Jennifer Garner learned quite a bit about co-parenting with ex-husband Ben Affleck.
During a recent appearance on Bustle’s One Night Stand podcast, the Alias actress, who split from Affleck in 2015, spoke about the sacrifices they made while raising their three children together.
“When the kids grow up in two separate households, I’ll be the mom and dad and he’ll be the dad and mom,” Garner said.
“That can’t be helped, right? Because if you have yin and yang in the same house, you don’t get the benefits of both. So when raising children, you have to have a little bit of both.”
“You can lose a little bit, but you can also gain something,” she added. “You just learn. It’s allowed me to let go and focus less on parenting.”
Affleck and Garner met on the set of the 2001 film Pearl Harbor, but did not develop a romantic relationship until 2004, after co-starring in the 2003 film Daredevil.
They married in 2005 but ultimately divorced in 2015.
“After much consideration and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the couple said in a joint statement at the time. “We move forward with love and friendship for each other and a commitment to co-parenting our children, respecting their privacy during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private family matter. Thank you for your understanding.”
In her first interview since announcing their split, Garner said Affleck was “the love of my life.”
“I didn’t marry an overweight movie star. I married him,” she told Vanity Fair in 2016. “And I was going to go back and redo that decision. I ran down the beach to him, and I would do it again. I can’t have these three babies and much of what we had. He’s the love of my life.”
“We still have to help each other get through this,” she added, referring to the divorce. “He’s the only one who really knows the truth of things. And I’m the only one who knows part of his truth.”
After his divorce from Garner, Affleck rekindled his relationship with Jennifer Lopez.
The couple’s marriage lasted about two years. Lopez and Affleck married in 2022, and their divorce was finalized in January 2025.
In December 2024, a source close to Affleck told Fox News Digital that the “Argo” actor continued to spend quality time with Garner and their three children and was enjoying his time away from the spotlight.
“Ben and Jennifer Garner have a really great co-parenting relationship,” the source said. “Because of the kids, they’re still family. They talk all the time, but Jennifer wants what’s best for him because it’s best for the kids. There’s no bad blood between them. She really was there for him and their kids while they were getting through life after breaking up with Jennifer Lopez.”
“Ben seems to be in a really great place in his life,” the source added. “He has some things to work on wisely to finish out the year, but he seems less stressed than he was six months ago. He’s been focused and busy with work and seems excited about his projects for the new year.”
In 2020, Affleck appeared on Good Morning America and admitted that he and Garner will be “connected” forever.
“I didn’t want to get divorced, I didn’t want to be a divorcee, I didn’t want to have a broken family with my kids,” he said at the time. “It upset me because it meant I wasn’t who I thought I was, and it was very painful and very disappointing. Within myself.”
“When you have children with someone, you’re forever connected to them,” he says. “And I’m so lucky that she’s the mother of my children. I’m so grateful and respect her. Our marriage didn’t work out, and it was difficult. We both believe it’s important for our children to see their parents respect each other and get along, whether they’re together or not.”
