Jennifer Garner: breastfeeding is “the coziest feeling in the world”

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Earlier today, we covered some early excerpts from Jennifer Garner’s W Magazine interview (here for the earlier coverage). Jennifer spoke about how she and husband Ben Affleck decided early on in their relationship to “start breeding”. She also talked about how she couldn’t live without her girlfriends, because they’re the ones who listen to her bitch. W Magazine just put the full interview online (here), with a slideshow (here). Jennifer was photographed by Craig McDean for the magazine, and he does great work here. I love these photos. As for the complete interview… well…. Jennifer has never been my cup of tea. I find her a little cloying and goody-two-shoes. Which is fine, it takes all kinds. I don’t hate her, I can just take her in small doses. She works very, very hard at coming across as this wholesome, I think:

Jennifer on her Ina “The Barefoot Contessa” Garten obsession: “I know somebody who is a friend of hers, and she says she’s going to get us together… I tried to get on Ina’s [Food Channel] show. I tried to use my, well, you know…I say, use what you have to make the world better or for yourself! But eventually she just said, ‘I’m sorry, I only use my real friends on the show.’ I felt like, What are you saying? That we’re not friends? I know everything about you!”

On being a working mom: “I live my life at these two extremes. I’m either a full-time stay-at-home mom or a full-time actress.”

On possibly working with husband Ben Affleck: “I think he’s brilliant at what he does, but why rock the boat? It works between us pretty well the way it is. I don’t know if I want to go to work with him. I’d be like, ‘Okay already, you got the shot. Let’s go home!’”

The paparazzi situation: The situation is somewhat better in Boston, where “there are fewer of them, and they hide behind things, so my kids aren’t aware of them, which makes all the difference in the world,” Garner says. But in L.A., “if I try to go to the supermarket, the police come. We talked forever about leaving Los Angeles, but anywhere you go some dodo is going to buy a camera and start following you.”

On being a mom to her two daughters: She calls breast-feeding “the coziest feeling in the whole world” and has bonded with the other moms at Violet’s school. “You feel so close to them so quickly because you’re going through the same thing,” she says. And then there’s the homemade baby food. “It’s a little over the top,” she admits. “And I tell myself, Just give her a jar of food and forget about it! Don’t be so precious! But it’s so easy—I just puree and freeze.”

On traveling with her kids: Garner is the first to point out that she has help—though she follows the admission with “Does that sound snotty, to say I have help?”­ But most working mothers aren’t required to relocate for months at a time whenever they land a job. That’s getting harder, now that Violet is in school. As they prepare to head home to Los Angeles in November, her elder daughter is “a little nervous about whether the girls at school will already have friends,” Garner says. “We thought we could take them anywhere until they were six, but I don’t know if that’s going to work out that way.”

On her new film, Valentine‘s Day: “I got to work at home in L.A., which never happens, and it was a fun job that wasn’t all on me. There are a lot of things that made it an easy yes,” Garner says of her reasons for signing on to the movie, which she describes as “similar in feel and design to He’s Just Not That Into You. There’s nothing that’s not satisfying about it.”

On her struggles with being a working mom and a working actress: “It’s hard because I’ve taken so much time off already. But I have this internal battle between, I need to work, I need to work, I need to work and I need to be home with my kids. And the kids win.”

On this year’s Halloween costumes: Violet will be Ariel from The Little Mermaid; Seraphina, whom everyone calls Sera (pronounced like Sarah, not as in “Que Sera, Sera”), will be her friend Flounder; and Ben will be playing the role of Triton, King of the Sea. Last year the family was in New York for Halloween, and Garner, seven months pregnant, let Violet talk her into a mother-daughter costume: Fred and Ted, the dogs from a children’s book series of the same name. “I just was so fat and huge and ugly and in a furry dog costume. And of course there were tons of paparazzi outside and I couldn’t escape them!” she says, laughing. “So I feel like that bought me a pass this year. I’ll take pictures.”

[From W Magazine]

See, she’s not a bad person, she’s not nasty or mean or anything like that. She’s actually very professional, and she’s someone my mother would love to adopt. Maybe that’s why Jennifer grates on me a little. A little surrogate sibling rivalry.

In any case, I’m sure Valentine’s Day will be a big hit for Jennifer and everyone else in the film. It seriously has half of Hollywood in it, so if this film goes down, there’s a lot of people to spread the blame to. Here’s the trailer… surprisingly, Jennifer is not featured that much in it (her love story is with Patrick Dempsey). But Jennifer Biel’s bad acting made me laugh out loud:

W Magazine photos courtesy of W online, photographs by Craig McDean.

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45 Responses to “Jennifer Garner: breastfeeding is “the coziest feeling in the world””

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  1. Sumodo says:

    Sorry, not in the mood for this topic today. SHUT IT, Jen.

  2. diva says:

    This is one of the most boring interviews I have read in awhile. I definitely see a divorce in her future. She is too mundane and she isn’t very vibrant. She gets excited about the Contessa and making baby food…

  3. LolaBella says:

    She just rubs me the wrong way. Here’s the deal Jen; you’re an actress, so shut up and act. When you have a movie to promote talk about the movie. I don’t need to know when you and your husband decide to ‘breed’ or how you feel about breastfeeding! Just shut up about your personal life! I like how Ben doesn’t go into detail about you in his interviews or when he’s promoting a movie.

    Oh, and using the word ‘breeding’ as a way to describe planning to start and raise a family is disgusting, IMO.

  4. BitterBetty says:

    I remember walking out of this crapfest back when it was called Love Actually.

  5. niamh (neev) says:

    Hmm. I related to her point of view. She has a great sense of self.

  6. Jett says:

    Major photo shopping going on here, it doesn’t even look like her, they even gave her thicker hair and made it black. She’s almost as annoying as Gwyneth Paltrow, they are pretty similar always going on about how perfect they and their lives are, yet their husband are never around.

  7. Celebitchy says:

    I still really like her, and I can relate to her as a mom. Moms like her because she’s normal and it’s really not an act. She likes being with her kids and cooking and doing crafty stuff. I once heard her say that her sister is like a supermom and she looks up to her.

    Garner handles everything with a lot of grace and she seems really genuine. If her life seems kind of uninteresting that just means she’s doing it right. She could easily be into labels and luxury and top of the line crap for her kids and she’s not.

  8. Kaiser says:

    CB- I think she genuinely loves being a mom, and she’s probably a great mom too. But you can’t convince me she doesn’t have an edge that she hides away in favor of this vanilla image. Her sexual history proves she’s a lot more than this wholesome bullsh-t.

  9. Goddess711 says:

    TMI day for JG. When I read the “breastfeeding is the coziest feeling in the world” I thought “she must have help – it isn’t even close to “cozy” in fatigue mode” and then read the “I have help” part. No sh** you’ve got help.
    Ususally trailers are showing the best part of a movie, this one won’t be close to Love Actually but it might not be as painful as the SATC movie.
    I’m pretty tired of JG types yapping about motherhood and work like it hasn’t been happening since the beginning of time. We’re all in there doing it, most of us aren’t married to guys who are addicted to strippers and gambling…oh, wait…yes we are. Look! A bond with Jennifer Garner!
    I like that the Barefoot Contessa told her where to park it.

  10. Miss Thang says:

    I adore her! She’s so genuine and real. She’s a different type of person, one I think is rare these days. She really loves being a mother and wife. I relate to that in a big way. These days everyone thinks that’s lame, but motherhood is the most important (and hardest in so many ways!)thing anyone can take on in this world! I love that she loves it and is open and fine about being herself. I think it’s great that she’s willing to share parts of her real self with the world.
    She seems totally fun.

  11. Celebitchy says:

    @Kaiser If you looked at my sexual history I would seem less than vanilla, but when I talk to my friends it’s about our families. Being a mom really changes you and it’s not a put on. Look at Angelina. People bash her all the time because she was so wacky before, but she’s settled down and has other interests now. It’s just what happens to people.

    Also on the ‘edge’ thing – sure she probably has an edge sometimes, but if she dragged it out like Nicole Kidman did recently it wouldn’t seem genuine and would look like a gimmick.

    When we’re young we’re all about the edge but then that gets old.

  12. Jess says:

    I’m a bit envious of Jennifer but I’ve got to admit that she seems pretty decent. I agree with her that breastfeeding is a really cozy feeling (that’s why I’ve been doing it non-stop for almost six years straight, and I don’t have help!) and I can relate to being torn between work (although my work is not so glamourous) and kids. And I agree with CB – back in the day I was pretty wild and now I’m a completely boring mom. All I do for fun now is talk about my kids, bitch about my husband, read celebrity gossip , and reminisce about my youth!

  13. Kaiser says:

    Yeah, I see your point and I totally understand what you’re saying. I get that becoming a mother changed her and totally rearranged her priorities, but if you go back and look at pre-motherhood interviews, she was still selling this vanilla image, meanwhile she was leaving Foley for Vartan, then Vartan for Affleck.

    I guess what I’m saying is that she’s no angel, and I hate the whitewash, maybe? I buy that motherhood changed Angelina too – but her old bullsh-t get trotted out every two seconds, while everyone is just content to think of Garner as the good girl.

    And once again, I don’t hate Garner! It’s just that I can only take her in small doses.

  14. Jess says:

    PS I think Jennifer’s pretty but I don’t think she can pull off this photoshoot. It’s too dramatic for her. It just seems odd.

  15. anyhoo says:

    why are they talking about halloween? didn’t this magazine just come out?

  16. CiCi says:

    um, just because someone leaves a relationship for one she likes better doesn’t make her “not vanilla” or “not wholesome.” sigh. what SHOULD she do – what IS vanilla? Staying with someone despite finding a better fit? ok. Jen and Angie are APPLES AND ORANGES, and thus treated as such in the media, Kaiser. Did Jen cut herself, have lesbian relationships, wear/drink blood, brag about her knife collection, blab about orgasming with Billy Barf Thornton, etc? Oh, right – she left her husband for someone she liked better. How dark and dirty; how dare she try and act like she’s anything different from Angie. sigh

  17. Bek says:

    I absolutely LOVE those photographs. They are nothing short of STUNNING. I think people dislike Jen Garner because A. she’s gorgeous and she doesn’t try very hard. B. she’s normal in a world where you have to be psycho and controversial to get attention. C. she seems to be fine with herself, rather than trying to sell herself, like you see with so many other top celebs today. She’s never struck me as anything other than down-to-earth and likable. So shoot me.

  18. kristin says:

    I like her. She seems pretty real and not, in my opinion, at all like Gweneth Paltrow. Like Gweneth would EVER admit that the Ina Garten wouldn’t let her on the show? Right. Also, like Gweneth would cruise around town in a sweatshirt and jeans like Jennifer Garner does? I don’t think so. It’s stuff like how she wears normal clothes when doing things like grocery shopping, or admitting that Ina Garten told her she couldn’t be on the show, or feeling somewhat embarassed to say she has ‘help’ with her kids that make me like her. She’s grounded and honest and seems all around pretty nice and normal. IMO, she’s not trying to sound perfect in this interview – – I just think she’s trying to reveal who she is – – which is a dedicated mom and wife, and kind of low-key person. Sure, she’s boring, but so are most happily married people with kids.

  19. Feebee says:

    I don’t understand how Jennifer Garner stirs up such negative hateful thoughts and comments. She’s harmless and unassuming and yeah, probably Vanilla. How can anyone hate Vanilla? Not everyone needs to be behaving badly. There’s just no pleasing some people.

  20. Kelly says:

    I’ve liked her since she admitted to wearing a girdle – that’s before her pregnancies. I think it was at the Oscars or Golden Globes. I disagree with those who feel she makes her life seem perfect. I find her very different than Gwyneth. She’s definitely a blue collar gal. I also love how she admits to being a band dork in high school.

  21. tooey says:

    I always feel she’s genuine because when she’s out w/ her kids, she’s usually dressed in regular, “fug” clothes. Some of these actresses are photographed with their kids in the park and they’re dressed to the nines and you can totally tell it’s a photo op. I think she does the best she can juggling being famous and provide a normal life for her kids. And I loved breastfeeding, which I NEVER thought I would say. Course, it’s easier to say now cuz kidlet is 12 years old!

  22. tooey says:

    should have read kristin @18 first!

  23. lilred says:

    I think the problem mos people have with Jen is that she’s pretty NORMAL in a profession where abnormal seems to be key…I’d chill with her.

  24. gaby says:

    That movie looks like a cheap American ripoff of Love Actually… but I’ll probably still watch it 🙂

  25. katyusha says:

    I never understood how some people thought Jennifer Garner was anything less than beautiful. But then again, those people probably question the folks who do.

    I love the Chanel ensembles!

  26. WTF?!? says:

    What’s she famous for again, besides being Affleck’s “other Jen”?

  27. DoMaJoReMc says:

    @Jess: you are breasfeeding a 6 year old? I HAVE to be misreading this…

  28. snowball says:

    I love Jennifer – if she lived near me, I’d want to be her BFF and if I had a cooking show, she could be on it all the time if she wanted.

    Ina is a pretentious, butter-swilling, oil-drizzling pain in the butt. There’s probably more than one reason her husband doesn’t live with her except on weekends.

    The first time I saw her on Felicity, I thought she was so gorgeous and she still is, albeit way too skinny lately.

    It’s nice that she’s happy. Gah, that is one butt-ugly photo shoot.

  29. rose says:

    love her! i miss alias

  30. luna says:

    I love her, just for breastfeeding. What an awesome mama.

  31. Kandice says:

    Hey,

    You mean JESSICA BIEL not Jennifer 🙂 I got a little confusing reading it.

  32. Trashaddict says:

    I’m hearing Bill Murray’s character in Ghostbusters. He’s saying, “That’s a different look for you….”

  33. ViktoryGin says:

    Not a fan. Sorry.

  34. Velvet_Julie says:

    “What’s she famous for again, besides being Affleck’s “other Jen”?”

    I TOTALLY AGREE.
    Her movies are craptastic and she’s such a terrible actress. I also don’t get the “Jennifer-Garner-is-a-beauty” talk. I think she’s very weird looking. And those dimples give me the creeps. Don’t understand why she got this cover at all. No one even knows who she is. People “chase” her for her husband and kid. Honestly, women like Garner and Ginnifer Goodwin, who are far from A-list, sell more than a model? Honestly? If they do, there must be something wrong with humanity.

  35. Sakota says:

    “Here’s the deal Jen; you’re an actress, so shut up and act. When you have a movie to promote talk about the movie. I don’t need to know when you and your husband decide to ‘breed'”

    I am so sick of hearing actresses promote themselves rather than the movie, which is what she’s doing.

    “Her movies are craptastic and she’s such a terrible actress.”

    The movie’s she’s in are ones where she isn’t a villian or anything interesting. Even Aniston had her turn as an arch villianess in “Derailed.” She’s always gasping out, widening her eyes, and stuff that’s really inane. I tried to watch “Elektra,” but it didn’t make any sense.

    “she was leaving Foley for Vartan, then Vartan for Affleck.

    I guess what I’m saying is that she’s no angel, and I hate the whitewash, maybe?”

    Perhaps you dislike the inherent hypocrisy? She is an actress in a field that does have these women behaving less than savory to get in, much less to the top. She left two husbands and then became pregnant with Violet, had a shotgun wedding, and it does seem as if she is putting on airs of propriety, as if the wedding was indeed presided over by the traditional priest/pastor, white dress, and no pregnancy.

  36. Pippi says:

    I adore her. She is so fun and seems like such a great mom and person. I would love to have her for a friend. BTW, she was well loved long before she dated Affleck. As a matter of fact, her association with Affleck is the real reason a lot of people don’t like her. They blame her for things she did or didn’t do according to them. As for being boring, I only know her from interviews and I find them very interesting. I guess that makes me boring too. Oh, so be it, I can life with that.

    Anyway, I think she is beautiful, down to earth, devoted wife and mom and just someone I will admire until something happens to prove that she is less than what she appears. A normal human being (not some serial killer) who is enjoying her life to the fullest.

  37. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    Like, wow.

  38. For Sooth? says:

    Well maybe she is doing interviews as if she knows that one day her children will read them (I’m screaming at you Jon). If so, good on her for not wanting to be salacious, nutty or snarky.

    I truly think she likes being a regular mom. And it appears she has a good role model, her sister, so why not be happy for her instead of chiding her for being boring? Maybe more actors should be “boring”, their kids might benefit from “boring”.

  39. Joanna says:

    I use to think she was nice until I saw the way she treated gary busey on the red carpet at the oscars, the poor guy was introduced to her and she acted like a snobby bitch like he was some homeless man not worthy to stand next to her and shake her hand. If it had been Clooney or Eastwood she would have turned on the dimples and charm. The only true thing about this interview is she loves her kids, the rest is her pr team at work. Like with most celebrities, there is the public image controlled by expensive pr agents and then there is the private person and the two could not be more different.

  40. Jen says:

    @DoMaJoReMc – I took it Jess meant she’s been breastfeeding six years – as in she’s had more than one child and has breastfed them all – not breastfeeding an individual child until they’re six.

  41. Cinderella says:

    Jen’s not alone. I’m also an Ina Garten groupie. Damn, I’m hungry.

  42. Stephie says:

    I like her. She seems to have it together, appears to be very down to earth, a great mom, and maybe even happy. I wish her the best and hope she keeps finding a little time to be the actress some of us enjoy as well.

    Love these photos btw. So glam and very far away from her sweet casual image. I know she can glam with the best of them but some of these are really special. Kudos to the photographer (and Jen), great job.

  43. Sakota says:

    “She seems to have it together, appears to be very down to earth, a great mom, and maybe even happy. I wish ”

    I felt the same about Tiger Woods.

  44. Sakota says:

    “She seems to have it together, appears to be very down to earth, a great mom, and maybe even happy. I wish ”

    I felt the same about Tiger Woods.

  45. michile says:

    she looks FAB!!
    i always like and adore jenG, i’m a big fan of hers 😀
    she’s cool, she’s pretty even without tons of make-up and she’s a super mum!!