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Justin Theroux finally talks about his 'heartbreaking' split from Jennifer Aniston

In his first interview since announcing his split from his wife, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux at last explained to the New York Times what happened between them. Will his words be enough to appease our hunger for details on all things related to their love lives? He seemed to doubt it, even as he spoke.

“In a weird way, just sort of navigating the inevitable perception of it is the exhausting part,” Theroux, currently starring in Maniac on Netflix, told the Times of his split. “These are actually in reality small events that take place. But everything can feel like 10 on the Richter scale if you make the headline big enough and salacious enough.”

What were these “small events,” anyway? This is as much as the actor and writer would reveal: “The good news is that was probably the most — I’m choosing my words really carefully — it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity,” he said, calling the breakup “amicable,” “boring,” and “painless.”

OK, so no real details, no juicy revelation of an affair or a fight. However, he was much more satisfying when he discussed his post-breakup emotions.

“It was heartbreaking, only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day,” Theroux said. “But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of.”

Although he doesn’t say anything, really, about his ex, he did reveal what it was like to be thrust into the tabloid world thanks to his relationship, and how he resisted its negativity simply by “not dwelling on it.”

What’s really clear is how much happier Theroux is to be living out of Los Angeles. In that way, it is almost as if he left Aniston for another woman: New York City. Throughout the interview, he moves through the city in his signature all-black look (and hangs out with with Alexander Skarsgård) unbothered by paparazzi. He also seems to enjoy simply interacting with regular people.

“For me, at least, [Los Angeles] can very quickly turn you into a house cat, in that you’re perceiving what’s going on around you through panes of glass: your windshield, your driver’s side door, your rearview mirror,” he says. “In New York, the minute you shut your door behind you, you’re out in it.”

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