Jennifer Garner says breaking up of her family with Ben Affleck was ‘hard’: ‘Losing a true partnership and friendship…’

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were married for 13 years. Image Courtesy: AP.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck split up after a marriage of 13 years, but they continue to be friendly and co-parent their three kids — Violet, Fin, and Samuel. That equation stood the test of time and even survived their individual relationships with businessman John C Miller and actor-singer Jennifer Lopez respectively. “You have to be smart about what you can and can’t handle, and I could not handle what was out there,” confessed Garner in a new interview, referring to her very publicised split with Affleck back in 2015. “The fact of it is what was hard. The actual breaking up of a family is what was hard. Losing a true partnership and friendship is what was hard,” she added.

In the interview with Marie Claire UK, Garner also opened up on her co-parenting their kids with Affleck. “I’m able to co-parent at this point in time with peace and equanimity and a partnership that I didn’t know I would ever get back to. I think it’s important for women to know, when they think, ‘Oh, I’ll never see that, I’ll never have that feeling, I’ll never be friends with this person again’ — time is the opportunity. Time is the opportunity to heal. Time is the opportunity to forgive, to move on and to find a new way to be friends,” she said.

Garner didn’t open up about relationshhip with Miller but just cryptically said, “I have so much love in my life.” Affleck has been in many relationships since their divorce in 2018. He even tied the knot again with his ex-fiancé Jennifer Lopez, only to split up a couple of years later in 2025.

“It doesn’t serve me to take in gossip about myself or anyone else, much less my kids, so I don’t do it,” said Garner, who even famously lent a shoulder to Affleck after his divorce with Lopez. While the public scrutiny on their lives has taken a toll on their marriages, Garner maintains that remains “the hardest thing” even now. “Not hard in the grand scheme of what is hard in the world, but tricky for me and tricky for my family,” she said.

Having said that, Garner chose her and Affleck’s kids as her proudest achievement, which is why she took a break from her career after having kids. “It never felt like a sacrifice. It was really hard to go to work and it definitely shaped the jobs I chose, in a big way,” said Garner.

Garner last appeared reprising her role of Elektra in Shawn Levy’s 2023 blockbuster buddy Marvel movie Deadpool & Wolverine. She’ll be next seen reprising her role of Hannah Hall in season 2 of Apple TV’s thriller show The Last Thing He Told Me and will also headline another book adaptation series, The Five-Star Weekend this year.