the same way you loved them in the relationship, it would behoove you to love them the same way out of the relationship.”
“Who wants to take a shit while you’re walking out the door?” he asked.
It seems what “The Leftovers” star said in 2018, mere months after the pair announced they’d be separating, has held firm.
In an interview with The New York Times in September 2018, he insisted “there was no animosity” in the breakup and that it was “amicable” and “boring.”
“It was heartbreaking, only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day,” he noted. “But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of.”