Famous in his own right, John starred as the villainous Victor Kiriakis on the soap opera Days of Our Lives for 30 years.
After divorcing Nancy, he then married Sherry Rooney in 1984 and they welcomed son Alexander ‘AJ’ Aniston. They remained wed until John passed away. Alex, 33, lives in Oakland, California, a punk-rock and anti-establishment haven. For many years, he resided in a ramshackle black van while travelling the California coast, scouring roadkill he would sell as art.
He has two children, Ryat and Kira, with his ex, glamour model and makeup artist Adriane Hallek.
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“There is no love lost between AJ and Jen,” a source exclusively tells New Idea. “He hates fame, fortune and Hollywood culture, which is everything his sister represents. He would stop in on his mum and dad from time to time, but he doesn’t care for his big sister at all.”
Indeed, in 2013, he told a reporter that being related to the Friends superstar has “been a pain in my a-- for years”.
Last week Adriane shared her grief over losing John, describing him as “a good dad, husband, grandfather to my children and a father figure to me. The last we saw him he got to hold his grandchildren.
“I kissed his hand and told him we loved him.”
While our source close to Alex says “he rarely took a dime from his father and preferred to live within his own simple means”, the same may not be said for his ex and their kids.
“John was very good to Adriane even after the split,” says a source.
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“AJ and Adriane would meet up with the kids so they could spend time with their grandfather. You’d expect John left a decent inheritance to Kira and Ryat, and even Adriane to help raise them, but Jen will probably have a few things to say about her dad’s money being given to a woman and a couple of kids she barely knows.
“There could be some family strife ahead when it comes to John’s estate.”