Justin Theroux opens up about the end of his marriage to Jennifer Aniston in new interview

Iron Man 2 and Tropic Thunder writer maintains that the breakup was entirely amicable

In his first major interview since parting from Friends star Jennifer Aniston in February, actor Justin Theroux has opened up about his split with ‘America’s Sweetheart.’

Theroux, currently appearing in Netflix hit Maniac, insists that the breakup was entirely amicable: ‘The good news is that was probably the most — I’m choosing my words really carefully — it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity…

“The Girl on the Train actor, who was dubbed ‘Mr Aniston’ in the press, told the New York Times: ’It’s more like, it’s amicable.

“It’s boring, but, you know, we respected each other enough that it was as painless as it could be. It was heartbreaking only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day…

‘But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of’.

Theroux began dating actress Ms Aniston in 2011, after they both worked on the film comedy Wanderlust.

They were engaged in August 2012, and married in a surprise ceremony at their LA home in August 2015.

They immediately became favourites of the paparazzi, dogged everywhere they went by photographers.

“How do you combat gossip and rumour?” he says. “…it’s just on crack and steroids now.”

Theroux says he avoids social media because the danger of being misinterpreted: “That’s why I don’t go on Twitter . With the internet, it’s too inelegant a machine to accurately carve truth.”

For her part, Ms Aniston also spoke out about the end of the relationship to InStyle magazine last month:

“It’s pretty crazy. ‘The misconceptions are ‘Jen can’t keep a man,’ and ‘”Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career.’ Or that I’m sad and heartbroken…

“First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors..”

Theroux and Aniston released a joint statement at the end of 2017, which read: ‘In an effort to reduce any further speculation, we have decided to announce our separation. This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year.

‘We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship. Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly.

‘Whatever else is printed about us that is not directly from us, is someone else’s fictional narrative. Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another.’