It was on the holiday of love that Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux last saw each other, already as exes.
After months of living separately on opposite coasts, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux rendezvoused on her home turf on Valentine's Day and made the decision to announce their breakup.
The two revealed in a statement the day after the holiday that they had separated, saying the "decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year" and that they remain "best friends." Aniston, a 49-year-old L.A. native, and Theroux, who is 46 and grew up on the East Coast, had wed at their Los Angeles home in 2015.
"They had been living separately for the last several months," a source told E! News exclusively on Sunday. "He has been in New York the last several weeks getting on with his life. He flew back to L.A. late on Valentine's Day and met up with Jen at a mutually-decided-on location."
"He very much wanted to release a statement so that he doesn't have to hide or live a lie," the source said. "He wants to move on with his life and be out in the open."
The source said that the day after Valentine's Day, Theroux left Los Angeles and went on a weekend trip.
Last week, another insider told E! News that Aniston and Theroux "fell in love hard and fast and yet they were never really suited to one another. He was a New York hipster that loved the alternative lifestyle and Jennifer was living a much more reclusive life when they first started to fall in love."
Earlier this month, Architectural Digest featured a cover story about Aniston and Theroux's multi-million Bel-Air mansion, which is located in a gated community. When they're out in public, they, like many celebs, especially in L.A., are often followed and photographed by the paparazzi.
"He absolutely hated it at first," the second insider had said last week. "But he fell in love with Jennifer so it was something he came to accept. But everyone around him knew it wasn't really who he was."
A third source told E! News that "Justin didn't want to deal with the shallowness of Hollywood and be a part of her world anymore."
"Justin is certain that he doesn't want to be in the Hollywood celebrity bubble anymore," the first source told E! News on Sunday.
Just a few weeks ago, Aniston and Theroux vacationed in Cabo San Lucas with friends, where they were photographed by the paparazzi.
"They went on the Cabo trip as one last-ditch attempt to see if they could make it work," the first source said.
The third source told E! News last week that Aniston was "doing OK," adding, "She has her group of friends that are her family, and they have rallied around her."
"They still have so much love and respect for one another," the insider continued. "But there just wasn't a reason to be married. He wants to be in New York, hanging out with his hipster friends or riding his motorcycle through Europe, and she wants to be by the beach somewhere doing yoga."
A rep for Aniston has declined to comment.