Jennifer Aniston listens as Reese Witherspoon whispers in her ear at The Morning Show Season 4 New York Premiere.
Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon have known each other since Friends (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Jennifer Aniston was left dumbfounded by Reese Witherspoon when she only just learned the actress’s real name, despite having known one another for over two decades.

The pair have returned to screens this week with a new season of the bonkers TV anchor drama The Morning Show, which sees Aniston, 56, and Witherspoon, 49, play frenemy presenters.

The Apple TV Plus prestige soap is back for a fourth season, which sees the gang tackle the likes of AI, deepfakes and the Paris Olympics from their headquarters at the UBA media building, following a high-stakes merger deal at the end of the previous season.

But while promoting the show Aniston learned there are still things about her longtime pal Witherspoon that she doesn’t know.

The exchange between the two was captured on LADBible’s Do You Even Know Me? segment during their press tour for the Apple drama, which they both also executive produce.

At one point, Witherspoon quizzed her co-star and asked her: ‘What is my real middle name? A: Jane, B: Jean or C: Joan.’ 

US actress Jennifer Aniston and US actress Reese Witherspoon (R) attend the premiere of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show", Season 4, in New York on September 9, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
The pair co-star in Apple’s The Morning Show (Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

When Aniston incorrectly guessed Jane, Witherspoon revealed that the answer was in fact Jean. 

She nonchalantly added: ‘It’s confusing. I’m Laura Jean.’ 

However, Aniston was shocked at the revelation of Witherspoon’s first name rather than her middle name, exclaiming, ‘Laura Jean?’ 

Witherspoon explained: ‘That’s my real name. Yeah.’ 

‘Laura! Who’s Laura? Who the hell’s Laura?’ Aniston asked, adding, ‘I’m not calling you that from now on! Where did Reese come from?’ 

Witherspoon explained: ‘It’s my middle name. I’m Laura Jean Reese.’

Did you know Reese Witherspoon’s real name?

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PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 19: Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon of
‘I’m not calling you that from now on!’ (Picture: David Livingston/Getty Images)

Aniston later asked her co-star why she used Reese for her professional moniker.

Witherspoon replied: ‘I didn’t change it; my name was just always Reese,’ before admitting that she didn’t know Aniston’s middle name either, which is Joanna.

The pair have been longtime friends since Witherspoon made a guest appearance on Friends in 2000 as the shopping-obsessed younger sister of Aniston’s character Rachel Green. 

The pair are once again on screens as of this Wednesday, when the first episode of The Morning Show’s season four premiered on Apple TV Plus.

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