Aniston ‘was not present during his long and difficult illness…he would not approve of all this uninvited attention.’

              [Facebook / Mujah Muraini-Melehi]                                 [Facebook / Mujah Muraini-Melehi]

Airing Wednesday, January 14, 2015

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New York, NY — January 14, 2015 — In a written statement given exclusively to Inside Edition the widow of Jennifer Aniston’s first love Daniel McDonald, Mujah Muraini-Melehi, responds to the actress’s comments about McDonald.

Aniston dated McDonald for five years before her relationships with Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux. McDonald went on to marry and have two children with Muraini-Melehi, before he died in 2007 from brain cancer. Recently Aniston spoke of McDonald with The New York Times saying, “He would have been the one. But I was 25 and stupid. He must have sent me Justin to make up for it all.”

Now, Muraini-Melehi, is criticizing Aniston for bringing up her past relationship with McDonald many years later, writing to Inside Edition:

“Daniel and Jennifer had a relationship over 20 years ago, when they were both still very young.  She made a life choice, but so did he.

I am sorry that Jennifer did not realize the treasure that was Daniel when she had the chance, long before he and I met and long before he died. It pains me to read the headlines that allude to her losing him tragically when in fact she was not present during his long and difficult illness. 

Perhaps Daniel’s gift was to teach her how to love, and to appreciate what she has with Justin Theroux. 

Those of us who knew Daniel well can assure you that he would not have approved of all this uninvited attention due to his past relationship to Jennifer.

I lost my husband. My children lost their father. Please respect our love, our privacy, and especially our loss. -Mujah Maraini-Melehi”

Muraini-Melehi also posted a message on her Facebook page stating: “After Daniel died, I reached out to [Aniston] to give her back all the photographs from the time they were together. I never got an answer back from her.”

FOR INSIDE EDITION’S FULL REPORT TUNE IN ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH.    

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