“I want my own DNA in a little person”: Jennifer Aniston’s reason for rejecting adoption is sparking emotional reactions online

Jennifer Aniston revealed her reasoning for never adopting children despite her struggles with infertility in a recent podcast episode. The Friends star always wanted children and attempted every option available to conceive her own, but nothing worked. Now age 56, Aniston has accepted that she will remain childless.

Aniston opens up about her long and painful journey with IVF and fertility treatments

In an episode of the podcast “The Armchair Expert,” available for early access with the right kind of Wondery account, Aniston finally gave an answer to the question that so many have been asking for decades. The reason she still has no kids when she could definitely afford to adopt is that she simply doesn’t want a child that way.

“When people say ‘but you can adopt,’ I don’t want to adopt,” she said to Dax Shepard. “I want my own DNA in a little person. That’s the only way, selfish or not, whatever that is—that’s what I’ve wanted.”

Tabloids and pop culture reporters have harped on Aniston constantly throughout the years about her lack of children. She’s spoken multiple times about her attempts to conceive through IVF and any other method she could get her hands on.

“All the years and years and years of speculation. … It was really hard,” she told Allure in 2022. “I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it.”

At this point, the actress has accepted that children will not be a part of her life. It’s other people who can’t seem to come to terms with this fact, attacking her for not trying hard enough at the height of her stardom in her 20s.

“I just cared about my career,” she said. “God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child.”

A complicated conversation for adoptees

On the Reddit sub r/popculturechat, fans railed against the decades-long obsession with Aniston’s lack of children. The kid question comes up for every celebrity woman, much more than men, and in the Friends days, not taking every option available to raise little people was even less acceptable than it is today.

Still, it’s understandable that Aniston’s refusal to adopt might sting for adoptees. This option carries its own risks and barriers, but many adopted Redditors shared positive experiences with their non-DNA families.

“I love my parents so much and I cannot even imagine what my life would have been like should they have not found me at the right time!” wrote u/maniccomet773. “My mom had a ‘go’ back packed because I wasn’t legally theirs until I was 5. I AM my mothers child regardless of DNA!”

“For me, the entire bloodline/I want to duplicate myself conversation is so uncomfortable in a separate way,” u/futuredrweknowdis explained. “Because I am happy that I was adopted it’s always had almost a eugenics or narcissistic feel to it since I don’t have that frame of reference.”

This sort of sentiment was echoed on X, as well, with one user writing, “People wanting their “DNA and lineage to live on” is one of the most nazi opinions out there.”

Others, however, stressed that any method of having children is a personal choice, and public judgment does nothing to help anyone.

“Adoption is not for everyone and the onus to adopt should not solely be placed on infertile people,” said u/areallyreallycoolhat. “Wanting a child doesn’t mean adoption is the right choice for you and that’s okay, which seems to be what she’s trying to say.”