Jennifer Aniston opens up on why finding love 'doesn't have to be so hard

' gushes over fiancé Justin Theroux 

Jennifer Aniston is a firm believer in self-love.

The 45-year-old actress, whose love life has been under the microscope since her 2005 divorce from actor Brad Pitt, opened up to the December/January issue of Harper's Bazaar on why she took a time out from dating before meeting now-fiancé Justin Theroux.

"It really helped me get to a place where I was more comfortable with myself, truly ready for love and for a partner," she said of her hiatus from being someone's girlfriend.

"The past wasn't 'less than.' It was extremely important to my growth as a woman. But if you take the law of attraction, if you only love yourself 70%, that's what's going to come back to you. So you fill up that 30%, then all of a sudden there's this pure, good love standing right in front of you. Then you realize, 'Oh, this can be easy! It doesn't have to be so hard,'" she explained.

Aniston addressed the public's constant concern for her happiness.

"How many times can I be out there in the world, enjoying my life, and yet the narrative is 'Poor, Sorry, Sad in Love Jen' … whatever the stupid headline is," she said.

 

"There was a part of me that used to get me very upset. I was guilty of getting too up in arms about stuff that wasn't real, phantom boxing with something that's not even there.

"Now I'd rather just focus on people and things that are here, happening, and what's yet to come. My friends, my family, wonderful people I work with. We know what the real is."

Aniston, who stunned on the cover of the glossy, seems more content than ever these days.

"I've had more fun post-40 than I can remember," she gushed. "From a work point of view, a physical point of view, a psychotherapeutic point of view."

The starlet reminisced with Harper's about the start of her and Theroux's relationship.

"When he was writing on 'Tropic Thunder' we were just buddies," she recalled. "And then buddies through 'Wanderlust.'"

The two co-starred in the 2012 film and got engaged in August of that year.

Aniston went on to say "it's almost impossible" for them "to get bored with one another."

"We've tried so hard," she said. "And even that's interesting because his eyes are so pretty, but we can entertain ourselves and talk about endless things, which is pretty great."

When Aniston was asked who her creative crush was, she simply responded, "Justin Theroux."

"Not only is he a great actor but he's one of the best comedy writers out there. And he directs and paints murals.

"I just think it's so attractive to be that good at so many things and to have no ego. He's one of the most humble, decent human beings."

Aniston praised her other half for how well he has handled dating someone who is constantly in the spotlight.

"He's just been doing it so graciously and gracefully, and it's a strange ballpark to walk into. He's in his body, for sure. He's a pretty realized person."

While things are clearly warm and fuzzy in Aniston's personal life, they sound just as positive on the career front.

She told the mag that her role in "Cake" was "the most challenging part" she has ever done and "also one of the most rewarding and fulfilling."