Jennifer Aniston Softly Ghosted Chelsea Handler After Showbiz Friendship Fizzled

Onetime party pals Jennifer Aniston and Chelsea Handler like to play down talk of a feud, but it can’t be denied that they barely speak ever since the Friends alum “soft ghosted” the caustic comic for being too brash — revealing that it was never more than a “showbiz” friendship, at least for Jen, sources spout!

“Chelsea was never a perfect fit with the rest of Jen’s aging, well-off social circle, but if you go back 12 or 15 years when Chelsea was becoming a household name for her late-night cable show, she and Jen talked all the time and there was real sharing going on between them,” spills an insider.

“The bottom line is that it was always a show business friendship, nothing more!”

As National ENQUIRER readers know, Jen’s nearly five-year marriage to Brad Pitt ended in 2005 over his affair with Angie, his leading lady in Mr. & Mrs. Smith — so Jen, 56, noted 50-year-old Chelsea’s fierce loyalty.

“Their whole relationship was defined by Jen’s anger with and antagonism toward Angelina Jolie,” explains the tipster. “But Jen has moved past that stuff and doesn’t have the time or will to sit around and trash-talk her enemies with Chelsea.

“That doesn’t mean that if Chelsea were in trouble or needed a big favor, Jen wouldn’t be there for her, but when it got to the point that Chelsea was openly commenting on Angelina without a filter, Jen had to pull back a little.

“Jen values her independence and never wanted anybody to fight battles she could easily fight herself!”