Jennifer Aniston Hopes Escaping L.A. Will ‘Make It Easier for Her to Find Love Again’

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Jennifer Aniston loves a good renovation. Over the years, she’s redone more than six properties, tailoring each to her chic, laid-back taste.

Two years ago, the Friends alum splashed out $14.8 million on a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom, Tuscan-style farmhouse built in 1998 in swanky Montecito, California. She’s been working on it ever since, putting in a pool and freshening up the property inside and out and is looking to escape L.A. for the quiet enclave two hours away.

“She feels like it’s time to move on,” an insider exclusively tells Life & Style. “She’s ready for a change and a new chapter.”

That’s not the only page the Morning Show star wants to turn. After a string of heartbreak, the 55-year-old is ready to renovate her romantic status as well.

“She’s hopeful that a fresh start might make it easier for her to find love again,” says the insider. “It’s been so long since she’s had a relationship — she really misses that companionship.”

Jennifer once said that if she weren’t an actress, she’d be an interior designer. “I love that process,” she said. “There’s something about picking out fabrics and finishes that feeds my soul.”

So it’s no surprise that the homes she shared with her partners are filled with significance. In 2021, she and first husband Brad Pitt began their married life by buying a $13.1 million, 12,000-square-foot French Normandy-style house in Beverly Hills and spent three years renovating the 1934 property. But the pair — who divorced in 2005 — had different ideas of what made a home.

Post-split, when Brad had moved on with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith costar Angelina Jolie, Jen tried to make light of the humiliating situation. Griping that their marital home had been filled with museum pieces and modern furniture built more for style than actual use, she famously joked, “[Now] I can have a comfortable couch.”

While it’s been reported that she and second husband Justin Theroux are still close and have spent time together in NYC, that relationship also had some disappointments. While they were still dating, Jen made the move across the country to join him on the East Coast.

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But the two adjacent condos she bought for $7.01 million in 2011 never got her famous touch — she sold them the next year. Instead, the pair dropped $21 million for Quincy Jones‘ former estate in Bel Air. They wed there in 2015 after a major redo. Their split three years later was drama-free. Still, she felt the need to erase her ex’s presence.

“Welcome to the babe cave,” she joked during a tour of an airy cottage that was formerly Justin’s office. After he moved out, she said, “I lightened it up, stripped it all. He came over and was like, ‘What the f–k did you do?’ I said, ‘I brought the light back in, buddy.’”

Her home is her sanctuary, adds the insider. “Jennifer has a very particular style and loves working with her loyal team of interior designers to bring her vision to life. She wants it to reflect her.”

And maybe someone new. The Montecito vibe is laid-back, without the stresses of L.A. “Jen loves the lifestyle,” explains the source. “She can go to the beach without getting bothered or run to the shops. The air is so fresh and clean — she says it smells like flowers all the time.”

The social scene is tight, with neighbors including Rob Lowe and, of course, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Relive Jennifer Aniston’s Best Fashion Moments Through the Years

“There’s a reason so many celebrities live here,” notes the source. “It’s so beautiful and private and a world away from Hollywood, even if it’s only two hours.”

At this point in her life, Jennifer, worth a reported $300 million, has nothing left to prove. The one missing element is another great romance. When it comes to a new guy, “she doesn’t have a big checklist,” adds the insider. “She doesn’t need a flashy A-list star or someone super wealthy. She wants a man she can trust, someone she can laugh and feel safe with. Someone who makes her happy.”

Jennifer Aniston is not dating at the moment after divorcing Justin Theroux. But the 50-year-old Murder Mystery actress already has an idea of what she wants in her next beau.

The blonde beauty told US Harper’s Bazaar magazine that she wants more than a hot body.

‘[I like a man] to have a sense of humour. Strong sense of self-worth, confidence, kindness, generosity. Good people surrounding them,’ said the star who was wed to Brad Pitt and also dated John Mayer.

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Check list: Jennifer Aniston is not dating at the moment after divorcing Justin Theroux. But the 50-year-old Murder Mystery actress already has an idea of what she wants in her next beau

Love game: The actress – who has starred in the comedies Just Got With It, We’re The Millers and Horrible Bosses in recent years – has had an intriguing love life. She was wed to Brad Pitt from 2000 until 2005. For two years she romanced Grammy winning singer John Mayer. And from 2015 until 2017 she was wed to Justin Theroux, her Wanderlust co-star

When asked if she is trying dating sites to find love, she said no way.

‘Am I on OkCupid? No. I have zero time, to be honest,’ admitted the A list actress who won an Emmy Award for her role on Friends. ‘My focus has been on the show, so dating has not been one of my first priorities. I feel like whatever [romance] looks like, it will present itself, and it’s not about seeking it out, you know?’

The show is her new project First Ladies with costar Tig Notaro. She also has an Apple series The Morning Show with Reese Witherspoon coming out this year.

And even though she is twice divorced, she is not giving up on love. After all, Elizabeth Taylor wed eight times – twice to the same man (Richard Burton). So why can’t Jennifer have some fun too?

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Adrift: She is not dating at the moment but she is open to finding love again. The actress is pictured reclining in an armchair surrounded by water in a £390 Hermes swimsuit

‘When it comes knocking, it’s going to be welcomed,’ said the romantic comedy vet.

‘I’m not like, “No, I’m done with that. That’s never going to happen again.”

‘My time on this planet has been about…It hasn’t looked a certain way. It’s my way; it’s what I’ve been given this round. But I would say I don’t find any of my past has given me a reason to harden up and create a shell or a wall of “No more, that’s it, I’m closed.”‘

And the daughter of 85-year-old Days Of Our Lives actor John Aniston thinks that there is not just one love for someone, there can be many.

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Knockout body: As far as still looking sexy at 50, she said she is happy with the way she looks. And posing topless for photographer Alexi Lubomirski was just right. ‘It felt completely normal. I think our bodies are beautiful, and I think celebrating them and being comfortable in them—no matter what age you are—is important. There shouldn’t be any kind of shame or discomfort around it’

‘I think we have many soul mates. I don’t think there’s one and one only. I think we have soul clusters. I’ve had some of my friends for 35 years. I think we’ve all made some sort of unconscious agreement. It’s like when certain groups of people meet, they form a little soul cluster—a sort of common group of souls who have been put together.’

She also talked about her stupendous 50th birthday in February which was packed with celebrities like Courteney Cox and Sandra Bullock.

And her ex Pitt also made an appearance, though she has insisted in the past they are not rekindling their romance after he split from wife Angelina Jolie.

At the bash, love was in the air said Aniston.

‘I had so many favorite moments, I don’t even know where to begin. It felt as though there was so much love in that room—everybody from all different walks of my life, from birth until now,’ she said.

As far as still looking sexy at 50, she said she is happy with the way she looks.

And posing topless for photographer Alexi Lubomirski was just right. ‘It felt completely normal. I think our bodies are beautiful, and I think celebrating them and being comfortable in them—no matter what age you are—is important. There shouldn’t be any kind of shame or discomfort around it.’

Jen then talked about feeling 50.

‘I’ve had a few knee injuries, so I think the knees might need a little WD-40,’ she joked.

‘Sometimes you want to spring up and the body just says, “Oh, no, you don’t,” but mostly my body feels better than ever.’

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New project: The blonde beauty with Adam Sandler in her Netflix movie Murder Mystery which airs in June

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What a life! Jen said that they filmed in Lake Como, Italy, and Sandler took care of everyone making sure they had fun too

And her workouts are still regular, as expected.

‘I work out four or five days a week. For the last two years, three or four of those days have been with my beloved Leyon, who is my boxing coach. He has given me a love for working out that I’ve never quite had before. It’s mental, it’s physical, it keeps your mind sharp. It’s something that I actually look forward to—I crave it.’

Jennifer also talked her fans.

‘Most of the time I genuinely enjoy the exchange. Ninety percent of the people are happy and excited. Every now and then you’ll encounter someone who is rude or entitled, with a “Well, you asked for it” attitude. If I’m in the middle of dinner, no, I don’t want you to take my picture. I try to have a rule: I only take photos with kids. It was a hard boundary for me to create because people get really pissed off at you. But you have to have limits. Otherwise you’ll just be standing there doing selfies on a corner for decades.’

Murder Mystery, directed by Kyle Newacheck and written by James Vanderbilt, will air June 12 on Netflix.

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Her big TV show: (l-r) David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Aniston as Rachel Green, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani on Friends season six