Jennifer Garner: “I found divorce a crushing experience”


Jennifer Garner is by outside appearances happily married to her husband of nearly seven years, Ben Affleck. She’s also very pregnant with her third child and is reportedly due in just a few short weeks. This is her second marriage, as she was married to Actor Scott Foley from 2000 to 2003. In a new interview with The Sun, Garner says that she found divorce “crushing” and suggests that she married too young. Outlets are focusing on her comments about divorce and marriage, but she does go into detail about her upbringing and how she got her start in acting, which you can read at the source.

Everyone reaches maturity at different times. I wish I’d known to wait for marriage until I was 30 or over.

I did marry in my twenties (to actor Scott Foley, whom she divorced eight years ago) and I found divorce a crushing experience.

I thought the divorce statistics would never apply to me. I was beyond heartbroken when they did. But I got up and got on with it. I also kept my belief in marriage.

I did not have a fairytale vision of the future but still believed I would find someone to commit to and raise kids with.

Ben is not only my husband, he has helped me in every way. He is the base of my life.

He is an incredibly loving and generous man. I expected he would be a great dad and he is. But what really surprised me was how, when something goes wrong, he is so much calmer than I am.

The great thing about growing older is that you do become more confident. If I have to dress up for something, I wear something true to myself, otherwise it feels like a costume. So my policy is to wear a dressed-up version of something I would normally wear.

I don’t dread it any more. It is a reality of the job. I always try to keep it simple. I love being the age that I am and am looking forward to being 40.

I have figured so much more out about life and feel the older women get, the more beautiful they get. We become ourselves — which is something you can’t teach anyone at 18.”

[From The Sun.co.uk via OK! Magazine]

There’s been a lot of gossip that Garner isn’t exactly the faithful type. We’ve heard that she cheated on Foley with actor Michael Vartan from Alias, whom she hooked up with in 2003 either before or after her divorce. Then there were rumors that she was unfaithful to Vartan with Affleck, as she started dating Affleck in 2004 seemingly right around the time she split with Vartan. Whatever went on, at the least she was relationship hopping. She seems like the type of woman who feels that they need to be in a relationship all the time. She has that in common with Ben’s ex, Jennifer Lopez.

It is nice to hear Jennifer gush about Ben. They speak about each other sparingly but when they do you can tell that they have a lot of respect and love for each other. You do get the sense that they’ve weathered storms together like so many other couples, but that they’re in a good place now. Maybe she’s also telling us, in a roundabout way, that divorce is not an option for her again.

Here’s Garner out yesterday with her daughter Violet, 7. That girl is so adorable! She’s also shown the day before with daughter Seraphina, 3, equally adorable and sassy. Photo of her with Ben is from 1-9-12. Credit: Pablo/FameFlynet Pictures

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

81 Responses to “Jennifer Garner: “I found divorce a crushing experience””

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Blue says:

    Damn that is quite a close time line. From divorce to birth of first child

    • Capella says:

      That is EXACTLY how you talk about divorce, without dragging your ex through the mud. Just simple words to express the hurt during the process.

      Nothing here that would make us think that life with Foley was so depressing, she had to sit on a couch and smoke pot all day! Instead, she took it upon herself, she took responsibility, and stated what all people should understand: Marriage is work, you need to be very grown up about it, and learn to give.

      I used to dislike Jen because of all these reports on her nasty behavior to colleagues and fans. Maybe she had simply grown-up, and had come into her own. Team Jen!

    • Molly says:

      I remember reading the she had cheated on Scott Foley with her Alias co-star, Michael Vartan, and pretty much crushed Foley. I felt sorry for Foley.

      • Stellax2 says:

        I felt sorry for Foley too as it seemed he was the dumped party.
        Divorce is tough on anyone. I had every right to leave my 1st husband (he was emotionally and physically)abusive. When he finally woke up and decided to get help, it was too late for us. I had moved on and did not want to go through all the bull again. However, everyone said when you get the divorce papers, you’ll feel ….sad, hurt, angry, etc. I didn’t think I would but I did for a bit.

        True story-I had traveled out to CA to visit some friends while on business. I got a break and was doing some clothes shopping. Garner was in the same store as me and I was having a hard time deciding between two different dresses. She was very nice and voiced her opinion about which one looked better. I didn’t even mention who she was and we introduced ourselves. She was quite nice and spent a half an hour in the store as we both browsed and gave opinions about clothes.

  2. Anna says:

    I have to say i didn’t even knew she was married before.

  3. Bite me says:

    Hmm wonder how the second divorce is going to feel

    • constance says:

      ^ this.

    • kazoo says:

      LMAO

      I’m surprised she’s even speaking on this. Her image seems to want to forget her past.

      And she did an interview with The Sun? Isn’t that a tabloid?

    • txvxf says:

      My mother told me she and my father didn’t believe in divorce, maybe a month before he moved out. Funny how that works…

  4. Kyle says:

    Sorry but I don’t see any reason to write about her. She is former actress. She is not even celebrity anymore. She is only still around because she is wife of… and she is pegnant… again.

    • Adele says:

      Agreed, she’s a nobody!

    • Kimlee says:

      She around because of her daily dimple parade photo op, if she wasen’t getting pop by the paparazzi every day people would forget about her and she knows that so she does photo op to keep her name out their.

    • Naye in VA says:

      Last i checked she’s still making movies when she isnt pregnant. More recently that movie with the Ricky Gervais and Ghost of GF Past.

    • kibbles says:

      She is a C-list actress whose ambition drove her to bed hop until she could snag a popular actor who could help her career. Her ex-husband Scott Foley seems like a really nice guy, but unfortunately he has had some bad luck finding a successful tv role after Felicity. If she were still with Foley I doubt she’d still be invited on late night shows or be covered very often by the paparazzi. None of her movies have been that good and not very successful at the box office. Her marriage to Affleck has kept her a solid B-list actress. Her cute family with Affleck has helped her immensely in maintaining her goody image despite her cheating past.

      • LadyT says:

        Kibbles I agree 100%. Don’t forget the fact that she managed to get pregnant by Ben but not by the other lesser known actors she was involved with. And right now is the honeymoon period because she is with the third child (or bandaid as I call it) If you review all the pictures throughout the years Ben looks as if he is about to jump in front of a train. I wonder who she will upgrade to when this one goes down for the third count.

      • Camille (The original) says:

        What kibbles said x1000000000. Great comment.

    • .D. says:

      She was Sydney Bristow, which makes her relevant for all eternity. Your argument is invalid.

    • Kelly says:

      Totally agree

  5. Adele says:

    I slept with a guy who’s the clone of Foley. It’s so freaky!

  6. Jackie says:

    i had such a crush on scott foley! seeing that pic of him brings back felicity memories….i would def hit that.

    • momoftwo says:

      I hear that! I started watching Felicity on Netflix again. I used to LOVE Ben, but now I would totally pick Noel. Scott Foley is seems sweet…and HOT!

      • Mrs. Darcy says:

        I too was torn between the Noel – Ben triangle.Felicity was such an airhead. It’s weird none of them have gone on to do much, they had such good parts on that show. Even Jen Garner was on it as Noel’s g.f. a few times, I remember thinking she was super pretty back then.

  7. mel says:

    Does the phrase “thou protest to much” ring a bell?

  8. sassenach says:

    She really shouldn’t bring up her first marriage. She cheated and left him during the height of her fame on Alias. At that time the tabs had pictures of Scott looking miserable and devastated, while she is laughing and kissing Vartan.

  9. Cathy says:

    This is news to me also, I never knew she was married before. And who is Scott Foley, I never heard of him.

  10. Lucy says:

    Damn, I wish Ben would cut his hair and shave…The Town is on cable every 2 hours, and I am always catching a bit of it…God, Ben was so sexy and hunky in that movie…I hope the horrible hair is for a movie, cause when he cleans up…damn, he is fine!!!

  11. ab says:

    whatever, she seems to have figured it out. she admits that she wasn’t behaving in the most mature way, and it sounds like she’s learned from her “relationship-hopping” past. I was a big felicity and alias fan but I actually forgot she and scott were married! she and ben are so settled now, they seem happy.

  12. Girl says:

    (Wouldn’t the divorce statistic have applied to her anyway if shed been divorced or not? She just ended up on the “divorced” end of it.)

  13. Esmom says:

    Wow, I totally forgot about her first marriage. That photo of them is so cute.

    I remember being kind of shocked that she split with Foley because of Vartan, that was the rumor at the time. It seemed like sort of an uptrady move (same with moving from Vartan to Affleck). She seemed like such a “good girl” that it was scandalous to me.

    Guess she found handsome co-stars just too tempting, an all too common problem in Hollywood.

    • Jayna says:

      I remember in an interview she said how she married too young and you expect this great romance, always being treated like a princess and loved. I think, like many I know who married very young, the drudgeries of marriage and not feeling loved at times or appreciated, both narcissistic actors, played in the demise. Her career was taking off. His wasn’t doing so good. That takes a toll in a celebrity marriage when the wife is doing better. She probably felt unappreciated and moved on. She did marry too young. She said in the interview I read she understands what marriage is now and it’s not a fairytale romance and is more realistic.

  14. Zigggy says:

    One way to avoid divorce is to not cheat on your husband.

  15. EmmaStoneWannabe says:

    I always found it strange how Vartan looks very similar to Affleck. Maybe to her, BA was like the 2.0 version of him.

  16. Jayna says:

    I love that comment, he is the base of my life. She loves her husband and is happy. Good for her. You figure out a lot of stuff along the way in life. That’s for sure.

  17. mln76 says:

    It’s so bitchy of her to make herself a victim in that one. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t that devastated when that hottie Vartan was in her bed every night. I’m wondering now that she’s been on the receiving end of Ben’s philandering does ever regret treating her first hubby so badly?

    • Jezi says:

      I like her but I totally agree with you here. Regardless of how young you are, you should be able to know that exiting your marriage prior to you having a new relationship should be the way to go.

      • Jayna says:

        Well, since you have no proof and Scott has said there was no third party, why are you judging? She probably became close by working long hours on the set, but I doubt a sexual affair until they split. Scott couldn’t handle her fame while his was going nowhere and was probably a dick to her. That one-hour show was very long hours
        for her as the main character and all the stunts involved. I am sure it took a toll on their marriage. Young marriages break up. There were no children involved and Scott seems very mature and pragmatic about the breakup.

      • Jezi says:

        I didn’t follow the story too closely. All I based my opinion on was seeing how close she was with her costar. And this is Celebitchy, I’m free to judge just like anyone else. I don’t know why people read gossip sites and they say, don’t judge. Don’t we all?

      • mln76 says:

        @Jayna whatever went on was ages ago and I guess we have to take Scott Foley at his word (although it may have been pride and good PR on his part to let her off the hook). Still Jen she didn’t get married at 20 she got married at 28 and she at the very least rebounded very quickly with Vartan then dumped him for Affleck. All of which is de rigueur in Hollywood but why does she have to pretend she’s some angel and cloak it in middle american values ? That’s what rubs me the wrong way. She clearly wasn’t an angel back then and her current husband is not an angel now.

  18. Leticia says:

    She seems likable. I have nothing against her. But it amazes me how she has such a bullet-proof goody goody image, considering her probable shady behavior in first marriage.

    Anyway, she seems to be a great mom. I guess that is how she keeps up the wholesome image.

  19. texbrook says:

    That first photo of her is awful. I can’t look at it. Yawn.

  20. Relli says:

    Oh yeah i always forget she was married before. Remember them on felicity? i loved that show.

  21. Maritza says:

    She is huge! I wouldn’t be surprised if she gave birth this week. They finally seem to be happy so that’s all that matters.

  22. Sam says:

    I did not realize she was married to him. From Scott to Ben? Yikes, what a step down.

  23. HadleyB says:

    I forgot too she was married to that guy.. but I don’t see her as a type to purposely go out and cheat on every husband/boyfriend she ever had.. I think relationships happen as they do and some end and some don’t. Who knows what really went on in her marriage the first time, if he REALLY treated her SO good all the time? I mean everyone is saying she has a goody goody image and isn’t – well just because Scott looks goody and has that same image doesn’t mean HE is either in private right?

    Did she bring up her first marriage or was it asked of her?

    • mln76 says:

      As someone who was a fan of Alias at the time it was pretty clear that she cheated. I get that she’s a good mom and no one likes hearing it but she was super shady back in the day. But with all she’s had to deal with Ben’s infamous cheating ways I guess she’s had more than her fair share of pain this go around.

    • Bob says:

      From all accounts, Scott could not handle her fame at the time. She was a bigger star than him and some men can’t handle that.
      “Scott Foley is putting to rest stories that there was a third party involved in the breakup of his marriage to “Alias” star Jennifer Garner — who is now linked to her costar Michael Vartan.
      “Nobody else was involved,” Foley, tells TV Guide. “Jennifer became a huge celebrity. She became a huge star, and she deserved everything she got. There was no other relationship, there was no infidelity, nothing. People get divorced, you know? Through no one’s fault and everyone’s fault.”
      She was working long hours on the set of Alias, very demanding show. Loved Alias. I don’t believe the cheating crap either.

    • RobN says:

      So if she isn’t the type to purposely go out and cheat, did she just trip one day and end up on another guy’s penis?

      • Kara Ann says:

        RobN,
        Apparently Hollywood is full of these “trip” snares wherein often the beautiful people end up fully unclothed and in bed with another such beautiful person. I understand that these snares are particularly fond of movie/tv sets b/c this relationship-ending animal/mechanical device usually finds its’ prey, i.e. beautiful people, in abundance in this setting.
        We really should set up a fundraiser to eradicate the “trip-snares” so that these helpless celebrities won’t be forced into sexual congress with other celebrities!

      • HadleyB says:

        Meaning some enter marriage knowing they will never be faithful, it’s not serious, it won’t last why bother.. I didn’t say she accidently landed some guys penis.. I said that I don’t think she is the type to enter marriage the full purpose of cheating to cheat.

        If she was she would be cheating with many many men and we would of heard of more than just Varten… much much more.

        Get it ?

  24. Leek says:

    Yes divorce is difficult, isn’t it? Thank God the adultery leading up to the divorce is the soft pillow to get you through those tough times.

  25. Roxy750 says:

    I still love this woman, great real role model. With being in the spotlight, an actress and a mother. She’s not all contrived and uppity like others–no nannies on scene 24/7, they live life, like you and me, just they have a little more money than us and are in the business. Good for them, hope they are happy.

    • Kimlee says:

      Please. Do not start with their just like you and me crap because their not she has nannies just like other celebrities and has been photograph with them also and they have a lot more money.

      • HadleyB says:

        If I was that wealthy I would have a nanny or 2 myself. Why not?

        But it’s pretty obvious as time goes on which celebs spend time with their kids, and which don’t.

        You see them with their kids all the time..both of them. And who cares if they have nannies ?

        My mother had 2 grandmothers at her beck and call who didn’t work and one who lived with us to help her take care of me and my siblings… and not to mention the aunts down the street.. they just weren’t paid but I am sure many many people have the same help.. if you don’t then yeah it sucks.

    • mln76 says:

      She has two nannies that’s right TWO!! One for each child *GASP*

      Seriously though. Let’s stop ragging on women for having childcare. Rich women have better cars, better houses, and more money to pay for nannies.
      Oh and why only attack the mothers??? The dad’s made the babies too.

  26. Madison says:

    She has her first husband to thank for her start in Hollywood before she met him she was just another broke struggling actress blow jobbing her way to supporting roles on TV shows like Felicity. Lucky for her Scott Foley was on a hit TV show fell for her and thanks to him she met JJ Abrams which led to Alias and then movies but as soon as she started to gain some success in movies it was time to trade up from the TV actor husband to the A list movie actor and the sweet first husband was out the door. There were rumors of an affair with Affleck when they were making Daredevil but he was with JLo at the time and wasn’t going leave JLo for her, so she had an affair with her tv co-star before going back to Affleck. She’s right she wasn’t mature enough for marriage, but she also wasn’t loyal enough and was too shallow.

  27. LeeLoo says:

    She’s such a hypocrite. Was the divorce crushing while you were hooking up with Michael Vartan or only when someone asks you a question about it? She was relationship hopping her way to the man with the best career. Now that she can’t jump any higher she is playing this goody-two shoes crap. She has a history of being a manipulative lying shrew. I don’t understand how either her or Ben are still relevant in the media. We don’t need to be hearing an interview with her every single month. I doubt I’d complain if she did an interview everytime a new movie of hers came out but how is she relevant outside of that?

    • mln76 says:

      Her movies don’t do well but her family friendly image does. She’s got a devoted fan base who will never believe the well known stories about the way she treated her first hubby(and Vartan), or the rumors about her current hubby’s infidelity.
      She’s pretty much golden in the eyes of the Minivan Majority. Even if Ben gets caught with his pants down in a public way one of these days the scandal would just canonize her as a saint.

      • Wow says:

        She doesn’t have a devoted fan base- which is why her movies tank.

        She does have a lot of PR work done on her behalf.

        Those are 2 different things.

  28. Beatrix says:

    Too young? The math says she was 28 when she married Foley. C’mon, she was of age to know well enough for herself and everyone around her. I don’t know about the cheating and with her I just don’t want to make assumptions. She was fantastic on Alias and Vartan was a better catch than Affleck will ever be. Hopefully those kids of hers are happy though.

  29. Dirty Martini says:

    LOL @ all the trash talking going on here. The truth is when Hollywood spawns in the likes of Linds Lohana, Kim K, paris H, Miley C, and on and on and on populate our celebrity pscyhe….whatever any of you have said about JG just freakin’ pales in comparison.

    Sorry but I have no issues with Dimples. And BA has done a hell of a lot worse. Goopy, JLo…..

    I’ll take Miss C Actress ant day of the week over those 2.

    • Wow says:

      I am not sure how Paris or Kim, are even relevant here. They are not even actresses.

      What is your argument, that Paris/ Kim/ any other person are worse in your book than the cheatings, that exploitation of her children and husbands personal life and getting an ex fired from his job?

      That getting pregnant without the consent of the man in order to pressure him to marry you is better than Jen Lopez?

      How?

      Why are the names of Paltrow and Lopez are relevant. It’s not a contest. He didn’t want to marry any of them including Jen Garner.
      They moved on, and Garner got pregnant and stayed.

      • Dirty Martini says:

        The name of the site is CELEBITCHY. Not actress bitchy. We discuss celebrities of all ilk, so drawing distinctions between debutantes, reality TV show stars, etc isn’t relevant unless the issue at hand is the depth of their respectives talents. Which are all about as deep as a puddle.

        You completely lost me with “getting pregnant without the consent of the man.”. Speaking of relevance…..that s right out of 1960 melodrama. If penis goes into vagina–both are equally responsible for making baby. Man doesn’t want baby? Man wears condom or jerks off. “without his consent?”.

        Oh poor Ben. @__@

        And which is she? I’m so confused….a washed up, has been, nobody? Or this powerful seductress who gets people fired, creates babies without consent, and is the moral spawn of Satan?

        The truth is in the middle. ALWAYS. Except that making bAbies without consent crap.

        That’s just WRONG on 8 different levels.

  30. sweetpotato says:

    OMG, Beatrix, I thought the same thing!! 28 isn’t exactly 22.

    Plus, she got prego soon after she & BA started dating (like within 6 months). No judgement, and everything seems to have worked out, but her actions at 33 don’t exactly scream “cautious” or “introspective.”

  31. Kim says:

    I think Ben wanted out, Jennifer would never leave him and told him that, and then they got preggers to try and fix the marriage. I dont see them being married for long haul.

  32. Kim says:

    The last movie she was in I have no idea what her role was or what she said because I could not stop staring at her hideous lip injections. The pillows are so obvious. She plays miss down home girl but is so not! Her miss innocent family woman act is lame.

  33. mk says:

    Scott Foley has stated that the break up of their marriage had nothing to do with infidelity.

  34. Wow says:

    A role model, or even a normal mother, would not use her children to garner media attention when her career fails.

    A role model would not use her husband’s name in every interview and try to sell private stories about him, because she is too boring to stand on her own.

    A role model would not get pregnant to make sure a guy who was about to leave you, would be stuck in a difficult situation. Especially, if the guy has stated his own past and father issues, and said he would not leave the mother of his children, to be different than his father.
    She had no problem to exploit that personal painful matter in order to get him to marry her.

    A role model would not have used men as career chips, and trade “up” in order to create better career opportunities.

    Not to mention to cheat with Ben when Vartan was still in a relationship with her, and then to try to ruin his career and get him fired, since it is uncomfortable for her to see him around, once she was done using him.

    Yes. She sounds like a wonderful person. and a great mother. No doubt that any great mother would use her children in that way.

  35. Ginger says:

    I happened to catch “Dude Where’s My Car” again the other day and completely forgot Jennifer Garner was in it! Wow! She has changed quite a bit.