Jennifer Garner reflects on his co-parenting relationship with Ben Affleck and the complexities of raising children after divorce.
The “13 Going On 30” actress opened up about having to play both roles of mom and dad, while also admitting that co-parenting with her ex-husband brings “a little bit of loss.”
Jennifer Garner previously opened up about how her split from Ben Affleck was “hard,” noting that the transition was particularly difficult without the help of her family.
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Jennifer Garner says co-parenting has led her to become both ‘mom and dad’ to her children with Ben Affleck
Garner pulled back the curtain on the bittersweet reality of raising children, Violet, Seraphina and Samuel, with ex-husband Affleck.
The “Elektra” actress made the candid revelation in a recent episode of Hustle’YouTube series “One Nightstand,” where she and host Charlotte Owen discussed the book “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maud and dove into the relationship between siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who adopted Anne Shirley by mistake.
Similar to the siblings, Owen asked Garner how she managed to find balance in raising her children with intentionality and awareness.
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“I think I do a little bit of both,” she explained. “And I think so does the father of my children. Especially when your children grow up in two separate homes, I become mom and dad, and he becomes mom and dad.”
She continued: “You can’t help it, can you? Because you don’t have the advantage of both sides of yin and yang being in the same house.”
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The actress opens up about the ‘loss’ of co-parenting with her ex-husband
Garner and Affleck first met on the set of “Pearl Harbor,” but didn’t become involved until a few years later. They struck up a close friendship in the summer of 2004 and married in June the following year.
The former couple went on to welcome their three children and shared so many sweet memories until they decided to separate in 2015, before finalizing their divorce in 2018.
In an apparent attempt to compensate for the absence of the other partner, Garner explained that she had to “have a little bit of both ‘qualities of nurturing and appreciation’ in the way she and the parent actor from ‘Accountant 2.’
“There is a little loss in this, but there is also something to be gained,” she noted. “You also learn. It made me let go and not focus too much on my education.”
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Jennifer Garner made rare comment about her ‘harsh’ divorce from Ben Affleck
During a January interview with Marie Claire United Kingdom, Garner made a rare comment about her difficult split from Affleck.
“You have to be smart about what you can and can’t handle, and I couldn’t handle what was happening,” she told the outlet. “But what existed there wasn’t what was difficult. The fact is that it was what was difficult.”
“It was the breakup of a family that was difficult,” Garner continued. “What was difficult was losing a true partnership and a true friendship.”
According to the outlet, she explained that the transition was quite difficult, but that she survived, in part thanks to the support of her family and friends.
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“I make a big, concerted effort to see my people as much as possible, because that’s what matters,” she explained. “That’s where your resilience lies: it lies in your relationships and the people who support you.”
Actress says she’s capable of co-parenting ‘Peace’
Despite their divorce, Garner and Affleck have kept their relationship cordial while continuing to jointly care for their children.
The ex-couple have been spotted with their children on several occasions and have even sparked speculation that they are getting back together.
She has since spoken about co-parenting with Affleck in “peace” despite the difficulty of their divorce.
“I’m able to co-parent at this point with peace and serenity and in a partnership that I didn’t think I’d ever get back into,” Garner told Marie Claire United Kingdom.
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Jennifer Garner says ‘time’ heals even the pain of divorce
Speaking further on the issue of co-parenting with one’s ex-husband, Garner addressed the feeling of disdain that can arise due to divorce, noting that some women may tell themselves they would never be friends with an ex-partner again.
However, according to the actress, “time” gives a person the opportunity to grow and heal even from a bad breakup.
She continued, “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 that person again.’ [that] time is 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,” Garner added.
