Jennifer Aniston’s longtime friendship with Nicole Kidman has weathered more than just one storm.
From helping her through her devastating split from her first husband Brad Pitt in 2005 to encouraging Jen to give love another try with Justin Theroux in 2011, Nicole has been a total rock for the Friends star.
Last week, the glamorous gal pals teamed up for an incredible roundtable chat for The Hollywood Reporter with Naomi Watts, Sofia Vergara, Jodie Foster, Anna Sawai and Brie Larson.
Discussing everything from acting to women in entertainment, the conversation turned to friendships and Jen, 55, credited Nicole, 56, for helping her through a particularly tough time, while they were filming Just Go With It in February 2010.
STRONG BOND
“When we did that movie in Hawaii,” Jen said to Nicole, “you helped me out on a lot of hard things I was going through in life.”
Friends confirm that Jen started 2010 nursing a deeply broken heart from playboy John Mayer, who would go on to suggest she was too old for him.
“And she wouldn’t have got through it if it hadn’t been for Nicole,” says an insider.
“People underestimate how hard Jen fell for John. She ignored all the warning signs and he wooed her relentlessly. He almost destroyed her, but if it wasn’t for those chats with Nicole on the beach in Hawaii, she’d have not made it through that rom-com.”
Jen went on to find love with her Wanderlust co-star Justin Theroux in 2011, but the source says, “She might not have been ready to meet her next husband if it hadn’t been for Nic’s encouraging words.”
The insider adds, “This wasn’t the first time Nicole’s mopped up Jen’s tears. Even though it’s silly to blame herself, Nicole will always feel guilty that she bowed out of Mr & Mrs Smith, paving the way for Angelina to take her place. She was devastated over what then happened and did everything she could to help Jen get through that terrible time with dignity.”
In 2022, Jen also opened up about her struggles with fertility and her IVF journey, revealing that she spent years in her 30s and 40s trying to conceive.
It’s something Nicole knows all too well, having revealed publicly that she suffered from an ectopic pregnancy and a miscarriage when she was married to ex Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001, which led to them adopting daughter Bella and son Connor.
“Nicole has had her own struggles with motherhood and couldn’t be more sensitive to what Jen has been through.”
Likewise when Jen’s marriage to Justin fell apart in 2018, friends say that Nicole was one of the first to check in on her.
“Nic has a select few in Hollywood who she keeps a close eye on and Jen is one of them,” says a source.
“She knows Jen puts on a bubbly front, but that she’s really a sensitive person who has gone through real heartache. Equally, Jen knows how lucky she is to have someone like Nicole on her side.”
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