Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were married in a romantic beach ceremony at Parrot Cay in Turks & Caicos on June 29, 2005. Jennifer was four months pregnant with their oldest child, and their friend Victor Garber officiated. A lot of people threw shade on Jennifer for somehow “trapping” Ben by getting pregnant, which I thought was unfair. She got pregnant and then they got married. We’re not living in the 50s anymore, many couples do it that way. I’m sure the wedding was Ben’s choice, and that Jennifer would have stayed with him without a ring. She just seems loyal like that, and we know that Ben has no problems backing out of weddings.

Fast forward eight years and two more kids later and these two are still together. We’ve sort-of witnessed them falter, and we’ve heard Ben clumsily acknowledge their issues in ways that were not always kind to his wife. (They’ve been married eight years and yet he referenced working with her for “10 Christmases” during his Oscar acceptance speech. It’s like he’s ticking off the time on the wall.) I think Ben realizes what he has though, and perhaps has a new appreciation for his family. This latest story, that Ben and Jen went back to Parrot Cay for a family vacation on their eighth anniversary, kind of warms my heart.

Ben Affleck took Jennifer Garner on a sentimental journey for their eigth anniversary. While in her Charleston, West Virginia, hometown for 16 month-old Samuel’s baptism, they ate at her favorite pizza joining on their big day, June 29. Then the actor, 40, whisked Garner, 41, and their three kids on a jet to Turks and Caicos July 1. “They spent a week at Parrot Cay,” says a source, “right where their wedding was.”

[From US Magazine, print edition, July 29, 2013]

I like how these two went to the Caribbean for a week with their kids and we’re only hearing about it now. In other words there are no photos. They just went silent for a while, there were no announcements made, and now they’re back in LA doing their thing. They should work more on laying low like that, although I think that the paparazzi just always follow them whenever they’re at home.

In related news, Jennifer Garner was named the new face of MaxMara. This is her first major fashion endorsement, and MaxMara’s first celebrity spokesperson. She’s also a Neutrogena spokesperson, so she’s definitely working that “simple, uncomplicated” angle. MaxMara should send her a stylist and help her put together some cute casual outfits. She gets photographed daily, and they have a real opportunity for exposure with her. Plus, you know, her day to day style leaves room for improvement.

Here’s MaxMara’s first promotional image of Garner. Gorgeous coat and bag! That’s the J Bag, and Garner says she likes it because “it’s big enough to carry anything you want to stuff in there, but it’s small enough that you won’t lose your keys.” MaxMara chairman Luigi Maramotti told Women’s Wear Daily that “Jennifer Garner is a real woman, not a cover girl, not a starlet, and she has different interests, a family and values. She is a real woman and embodies the Max Mara woman, she perfectly reflects our image.”

Ben & Jennifer are shown “leaving a medical building” in Encino on 7-16-13. Jennifer is shown out with her girls getting ice cream on 7-17-13. Other image is a still from Ben’s stint on SNL in May. Credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com