Amidst the finalization of his divorce from Jennifer Lopez,Ben Affleck was seen spending family time with his first ex, Jennifer Garner. The two movie stars were married for 13 years before legally splitting up in 2018. Since then, Garner has remained a constant source of support in Affleck’s life through his alcoholism and supposedly, his recent quest for true love.
Affleck and Garner gave back to the downtown Los Angeles community, volunteering at the nonprofit Midnight Mission with their kids Violet, 19, Seraphina, 15 and Samuel, 12. Both parents were seen providing meals for the unhoused population in the city, feeding over 2,000 people.
The pair’s relationship kindled on the set of the 2003 film Daredevil following their collaboration on the film Pearl Harbor three years prior. For 13 years, Affleck and Garner appeared to have a perfect marriage, welcoming three children and consistently sharing tips for a successful marriage during interviews.
Affleck eventually revealed in 2021 that the dissolution of his and Garner’s marriage was attributed to many factors including “growing apart” and feeling “trapped” in his marriage due to his commitment to parenting their three children. He then developed severe alcoholism, the icing on top to the decline of their marriage.
Nonetheless, Garner remained steadfast in her support for Affleck, supporting him during three rehab attempts and even driving him to the facilities. Since then, Garner has been seen trick-or-treating with Affleck and his ex-wife, singer Jennifer Lopez, supporting their marriage while it was in its prime. The two have spoken highly of each other consistently and remain close friends.
Now that Affleck is divorcing Lopez, multiple media outlets and their “insider” sources claim that this particular holiday season was fulfilling for Affleck and Garner.
News outlet PageSix’s insider said that Affleck “feels a certain level of comfort” with Garner. The insider also said that despite their divorce, Affleck “has a strong relationship with Garner that will never dissipate because they have a lot of history together and she’s the mother of his kids.”
The News International also revealed an inside source claiming that Affleck thinks Garner would be a good wingwoman in his new quest for love after Lopez. According to their source, Affleck is “ready for something real” and “feels like Jennifer is great and cutting through the BS and sniffing out genuine people.”
While confirmation of the validity of these sources is yet to be seen, Affleck and Garner’s family time this Thanksgiving emphasizes the positivity in keeping love alive, even if it is no longer romantic.
It’s no secret that there’s been extensive media coverage on the possibility of Affleck and Garner reconciling and remarrying. Rather than harp on their past romance, the two are a great demonstration of how sometimes platonic love is the best kind of love for a relationship. While romantic love may not be in the cards for Affleck and Garner, they are each other’s platonic twin flames.
Embracing their journey from romantic partners to co-parenting friends has kept Affleck and Garner’s family together. What makes their post-divorce, healthy co-parenting relationship and affinity for one another especially influential is that it was predictable, vulnerable to public scrutiny yet successful.
The cards were always stacked against the couple. 60% of U.S. marriages end in divorce when one partner is a heavy drinker and celebrities are twice as likely to divorce compared to the average person. While the two fell into this statistic, they also defied others.
Affleck counters the statistic that over a quarter of divorces end in an absentee father. Further, Affleck and Garner’s joint-custody agreement falls into the menial 11% of custody cases in the U.S. that end in joint custody.
So, although Affleck and Garner’s split was not unique, the way in which they maintained love for one another afterward is. It reminds divorced parents that it is possible to co-parent successfully despite stereotypes. With Christmas and other holidays right around the corner, this year may be a good time to extend an olive branch and discover new kinds of love with your ex-partner.
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