It was the poignant moment Jennifer Aniston realised she wanted to have a baby.
Holding the cute little girl, who played her daughter Emma in Friends, in her arms, a source close to the actress tells New Idea these touching photos show the exact time the former Friends star decided she wanted children in her future.
‘Up until Friends, Jen hadn’t really ever thought about having a baby,’ says the insider.
‘She was of course also married to Brad and they were very much in love – but they hadn’t started to talk or even think about starting a family.’
But when Jennifer, in her role as Rachel Green in the hit show, met the little girls – twin actresses Noelle and Cali Sheldon – who would play her on-screen daughter Emma, a lightning bolt hit.
And these intimate and touching photographs, which were taken 16 years ago, show a side of the actress that has rarely been seen.
‘All that changed when she held baby “Emma” for the first time. She ended up spending a lot of time with the twin babies and carried them around the set all day, every day. To say that Jen got really clucky thanks to those little babies is a complete understatement!’
According to the source, it was from that moment on that Jen knew she wanted to be a mum and have a baby of her own. Nearly five years ago, however, Jennifer’s attitude had changed.
‘I don’t like [the pressure] that people put on me, on women – that you’ve failed yourself as a female because you haven’t procreated. I don’t think it’s fair,’ she told Allure in 2014.
‘You may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t mothering – dogs, friends, friends’ children.
‘This continually is said about me: that I was so career-driven and focused on myself, that I don’t want to be a mother and how selfish that is.’
She also hinted that she and her then husband-to-be Justin Theroux were struggling to conceive, telling The Hollywood
Reporter: ‘Who knows if it’s going to happen? It’s been a want. We’re doing our best.’
Now aged 49, with a flourishing acting career and rumours swirling she’s dating again, Jennifer’s hopes of motherhood are still strong.
Indeed, the source claims that the actress has never given up on the chance to have a child of her own.
‘While her love life has thrown her a few curve balls over the years, making her baby dream a little harder, she’s never given up hope,’ the insider adds.
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea, on sale now!
