Jennifer Garner opened up about her divorce from Ben Affleck in a new interview with Marie Claire UK. The actress described the breakup as “hard” while discussing her upcoming Apple TV+ series.
The 53-year-old star spoke candidly about the end of her marriage to Affleck. They separated in 2015 after 10 years together and finalized their divorce in 2018.
“The actual breaking up of a family is what was hard. Losing a true partnership and friendship is what was hard.”
Garner explained that media attention wasn’t the difficult part. The real challenge was ending their family unit.
She told the magazine she couldn’t handle outside pressures during that time. But the public scrutiny wasn’t what made things tough for her.
The former couple shares three children: Violet Anne, 20, Seraphina Rose, 17, and Samuel, 13. Garner said co-parenting while living in the public eye remains challenging.
“It’s the hardest thing,” she said about their situation. “Not hard in the grand scheme of what is hard in the world, but tricky for me and tricky for my family.”
After the highly publicized breakup, Garner focused on building her support network.
“I make a big, concerted effort to see my people as much as I can, because that’s what matters. That’s where your resilience is: it’s in your relationships and in the people who carry you through.”
The Alias star said her parenting approach has evolved as her kids get older. She described them as “so cool” but admitted she’s had to step back more.
“Parenting now has shifted,” Garner explained. “It’s more about parenting with a button on my mouth. You have to let them grow up and make their choices.”
Garner is currently dating businessman John Miller. She’s also focused on advocacy work with Save the Children US and Once Upon a Farm.
Despite their divorce, Affleck and Garner maintain a family routine for holidays. A source told PEOPLE the actor celebrated Christmas with Garner and their children last month.
“Just like they celebrated Thanksgiving together, Ben is invited to celebrate Christmas with Jen and the kids too,” the insider said. “They just have this nice routine now that works for everyone.”
The interview comes as Garner promotes the second season of The Last Thing He Told Me. The Apple TV+ drama also stars Angourie Rice, Aisha Tyler, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ February 20. Garner also has upcoming projects including The Rip on Netflix January 16 and Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend.
