Jennifer Garner says divorce from Ben Affleck caused ‘upheaval’ that kept her from working for years

Jennifer Garner is reflecting on how her divorce from Ben Affleck impacted her career choices.

In an exclusive interview with InStyle, the “Alias” actress — who separated from Affleck in 2015 — opened up about the “upheaval” that consumed her and their three children amid their very public split.

“When my kids were little, I worked so little, and then we had such an upheaval in our family, that I really hardly worked for a long time,” she told the outlet.

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While balancing her work and professional life, Garner said she learned there is beauty in imperfection.

“You have to raise yourself at the same time. And just be so radically kind to yourself about how imperfect it is,” she said of trying to navigate life as a working mom of three. “And that it is just going to be imperfect. There’s no such thing as balance. There’s no such thing as doing it right. And when the big moments happen, you are okay, and that’s on you to know and understand so your child feels your okayness.”

Affleck and Garner met on the set of 2001’s “Pearl Harbor,” but didn’t spark a romantic relationship until 2004, after starring alongside one another in the 2003 film “Daredevil.” They married in 2005, but eventually called it quits in 2015. 

“After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the couple said in a joint statement at the time. “We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding.”

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During an appearance on Bustle’s “One Nightstand” podcast earlier this year, Garner opened up about the sacrifices made while raising their three children together. 

“When your kids grow up in two separate households, I become mom and dad, and he becomes dad and mom,” said Garner. “You kind of can’t help it, right? Because you don’t have the benefit of both sides, the yin and yang being in the same house, so you have to have a bit of both in the way you parent.”

“There’s a little bit of loss in that, but there’s also something gained in that,” she added. “You also just learn, it’s made me let go and not focus so much on the bringing up.”

In her first interview after announcing the split, Garner said Affleck was the love of her life.

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“I didn’t marry the big fat movie star; I married him,” she told Vanity Fair in 2016. “And I would go back and remake that decision. I ran down the beach to him, and I would again. You can’t have these three babies and so much of what we had. He’s the love of my life.”

“We still have to help each other get through this,” she added, referencing their divorce. “He’s still the only person who really knows the truth about things. And I’m still the only person that knows some of his truths.”

After his divorce from Garner, Affleck rekindled his relationship with Jennifer Lopez. The couple’s marriage lasted roughly two years. Lopez and Affleck married in 2022 and finalized their divorce in January 2025.

In 2020, Affleck appeared on “Good Morning America,” where he admitted that he and Garner would be “connected” forever.

“I didn’t want to get divorced, I didn’t want to be a divorced person, I really didn’t want to be a split family with my children,” he said at the time. “It upset me because it meant I wasn’t who I thought I was and that was so painful and so disappointing. In myself.”

“When you have children with somebody, you’re connected to them forever,” he said. “And I’m very lucky she is the mother of my children. I’m very grateful and respectful of her. Our marriage didn’t work, and that’s difficult. Both of us really believe that it’s important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they’re together or not.”

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These days, Garner — who is starring role in Peacock’s upcoming adaptation of “The Five Star Weekend” — is finding joy in working again.

“When I work, I don’t apologize to my kids for it. I do thank them for being so sweet about it,” she told InStyle. “But that’s part of life. Working hard is part of life, and messing up is part of life. Tripping and falling—there’s room for all of it.”