The constant damage of abandonment
While everything seemed rosy and lovely now, the path to the current state of grace was far from easy.
John Aniston and Nancy Dow were a married couple from 1965 until 1980, when the “Days of Our Lives” star suddenly disappeared from Jennifer’s life without warning. Dao was also caught off guard and tried her best to adjust as a newly single mother.
As an adult, the actress frankly opened up about the pain of childhood family relationships. According to a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone, Jennifer’s recollection of the heartbreaking event was as follows:
“My mom told me. I went to a birthday party, and when I came back she said, ‘Your dad won’t be here for a while.’ ‘he was gone forever… I remember sitting there crying, and I didn’t realize he was gone.”
Sadly, Jennifer heard nothing of her absent father for about a year and candidly described a time when he was still numb and clumsy. However, the man best known for playing Victor Kyriakis has made a comeback.
As the producer of “The Morning Show” explained,
He called one day and said, “Let’s go see the Fantasticks.” So we had a little dinner and watched the show. After that, I started seeing him on the weekends, and this new way of life unfolded.
Over the years, Jennifer has slowly been able to learn more about her parents’ painful separation.
At first, there was an unhealthy dynamic as she tried to be too good-natured as a potential way to avoid the risk of her walking away again. It kept him from facing so much anger until later.
When asked if John had ever tried to explain his decision, she revealed:
“Not at first. Like I said, he’s not a good communicator…but, as best he could, my dad explained himself and apologized, and that’s enough. We We’ve made up. There are still tough parts for me, but I’m an adult, and I can’t blame my parents anymore.” “.
The star also once told The Hollywood Reporter that her father did everything in his power to try to discourage her from entering the acting world.
“My dad’s advice was always, ‘Don’t do that. Be a doctor. Be a lawyer.’”
Despite his warnings, Jen decides to give it a try anyway and begins calling John’s agent directly. As a result, her father was attuned to the trajectory of her Hollywood career, but he maintained a laissez-faire approach as an anxious parental observer.
As Jane points out, the warning actually backfired, but she knew he was coming from the right place:
“He didn’t want me to be sad because he knew it was hard work. He made me do it even harder.”