Weird Rumors Jennifer Aniston Can't Escape
As a star of screens, both big and small, Jennifer Aniston has been the subject of many Hollywood rumors over her multi-decade career. However, many of those rumors have been decidedly weird or downright bizarre. From alleged affairs with numerous A-list actors to strange ingredients in her skincare routine, the "Friends" star has a swirl of tabloid-ready headlines that have followed her — whether they are true or not.
But Aniston is no stranger to setting the record straight in interviews, especially when it comes to particular editorial practices. "We have to stop naming someone's name and putting their name next to it," she once shared with Allure. "I also think we need to take away comment sections."
She was accused of cheating on her then-husband
Even though she was the one who was famously on the other side of a cheating scandal, Jennifer Aniston was once accused of being unfaithful to her ex-husband, Brad Pitt. In 2004, just one year before the pair called it quits, Star Magazine reported that Aniston was hooking up with "Friends" co-star Matt LeBlanc. Things got murkier when the outlet's "source" turned out to be LeBlanc's father, who claimed that the pair would make out in their dressing rooms while filming the hit series (via Woman's Day).
The co-stars never spoke of the alleged affair, and Aniston and Pitt went on to have a messy, drama-filled breakup. However, even though the timeline of Pitt and Aniston's relationship was full of ups and downs, the two eventually reconciled and remained friends. "We wish nothing but wonderful things for each other," the "Just Go with It" star shared with The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "If the world only could just stop with the stupid, soap opera bulls***."
She's been plagued by false pregnancy reports
Throughout her career, Jennifer Aniston faced endless and false reports of her being pregnant. She's commented on the intense scrutiny she faced from the industry over the years and how her reactions have changed over time. "I used to take it all very personally," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. "[The press] don't know anything, and it was really hurtful and just nasty." She even penned an essay for The Huffington Post in 2016 where she lambasted those who had scrutinized and body shamed her, causing her to be "fed up" with the false narratives that had circled her for decades.
She eventually revealed why she doesn't have any children: she had struggled with IVF for many years. But the tragic details of Aniston's life haven't led her to resentment. "I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more," she admitted to Allure in 2022. "I don't have to think about that anymore."
There was a rumor she had an affair with Barack Obama
For someone who has spent most of her life in the Hollywood limelight, Jennifer Aniston has definitely faced her fair share of affair rumors. One of the most bizarre cases came when tabloids reported that she and former U.S. President Barack Obama were in a secret relationship, going so far as to call the two "obsessed" with each other. The affair rumors exploded with Michelle Obama's absence from several high-profile events alongside her politician husband in early 2025, causing many to believe the former first couple was headed toward divorce.
The story was so outlandish to Aniston that "The Morning Show" star even addressed it publicly on television, calling the rumors completely untrue. "I have met him once," she explained on an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "I know Michelle more than [I know] him." However, she did poke a little fun at the situation with a cheeky comment. "I was not mad at it!"
The internet tried to ship her with multiple A-List actors
It's not just with Barack Obama that Jennifer Aniston has been rumored to be attached. She's also faced claims that she and one of her dearest friends, actor Jason Bateman, have built more than just a friendship over the years. The "Horrible Bosses" co-stars have starred in a handful of films together throughout their careers, and offscreen, they've been known to take luxurious vacations together — with their significant others. Bateman's wife, Amanda Anka, is another close friend of Aniston's. The "Friends" actor is so close to them that she even invites them to Bora Bora with her and then her husband, Justin Theroux, while they are on their honeymoon. She has never addressed the romance rumors publicly, but she has shared praise for her friend. "He is one of [the] loveliest men to be around," she gushed during Bateman's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2017.
The "Marley & Me" actor was also rumored to be seeing Pedro Pascal after paparazzi caught them dining together in 2025. While Aniston kept mum on the subject, Pascal himself was quick to debunk those rumors. "We're friends and we went to dinner with mutual friends," he affirmed to E! News. "It happens."
There were whispers of hookups with multiple Friends co-stars
During the decade when she starred in "Friends," Jennifer Aniston faced a bevy of rumored relationships both on and offscreen. She and Matt LeBlanc were rumored to be hooking up on set in their dressing rooms when they weren't filming — at least, according to a questionable report from LeBlanc's estranged father. But representatives for both stars quickly debunked the rumors, with Aniston's camp even making a public statement stating that Anniston "never had a romantic or sexual relationship with Matt LeBlanc" (per Daily Star).
Aniston was also linked to co-star David Schwimmer, who played her fictional on-again-off-again boyfriend throughout the show's run. But the truth about Aniston and Schwimmer's offscreen relationship is more of a "what if" situation. Both eventually admitted that they had crushes on each other during the first season of "Friends," but the timing was never right to make something of their feelings. "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," Schwimmer revealed in an interview for Max's "Friends" reunion special in 2021 (via Buzzfeed News).
She's been accused of derailing another actor's Oscar chances
Even though she endured public scrutiny both during and after her dramatic split from Brad Pitt in the mid-2000s, it wasn't just her ex-spouse that Jennifer Aniston faced rumors about. Pitt's then-flame and eventual wife, Angelina Jolie, became "the other woman" in the highly publicized love triangle, and for years, the female feud was one of the most widely reported in Hollywood.
While each A-lister has kept relatively mum on the other, Aniston and Jolie still reportedly still do not like each other. There were even whispers of the former purposely tampering with the latter's Oscar chances when Jolie was campaigning for her role in "Maria." According to an unnamed source, Jolie allegedly thought that Aniston and their now mutual ex-husband Pitt started a smear campaign against her in an effort to keep her from being nominated for an Academy Award. "It's been 20 years since Angelina stole Brad from Jen, but she still hasn't forgiven her," the source shared with Radar Online. Reports also claimed that Aniston enlisted her fellow A-list friends, including Sandra Bullock, to keep Jolie's name out of the list of nominations. "Jen's social network is incredibly powerful," another source told InTouch Weekly.
Word circulated that she used an odd ingredient in her skincare routine
One of the most bizarre rumors about Jennifer Aniston didn't involve an alleged beau or backstabbing moment. She reportedly indulged in a special facial that listed salmon sperm as an ingredient. The kicker? Aniston confirmed that the rumor was true! When describing the procedure, she detailed that she went with the flow when talking to the esthetician. "I just took the woman's word, that's what it was, and I was like, 'Sure!'" she admitted on an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2025.
But the out-there skincare technique isn't as farfetched as some may think. Aniston is known for her dedicated beauty regimen and served as a spokesperson for Aveeno for many years. Her beauty secrets have been widely reported, and her esthetician has even launched her own skincare line, prompting many to seek out skin just like Aniston's. "I just put on nourishing things I feel are as organic as possible," she once said of her routine in an interview with Allure.
She's gone so far as to confirm some of the weirdest rumors herself
Using salmon sperm for a specialty skin treatment wasn't the only wild rumor that Jennifer Aniston has admitted was true. When pressed by Jimmy Kimmel to address other rumors that he listed off, she hesitantly acknowledged that she travels with her own jars of olives and that she has a Ziploc bag filled with the ashes of her deceased therapist. The "Wanderlust" star didn't elaborate on the stories, but she did affirm their validity with an embarrassed laugh. "I'm gonna sound like I really need a therapist after this!" she lamented on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
There were still plenty of rumors that she debunked, including that she was a black belt in jiu-jitsu and that she bought an expensive anti-aging water filter for her dogs. But not all of the claims were untrue, or all that wild. She confirmed that she had a piece of her own artwork hanging in New York's Museum of Modern Art when she was just 11 years old.