She’s had her fair share of high-profile romances and heartaches over the duration of her career, but for the past four years Jennifer Aniston has been flying solo.
The Friends actress, 53, has remained single since the breakdown of her second marriage to actor Justin Theroux in early 2018 after just three years of marriage.
And now insiders say Jen – who admitted last year that she was open to finding love again – is feeling the strain of being single.
Our insider reveals, “Jen is independent, has amazing friends and high standards when it comes to men – but she does get lonely, and she’s starting to really want to settle down. She’s still quite old-fashioned when it comes to putting herself out there. It would be a huge shift in strategy for Jen to sign up to a dating app or take a chance on someone who didn’t come with the seal of approval from her closest friends. She’s thinking she maybe needs to change what she’s doing or stop having such ridiculously high standards to find someone to be with.”
The A-list actress was previously married to Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt, 58, before their split in October 2005 – he began dating his Mr & Mrs Smith co-star Angelina Jolie, 47, just months later.
After her first divorce, Jennifer went on to date a host of famous faces – including brief romances with Vince Vaughn, 52, Paul Sculfor, 51, John Mayer, 44, and actor Bradley Cooper, 47. And fans were elated when it seemed she’d finally found true love with Justin, 51, in 2011 – but hopes for a happy ending came crashing down when the couple split seven years later, after three years of marriage.
In the years after her divorce, Jen laid low on the dating scene – but fans went into meltdown last year when, during the Friends reunion, Jen and her on-screen love interest, David Schwimmer, revealed they had a crush on each other during their time filming.
Opening up about his co-star, David – who played Ross Geller on the hit ’90s show – said, “At some point, we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary.” Later confirming that nothing physical took place, Jen joked, “I would proudly say I banged Schwimmer if that happened! But no.”
Since then, fans have hoped the on-screen lovers would give it a whirl in real life.
A source told Closer last year, “After the reunion, it became clear that reminiscing over the past had stirred up feelings and that chemistry they’d always had to bury was still there. They began texting immediately after filming and David flew to LA to see her.”
They reportedly spent time at Jen’s home, where she cooked dinners and they enjoyed quality time together, chatting and laughing. They were also spotted drinking wine, deep in conversation, as they walked around one of Jen’s favourite vineyards in Santa Barbara. It was clear there was lots of chemistry between them.”
And last month, social media turned into a frenzy after Jen posted a sultry shower snap with the caption, “Something’s coming.” David quickly recreated the soapy scene on his own Instagram, writing “@jenniferaniston – a towel I hope?” – before Jen jokingly accused her co-star of “stealing her thunder”.
Now insiders say Jen has opened up to David about wanting to find love again.
The source says, “They’re really close and love to flirt. A lot of people do think they’d make a very cute couple and they do get on really well and have that spark. They’d both never say never, but distance is an issue, as David spends a lot of his time in Chicago. Jen has said to David that she’s ready to find love again, and also said she’d love him to refer one of his cute buddies – especially if he can serve up someone who’s based out in LA.”
And it was recently reported that Jen had developed quite the crush on her The Morning Show co-star Jon Hamm, 51. According to a source, “Jon has always been at the top of Jen’s list of guys she’d date in a heartbeat. They’ve hung out socially a few times, and Jen has admitted that there’s definitely some chemistry between them.”
But insiders now add that it’s a no-go with Jon, after he shared he was “very much in love” with his girlfriend Anna Osceola, 33.
With her co-star happily loved-up, our insider shares that Jen feels it’s time for her to find love and settle down.
The source says, “Jen wants a guy who’s funny, successful, unaffected by her fame level, and handsome. She is picky and willing to wait, but it does get lonely at times, especially with so many of her friends all settled down and her having to third wheel on vacations and dinner dates. She’s still confident deep down that she’ll find the right guy eventually – and not before too long either!”