I was surprised to see Jennifer Aniston on the cover of PEOPLE this week because initially I wasn’t sure what this was promoting. But given that she, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow were all on Howard Stern this week, it seems like this is still Friends reunion promotion for HBO Max, even though the special was released a full month ago. Each member of the cast was reportedly paid at least $2.5 million for the reunion, and some of that of course isn’t just filming the actual special but it includes promotion too. For sure that would have been in the contract. And since this is a streaming service and the whole point is to increase the HBO Max subscriber-base, post-release promotion might be more significant here than it would traditionally be for, say, movie release schedules. So anyway, yes, we’re still hearing from the Friends cast, and Jennifer Aniston, about the show and the reunion even though, at this point, there’s probably not a lot that’s new to say.
In her PEOPLE cover story, Jen talks about what makes her happy – her loved ones, her dogs, her job, her home, she meditates, she appreciates the small moments….like I said, there isn’t a lot to go on here, although the magazine did ask her about dating and marriage. Apparently, unlike Ben Affleck, you will not find Jen on Raya:
"Absolutely no," she says with a laugh when asked if she would ever use the apps. "I'm going to just stick to the normal ways of dating. Having someone ask you out. That's the way I would prefer it."
So she does want to date, but does she want to get married again? Right now it doesn’t sound like it but she is still looking for love:
“As for whether she would be interested in getting married again, Aniston says she's prioritizing being with a "fantastic partner."
"Oh God, I don't know," she says. "It's not on my radar. I'm interested in finding a fantastic partner and just living an enjoyable life and having fun with one another. That's all we should hope for. It doesn't have to be etched in stone in legal documents."
There are still people out there though who are hoping that this partner is actually a re-partner. I mean Brad Pitt, obviously. And during the interview with Howard Stern, he asked her about their relationship now, referencing the Fast Times At Ridgemont High table read they did last year and whether or not it was awkward between them:
"It was absolutely fun. Brad and I are buddies, we're friends. And we speak, and there's no oddness at all, except for everyone that probably watched it and was wanting there to be, or assumed there to be. We had fun, and it was for a great cause, CORE."
Sounds to me like she’s over it. When you can talk about an ex that casually, and shrug, call him a “buddy”, it’s over. It’s fetch. It’s not going to happen. Can we put the Gossip Genie energy into someone else? I’m telling you. Channing Tatum!
