Jennifer Garner has opened up about her embattled ex-husband Ben Affleck, and how their break-up affected their three kids. The 13 Going On 30 star sat down for a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter for their latest cover story, which was released on March 10. “People are in awe of him,” she said of Ben. “He’s done incredible things, he’s six-four, he’s … him, and they treat him with a kind of reverence. They say that people treat me like we were just in the middle of a conversation and they want to get back to it. They’ll see me and be like, ‘Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you … ‘”
The actress explained that the public interest in her and Ben’s relationship peaked in the early 2000s, however the constant paparazzi swarm has affected their three children, Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9, who grew up afraid of cameras. “When they were smaller and there were things out there that were shocking, my request to them was always, ‘Let Dad and I talk you through whatever it is,'” she said, referencing the media circus surrounding Ben when he was suffering from substance abuse issues. “I’d tell them, ‘If you see an image on the front of a magazine, I’ll look at it with you and we’ll process all the scary feelings that come up together.'”
Ben revealed in a 2017 Playboy interview that he fell in love with Jennifer while they were filming the 2003 film Daredevil. The couple made their relationship public in October 2004, kissing and cuddling in the stands at a Boston Red Sox game. He then proposed to Alias star Jennifer on April, 17, 2005, her 33rd birthday. They wed two months later on June 29, 2005 in a four person ceremony on the beach in the Turks and Caicos.
As for their extremely public divorce, Jennifer said, “Going through it in public is not what’s hard, going through it is what’s hard, A. And B, my children’s eyes are on me.” Despite their struggles over the years, the former couple are seemingly on much better terms these days. “When our kids get married, we’ll dance [together], I know that now,” the Valentine’s Day star explained. “We’ll boogaloo and have a great time. I don’t worry about that anymore.”