On social media, the actress expressed her affection for her father with the message “Love you, papa.”
Jennifer Aniston has quickly positioned herself as the new reigning queen of Instagram in a few of months, according to the social media platform. With over 26 million followers on Instagram, despite the fact that she only joined the platform in October of last year, the actress has swiftly established a large fan base.

She recently shared a flashback photo of herself with her father, John Aniston, who is best known for his role on the soap opera ‘Days of our Lives.’ What some people may not be aware of is that, despite the fact that the two are once again close, John abandoned his daughter and did not see her for a year after that incident occurred.

The 50-year-old celebrity was in the midst of her holiday festivities when she managed to elicit some positive response online with a nostalgic sepia-toned flashback photo. The heartwarming photograph showed her as a little toddler, her tiny arms wrapped around her father’s neck in a beautiful pose.

The father and daughter duo were pictured in a more current photo that was shared shortly after the previous one. Her caption was lovely and straightforward: “Christmas with one of my creators was a lot of fun. There was a time… and there is now… Papa, I adore you.”

While everything appears to be sunny and pleasant at the moment, the route to this current level of grace was everything but straightforward.

From 1965 through 1980, John Aniston and Nancy Dow were married, and it was during this time that the “Days of Our Lives” actress mysteriously vanished from Jennifer’s life without a trace. Dow was caught by surprise as well, and she made the best of her newfound independence as a single mother.

As an adult, the actress spoke frankly about the difficulties she experienced with her familial relationships when she was growing up. As previously reported by The Rolling Stone, Jennifer’s account of the life-altering experience was as follows, according to an unearthed interview with the magazine from 1999:

“My mother informed me. I had gone to a birthday party, and when I returned, Mom informed me that my father would not be around for a short period of time. Her words did not imply that he would be gone indefinitely… I only remember sitting there sobbing, unable to comprehend that he was no longer alive.”

Unfortunately, Jennifer didn’t hear from her absentee father for about a year, and she frankly described the experience as “numb and perplexing.” However, the actor best known for his role as Victor Kiriakis unexpectedly arrived on the scene.

“He simply called one day and said, “Let’s go see ‘The Fantasticks,'” and that was that. As a result, we had a quick dinner and then went to the show. After that, I started seeing him on the weekends, and this whole new way of life simply started to emerge before my eyes.”

Jennifer gradually came to understand more about her parents’ traumatic parting as time went on.

In the beginning, there was an unhealthy dynamic in which she attempted to be extremely well-behaved in order to possibly stave off the possibility of being abandoned again. Because of this, she was unable to process a great deal of rage until much later.

The answer she gave when asked if John had ever sought to make his decision plain was, “Yes.”

“At least not at first. As previously stated, he is a poor communicator. My father, though, did the best he could to explain and apologize, and that was sufficient. We’ve come to terms. There are still portions of the process that are difficult for me, but I’m an adult now. I can’t hold it against my parents any longer.”

The A-lister also revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that her father tried everything he could to prevent her from pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.

“‘Don’t do it,’ has always been my father’s advice. Make a career as a doctor. ‘Become a lawyer,’ you say.”

Jen decided to give it a chance despite John’s warnings, and she got her foot in the door by contacting John’s agency directly. She had a close relationship with her father, who was aware of her Hollywood career trajectory, but he maintained a hands-off stance as a worried fatherly spectator.

Although, as Jen explained, the cautionary admonition had an unintended consequence, she recognized that it was coming from the proper source:

“He didn’t want me to be devastated because he was well aware of the difficulties of the profession. It motivated me to go after it even more aggressively.”

Was it a surprise to find out about Jen’s father’s relationship with her mother? It just goes to show that you never know what kind of grief someone is carrying around in their heart. This tale should be shared with Jen fans or anyone who needs to be comforted that broken relationships can be repaired.