Jennifer Aniston just said the one thing celebs don't want you to know about being 'Hollywood thin'.

If you grew up in the '90s and early 2000s, you probably remember when Kate Moss was the queen of 'heroin chic', DOLLY magazine was the bible for Aussie teens, and every cover screamed about "fun ways to burn fat fast!"

For millennials' formative years, 'thin' was IN. While size diversity is becoming more common in fashion and entertainment, back then, the most popular celebrities were the smallest — and for millennials who grew up absorbing these messages, there's a good chance we've been left with a lingering sense of body insecurity.

Take Jennifer Aniston, who for years graced our screens as Rachel Green on Friends, and took up bulk magazine real estate thanks to her high-profile marriage to Brad Pitt, her enviable hair, perfect skin and slim, athletic frame.

She's a woman who probably has good genes, but equally has the appearance of someone committed to her fitness – any old episode of Friends will show you toned arms with biceps that didn't land there by accident.

Watch: Jennifer Aniston dealt with Friends ending through therapy and divorce. Post continues below.

And while she's always been open about working out, Aniston was tactfully vague on the details of exactly what went into maintaining a body like hers.

But in recent years, Aniston has started pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to look like that. And spoiler: it's not effortless.

"I always wanted to be healthy," Aniston told Allure in an interview in January 2025. "Not because of pressure, but because I like to feel strong and good in my body."

While her toned arms and glowing skin might have seemed like the result of good genes and a dash of yoga, the reality is far more intense.

Reflecting on her younger years, Aniston — who's turning be 56 in February — said, "For me personally, I loved my 30s, but my 20s were nothing. I was a nightmare. I didn't understand working out until my 30s and 40s."

Aniston reflected on how her approach to fitness has completely changed with age. Speaking to People this month, she opened up about the one health mantra she's ditching for 2025, saying, "No pain, no gain. That's not true at all.

"You can actually have gain with no pain."

Aniston said that she's been through most types of workouts, and with that has come this new outlook on fitness.

"I know more, because I've tried it all," she said. "And my big takeaway is, 'Boy, you didn't have to hurt your body so much back then. You didn't need to beat yourself up.'"

She's also been refreshingly honest about how the relentlessness of modern life — particularly in the age of social media, and on the back of a seemingly constant grim news cycle — can take a huge toll on all of us.

"Our bodies, our brains are not designed to take in this much information," she told Allure.

"We used to have a television and a radio, and that was it. You could go live a glorious life where your cortisol levels weren't through the roof, where your anxiety wouldn't be out of control. It's just too much. This is not normal."

To protect her mental health, Aniston has had to set strict boundaries.

"I've had to shut the news off," she said. "I've had to give myself boundaries with information." And honestly — who can blame her?

Jennifer Aniston is lifting back the lid on her wellness routine. Image: Getty.

Aniston's approach to fitness has also shifted dramatically over time. After a back injury in 2021, she discovered Pvolve, a low-impact, strength-based workout program, which she credits with changing how she approaches exercise.

Aniston also told Women’s Health that she used to get up to do cardio every day at 4am.

"It used to be pounding, pounding, pounding. You had to get 45 minutes to an hour of cardio; otherwise, you weren’t getting a workout," she told British Vogue.

Looking back on her old fitness routines, Aniston admitted that her obsession with working out took a serious toll.

"I just burnt out and broke my body," she told InStyle. "My physical therapist gave me a Barbie doll that's covered in tape… to show every injury I've had in the last 15 years."

Now, she's all about balance. "We have to be kind to our bodies," she told Allure. "It's doing the best it can. It's been with us since the day we started, so we can't be too hard on it… Some days you're great and on point, and some days you're just not.

"I'm a big believer in trying not to be hard on yourself because the world is so mean right now and so aggressive and negative. So why would we do it to ourselves?"

And ooft, if that isn't the reminder we all need right now — especially for a generation of women who grew up being told to chase impossible beauty standards.

Aniston's new mantra? Be kind to yourself. And honestly, we could all use a bit more of that.

Feature Image: Getty.

This article was originally published in March 2024, and has since been updated.