Newly engaged Justin Theroux is making it clear that his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, is still “very dear” to him six years after their divorce.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star, 53, recently spoke with The Times about his upcoming film and opened up about his previous relationship with the Friends actor, 55.
“She is still very dear to me,” Theroux explained in the interview published Tuesday when asked about Aniston’s recent response to Sen. J.D. Vance’s 2021 comments, in which he described women like Vice President Kamala Harris who have not given birth as “childless cat ladies who are miserable in their own lives.”
“So of course, yeah, I feel protective. But she batted back criticism, as well she should.”
After resurfaced footage showed Vance making his “childless cat ladies” comment, Aniston responded, “Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too.”
In November 2022, Aniston told Allure, “It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” describing her unsuccessful attempts at in vitro fertilization.
The former couple began their romance in 2011 and got engaged the following year. Three years later, they tied the knot in a backyard ceremony in August 2015 but announced their split in early 2018.
In the years since their split, Theroux has continued to speak kindly about his former wife.
“I would say we’ve remained friends,” he told PEOPLE in April 2021. “We don’t talk every day, but we call each other. We FaceTime. We text. Like it or not, we didn’t have that dramatic split, and we love each other. I’m sincere when I say that I cherish our friendship.”
In December 2021, Theroux shared a glimpse into their post-split friendship with a photo on his Instagram Story, showing him cuddled up with Aniston as they reunited for the third installment of Live in Front of a Studio Audience.
Theroux is now engaged to Nicole Brydon Bloom, whom he’s been dating since 2023. The actor proposed to Bloom, 30, in late August in Italy, where he is promoting his latest film at the Venice Film Festival.