The one where we owe Jennifer Aniston a massive apology.

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The 2000s were dominated, from my memory at least, by three things; statement necklaces, dolphin girl memorabilia (confession: I held onto this trend longer than I should've), and a bizarre fascination with Jennifer Aniston's uterus.

Aniston was Hollywood's golden girl, married to the golden boy Brad Pitt.

But, despite her success and the mega-hit that was Friends, which saw her earning $1 million per episode in its last two seasons — one word followed her around like a bad smell; pregnant.

Friends ran for 10 seasons, and wrapped in 2004. Image: Getty.

For all her success, in the eyes of the world, she was lacking, because she was childless.

Her stomach became one of the most scrutinised in the world, and when children didn't appear, the media spun a narrative about a woman seemingly so pre-occupied with her career, that kids, well — they just didn't register.

Behind closed doors, a different story was playing out for Aniston.

She's just opening up about it, and it's clear the world, and mainstream media, owe her an apology.

Listen: The new high status boyfriend. Post continues below.

A private struggle — and the toll it took.

In a new interview with Harper's Bazaar, the actress has opened up about how the media's obsession with her childlessness affected her.

"They didn't know my story, or what I'd been going through over the past 20 years to try to pursue a family, because I don't go out there and tell them my medical woes," Aniston said. "That's not anybody's business.

"But there comes a point when you can't not hear it — the narrative about how I won't have a baby, won't have a family, because I'm selfish, a workaholic. It does affect me — I'm just a human being. We're all human beings. That's why I thought, 'What the hell?'"

Aniston has spoken about her fertility and IVF struggles in the past, first penning an op-ed for The Huffington Post in 2016.

Her most recent interview really hit home for me.

I'm 36-years-old in a long-term relationship and the frequency with which I'm being reminded about my "biological clock" is getting old.

When I opt not to have a drink at a family lunch or function, I can feel the weight of peoples' stares and how their eyes track to my stomach. Friends younger than me are asking with increasing urgency about when I'm planning to have children. Doctor's are gently reminding me I should start thinking about my fertility.

Like Aniston, I'm thinking: "What the hell?"

I've written before about how I'm more uncertain about having kids now than I was at 20, so I'm not going to harp on about it.

This is an extremely personal decision reserved for myself and my wonderful boyfriend.

It's not dinner table conversation.

I'm conscious that what I'm feeling and experiencing is a storm in a teacup, compared to what Aniston has had to endure over decades.

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were married from 2000 to 2005. Image: Getty.

Every magazine cover, every red carpet interview, every relationship milestone was filtered through the lens of when she'd finally fulfilled her "biological destiny". The frustration and pain she must've experienced as her ex-husband Pitt was celebrated and praised for his large blended family with Angelina Jolie, while she was still reduced to her reproductive status.

Motherhood wasn't treated as a personal choice for her.

It was a public obligation she was failing to meet, and an entire mythology was created around her supposed selfishness; she was too focused on her career, too in love with her lifestyle…

Again: "What the hell…"

What we owe Aniston, and women, now.

The 2000s were particularly brutal for this kind of speculation, but the underlying attitudes still persist today.

Taylor Swift was subjected to this type of scrutiny in just the past week.

Hot off the promotional circuit for her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl — she's been asked, publicly, when she'll have a baby with fiancé Travis Kelce and whether having children means leaving her career. (A line of questioning quickly shut down and branded "shockingly offensive" by Swift.)

Aniston says she feels less need to "correct false narratives" as she gets older, and that "the ship has sailed" on her having children.

She insists she has "zero regrets" about her life.

She doesn't owe us this revelation, but, by sharing her truth, she's done something powerful; she's spoken up not just for herself, but for every woman who has endured similar scrutiny.

Her candour reminds us that behind every "selfish career woman" headline is a real person with real struggles we know nothing about.

Behind every "biological clock" story is someone who might be fighting battles we can't see. Behind every judgment about a woman's reproductive choices is a human being, whose worth extends far beyond her ability or desire to have children.

Aniston's willingness to go on record is a gift to women everywhere who have been reduced to their reproductive status.

We may not be able to undo the damage of those 20 years of speculation, but we can honour her honesty by doing better.

We can stop asking women when they're having children. We can stop assuming we know their stories. We can stop treating motherhood as the ultimate measure of a woman's worth. We can respect a woman's right to choose.

Thank you, Aniston, for your courage in speaking your truth.

And thank you for reminding us it's never too late to examine our own complicity in the narratives that hurt women.

Feature image: Getty.