Saturday, 27 February 2016

Jennifer Garner gets candid about Ben Affleck (& the nanny)

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Just over six months after shocking fans with news of their plans to split, Jennifer Garner has opened up about her evolving relationship with Ben Affleck. Interestingly, it's not only vague, carefully crafted statements from the mother of three -- she opened up to Vanity Fair about their love, the nanny and their future as co-parents. Take a look...

Jennifer Garner on marrying Ben Affleck in 2005: “I didn’t marry the big fat movie star; I married him. 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. What am I going to do about that? He’s the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous. He’s just a complicated guy. I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”

On now having two failed marriages: “It’s one of the pains in my life that something I believe in so strongly I’ve completely failed at twice. You have to have two people to dance a marriage. My heart’s a little on the tender side right now, and it’s always easier to focus on the ways that you feel hurt, but I know that, with time and some perspective, I’ll have a clearer sense of where I let the system down, because there’s no way I get off in this.”

Jennifer Garner interview

On the scandal involving Ben and their nanny: “Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes. It’s not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives… I have had to have conversations about the meaning of ‘scandal.’”

On co-parenting in peace: “It’s not Ben’s job to make me happy. The main thing is these kids—and we’re completely in line with what we hope for them. Sure, I lost the dream of dancing with my husband at my daughter’s wedding. But you should see their faces when he walks through the door. And if you see your kids love someone so purely and wholly, then you’re going to be friends with that person.”

On dating in the future: “I guess. I don’t know. It’s just that [from] everyone that I know that is dating it just seems, well…. Men don’t call anymore…. I want flowers; I don’t want to text. What does that make me? What kind of dinosaur am I?”

I would never expect Jennifer Garner or any other person (of any degree of fame) to feel as though they owed the world a look at what went wrong in their relationship, but I also can't deny I was quite interested to read her interview. It's not our business, but it's still natural to be curious what went wrong!

I wholeheartedly agree with her line about it's not one spouse's responsibility to make the other person happy, and I applaud her taking ownership of the part she played. No one, aside from Jennifer and Ben, will ever really know who exactly did and didn't do what, but it sounds to me like she's keeping perspective and is truly looking out for her kids' interest.

Seems strange to say this is a great divorce interview, because the situation is still a bit sad on the whole, but sometimes life happens. Best of luck to the Garner-Afflecks as they sort out what their futures will look like!

Have you been through a split before? What advice would you offer Jen and Ben?

Photo: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock

 

Speaking of finding new love, a look at other celebrities talking dating after divorce:

No comments:

Post a Comment