Courteney Cox insists Jennifer Aniston has no connection to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's children.

Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston

Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston

The 52-year-old actress finds it frustrating that the thoughts and reaction of her best friend - who was married to the 'Big Short' star for five years before they divorced in 2005 - have been speculated about so much since it was revealed last week that the couple have split after 12 years together.

She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "It's not about [Jennifer]. I feel like we're exacerbating it by even talking about it."

Courteney's comments come shortly after Jennifer's husband said it was "nonsense" that people keep trying to drag his spouse into the split drama.

He said: "There's an endless appetite for trash, apparently - though everyone would say that they don't have that appetite. But I think a lot of people do because people buy it. But there are bigger things to bitch about. It's shocking how much bandwidth things can take up when there are far more important things going on in the world."

But the 'Leftovers' star admitted he thinks the news is "terrible" for Brad and Angelina's six children, Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, eight, because he understands what they are going through.

He told Business Insider: "As a child of divorce, all I can say is that's terrible news for those children, and that's all you can really say. It's boring to sort of comment on anything else. People are having a bad time. That's horrible."

Meanwhile, the pair's divorce reportedly didn't come as a shock to their friends.

One pal said previously: "I could say the divorce announcement is a shock, but it's not. This divorce deal has been brewing for a long time.

"When Angelina underwent her mastectomy in 2013, her health and life in general became a priority for her. Her views on life changed. Suddenly she saw herself walking in her late mother's shoes - and she was no longer that wild, fun loving woman she used to be, she was taking things a lot more seriously."