Jennifer Garner covers October’s InStyle, and I’m pretty sure she’s wearing all Burberry Prosum. I’ve seen that gorgeous wrap, which can be personalized and retails for $1,895, on Olivia Palermo and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I think she’s wearing this silk dress accessorized with this belt and scarf. That outfit is worth more than my car and it’s gorgeous.
Inside, Garner gets somewhat candid, judging from the quotes that have been released so far. She talks about her marriage of nine years and how it’s been a whirlwind of babies and responsibility from the get-go. (At least that’s what I read into it.) She also discusses the parental roles in her marriage, and how her husband Ben is the fun one.
On her marriage
“You can’t expect to be courted all the time, and I don’t want to court him right now – I don’t have the energy!” Jennifer Garner says of husband Ben Affleck in InStyle magazine’s October cover story.“But we’re definitely in a very mindful place where we’re making an effort to be together, do things at the same time, and be loving…
On making time for each other
“When we had our first [child] we had only been together a year. We were babies. It happened so fast, I hardly remember what we were like before the kids got here,” says Garner, 42, of Violet, 8, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2. “Now we’re just starting to go away for a night here and there.”On their different roles as parents
“I know who wants what lunch, and I’ve done all the school paperwork and filled out the emergency cards. Ben doesn’t know that stuff exists,” says Garner.“He is in charge of laughter. No matter how much I tickle them or toss them or chase them around, it’s not the same. If I’m the slow, steady drumbeat, he’s the jazz.”
The October issue of InStyle hits newsstands Friday.
Affleck has pretty much said the same thing about his parenting style in earlier interviews. He’s said that he finds downtime with the kids hard, that he doesn’t want to be a stay-at-home dad and that his wife is a “saint and does so much of the work [parenting] because I’m inept and she’s a genius.” I don’t know, I don’t think it’s fair for one parent to have all the responsibility while the other one swoops in to play with the kids. These two have day nannies, it’s not like Garner is shouldering all the responsibility. It would be nice for Ben to help out somewhat and try to understand what it involves, though.
photo credit: FameFlynet
I think it’s true. I’ve been married for 17 years. I don’t need an endless date, but I do need consideration.
I think this is a true scenario for most. Moms are the hammers and the nags while DAd is Big Fun Guy. It doesn’t mean he isn’t a good dad though. They seem more normal than most.
I love the outfit.
I was just about to write that, they are one of the very few celebrity couples who’s marriage seems real when they talk about it, no endless PR sugarcoating.
Yeah, it’s unfortunately common. Mom was the disciplinarian, and dad was the ‘fun’ parent. But if you DID manage to get him angry, it was way scarier than mom being angry. I honestly don’t think dad dolled out any kind of punishment more than once or twice in my life. And it was like “Yeah, you can’t go to x place”.
My parents were the opposite, in a very old school sort of way. My dad was the strict one who you did not mess around with and he was not slow to discipline when the situation called for it. My mom was the soft, openly loving one who rarely doled out anything more than timeouts or (when I was really being bad), “Wait until your dad gets home and hears about this.” She was amazingly patient and very good at not reacting to temper tantrums or childish outbursts, which shut that sh*t down since you didn’t get attention and you certainly didn’t get the thing you wanted. My dad had more of a temper so you didn’t even go there in the first place or you’d be mighty sorry.
It’s the way it is for my marriage. We have 3 children and I’m the parent who knows what shows they watch, what games they plan, what their friends’ names are, what they want in their lunch and who fills out all of the school paperwork. My husband is the one who is there for fun. Like Jennifer said, I don’t think my husband is aware school paperwork exists.
My husband has straight up said that he doesn’t know how to do school paperwork (he has a Master’s degree). I honestly don’t think that he would even know how to call the attendance line for our kids. I really don’t think that this is that uncommon. I don’t know if I believe that Jenn is doing all of this herself though. Surely they have assistants and what not, no?
This was exactly the dynamic I grew up with as well. Poor moms almost always have to be the hard-asses.
Well she is describing probably what every marriage is like. I’m the one that fills out the paperwork at school, pack the lunches, know what the kids like to eat and who their friends are. I’m also the person the teachers talk to. I also do homework duty and tutoring.
Dad is there to have fun with but he will whip out the disciplinarian if need be. For some reason, the kids respond better when their father is serious and they crossed the line. Yeah they are more afraid of him than me because I nag. :p
My husband just doesn’t have the attention to detail like I do so I do all the paperwork.
No she is not describing what every marriage is like, my parents were equally involved in all those things, so were my husbands parents, etc 🙂
Whatever works for people though, if both people in marriage are happy with the arrangement they have then who cares who fills out the paperwork… 😉
She seems genuine and as a wife whose been married for 17 years, I attest that it’s not realistic to think the honeymoon phase lasts forever. It’s a phase. But even though you still need date nights and time to be just the two of you, I would not want to live my entire life/marriage in the honeymoon phase. It evolves to a more comfortable contentment. My husband, too, is more the fun parent. I am better at the administrative end of parenting. I am better at maintaining routine and being the organizer. I appreciate my husband making dinner sometimes, vaccuuming, doing laundry to help me, but by far and large, women are better at the admin facet of parenting. That’s not to say men can’t do it and don’t do it when they need to, but naturally women are wired for this. It all goes back to the cavemen days. It’s just how the sexes are wired. Again, not saying men are not capable. Just saying it comes to women more naturally – an innate ability.
It has absolutely nothing to do with innate ability, but with whether the development of an ability is encouraged or not. In women, it overwhelmingly is. In men, it overwhelmingly isn’t.
It does have to do with innate ability, my husband is incapable of being as organized and efficient as I am. He is brilliant and I love him but I do not trust him to remember things because he just doesn’t. I don’t want to have to pay late fees because he can’t keep the bills organized and the date straight. It is innate, he is the way he is, he is muddle-headed, he will start driving to work on his day off. He’ll leave the garage door open. He’ll forget his coffee on top of the car. He spaces out. He can’t help it.
In one individual person, who is coincidentally a man, it does. In men as a group, it doesn’t. There is absolutely nothing about men that makes them innately less capable of performing any of the tasks mentioned.
My husband is the fun guy but it’s perfect because I don’t want to play with my kids. I love them and do stuff with them all the time. But I don’t want to play board games or card games or wrestling or any of that stuff but my husband eats it up and I’m so grateful for that.
I kind of hate the gender roles that are carved out for parents. It isn’t that fathers CAN’T understand homework, permission slips, lunches, etc….it is just that many of them don’t WANT to be “good” at that stuff.
I am probably bringing along some of the angst I have about my amazing sister and her slacker husband, though. 😉 Its also probably a big reason why I didn’t have kids, I don’t want to be forced into the role of “nagger”. I just saw it repeated so many times in my neighborhood growing up. Now, I see it in my sister’s family, my friends’s families, tv shows like Modern Family, etc.
The funny thing is that as much as I never wanted to be a nagger, some days when I’m so exhausted I find my self just parroting these lines at the kids and hubby.
It’s almost engrained in me, and when I stop and listen to myself I think why am I saying that?! But still I can’t explain it very well but I think from hearing it so much as a child, now that I’ma mum it just comes out of my mouth without my brain knowing!
I agree though totally, women are rightfully in a position now where they have a choice to work off stay home. My husband isfrom a different cultural background, and as such he is a lot more experienced than me when it comes to child rearing. So I appreciate that he can and will do anything and everything!
However having said all that, he is a freaking master at making children laugh. It’s a gift, truly. I don’t know that it is gender related or just the fact he is a big child at heart, but it’s awesome to watch. So I can understand where Jennifer is coming from, being a drum beat myself!
I don’t remember him saying downtime with kids is always hard. I remember him saying when he was in the throes of directing and consumed with it on his shoulders, that even when at home at night bathing the kids, etc., his mind was on his job. He’s no different than many men when involved in something heavy in their career at that time.
My father was no different. And try being in the middle of a trial and coming home at night and not being distracted like many lawyers are, etc., or just bone tired from a hard physical job and exhausted and not really focused on the children at times mentally.
I guess all the other actors and directors are different, regular Mr. Moms. LOL
When Ben isn’t on a project, Ben is the one who encourages Jen to go do a movie and that it’s good for her, that he sees the difference in her, and she said she appreciates him encouraging her, as she gets that mom guilt not wanting to be away. OF course, he isn’t home alone with the kids when that happens, but who is with money and three little ones. But it’s her mom who comes and stays with him, not a paid nanny.
They make family stuff sound miserable and super unbalanced. Yikes.
I agree. I’m a little disturbed by folks talking about how “normal” this is. Not that family life is all rainbows and candy, but if this is normal, that isn’t so good. She sounds tolerant, not happy! She does the work, he does the play. Yeah, maybe it’s normal, but it wasn’t in my family, and it certainly isn’t a situation I want for myself!
Seriously. Some of the comments on this thread are reminding me how grateful I am that my husband is NOT like that.
I don’t think they are happily married at all… I think they are both at this time in it for the kids.
Pretty sad…
The full interview is a lot more positive.
I think Jennifer and Ben talk about marriage very honestly, which is why I don’t really agree with the derision every time either one of them says something that is less than lovey-dovey. Marriage isn’t easy for everyone. I’m glad for those who say it is but I think merging your life with another – the compromises, the sacrifices – it’s not always easy.
I’m sure Jen and Ben have problems in their relationships – fidelity issues maybe? – but they make it work and their kids seem super happy and loved. So I can’t say much else. As for the division of “labor”, my parents were like that too. I had a preference for my father but when I got older, I realized my mom was the true heart of the family.
That’s what I was thinking when I read this. He gets a lot of flack for this “arrangement” but a) it is still very common, b) if she doesn’t mind, who am I to judge, and c) it was like that in our family and when you get older, the “fun” parent isn’t necessarily the one you appreciate more (as much as that applies at all). You realize that mom might have been the one to say no more often and nagged you about homework but those things count for sooo much. Fun is great but fun alone doesn’t help you do well in school or grow up to be a decent person.
Thanks Naughty. I cringe when I read people criticize what I guess is traditional roles w/in marriage. If they don’t want that for themselves – fine! Do it your way. But don’t diss those who are perfectly happy in traditional roles. The division of labor is not unbalanced. I may do more “chores” and be the homework “nag” but husband always has my back and supports my nagging. He also does alot of things I have happily have nothing to do with and there are things we do together. I am a very content women and I would not be if there were a horrible inbalance as suggested by some posts. Sure, there are times I want help, so I ask and I get it. I am not Cinderella.
I think because women have fought for so long to be able to NOT be a stay-at-home mom, it’s become the image we associate with trying to keep women down. Sometimes we forget that just because this might not be for us and generations of women were forced into that role, it might actually be something other women love. Personally, I would go insane without work. Someone else would go crazy without their kids. THAT is work, I break into a sweat just thinking about it. It’s all fine as long as it’s a conscious decision. If someone’s happy, why the hell mess with it?
Affleck is just not very good at communicating this. He comes off as a douche whose wife also has to be his mommy. He should let her talk about these things.
+1
I totally agree that people seem to forget that feminism is about having the choice to work as a women. I am a feminist stay at home mom and treat it like a the job it is. The problem I see more here is that Jennifer is working just like Ben and is also doing the work a stay at home mom would do. That is unbalanced and I wonder when did fighting for the choice to work become having to do it all?
I think a lot of people cringe is because the way that they talk about their marriage is unbalanced. They always talk about how it’s work, or how they divide up their mother/father duties–never really about the romance. There’s a way to talk about how you co-parent, while having an intimate relationship. Neither of them have really got the hang of that.
And it also doesn’t help that neither one of them seem to be very affectionate towards each other–when talking about each other in interviews.
Like I was surfing old youtube videos and found one where Christian Bale was talking about ‘Harsh Times’. The interviewer said something about how he got to work with a bunch of beautiful women, and Christian laughed and said that it was true, BUT that he had to say that the most beautiful woman he’d ever met was his wife. And that’s coming from someone who barely talks about his family in the media.
You don’t have to say much, but what you say is important.
I said this in the Ben Affleck post, but Jennifer Garner doesn’t get enough credit for how much she’s helped his image. And I believe him when he says that she’s a saint.
This is so true. He would not be where he is right now without her.
This is why I don’t want kids (no offense moms and dads out there). But I have seen all too often the kids take priority over a relationship and the relationship falters because people only have so much time in the day and it takes a lot of energy with kids to make a relationship work/remain strong.
No offence taken Andrea. Kids are a serious chalenge. You start with a piece of meat(sorry for the crude analogy) that cannot do anything on ist own.The baby depends about EVERYTHING on you. And you have approx.20 years to model it into a independantly thinking and acting person, who can leave your house and live his own life.
But this is one type of chalenge. Couples without kids face other chalenges that can ruin their togetherness. In my experience relationships falter seldom only because of the kids.
I will be the first to admit that kids are not for everyone. I am most definitely not the married parent telling all of her friends that they “need” to get married and start a family.
I take no offense, and no one else should, either. You should not be a parent if you don’t want children and that’s called being responsible. I admire that. I know too many people who wanted babies, not to be parents, and now that they have to take on parenting, they’re miserable and the kids suffer. And you see it played out in the media, too. People THINK they want kids and they don’t know what it entails and resent all the responsibility and limitations. There are a lot of women who deliberately don’t use birth control because they think they want to have a child and they don’t care if the man is a good man or if he wants a child or if it’s a healthy relationship. And there are plenty of men who refuse to use birth control and then are angry when someone comes out pregnant, even though they could prevent everything by being responsible adults. And many of these guys do not want to be parents, so why leave yourself open to a woman you’re not serious about having your child?
I think most marriages just sort of fall into that groove though. It’s not all hot and heavy and romantic courting all the time. Romantic for my husband and I is watching a movie in our pajamas and me eating all the full chips and him eating all the crumbs from the doritos because he knows I hate them. It starts to be about the small stuff.
Thank you you made me laugh.
I saw in my mind my husband chasing after the last chips crumbs and refilling the glasses…and I may need new pajamas.
We bought a bag of bits and bites last weekend, and I ate every single pretzel because he hates them. We actually watched Trailer Park Boys on netflix on the couch, wrapped in a blanket with vicks vapo run, and some neocitron to drink last night. Super romantic time. When we’re not sick, it’s not that different though, haha.
That may not be rosy romantic, but that’s love. Way better to my opinion.
That sounds AWESOME!
Relationships have to have friendship in them. It’s not all heat and passion and exciting things happening all the time- that’s unrealistic. My husband and I are just glad to find a decent sitter and go out to eat or watch a show at the end of the work day. I couldn’t be married to someone like Ben, but it seems to work for Jennifer. My husband and I are constantly coordinating school schedules, sports schedules and bringing kids to friends’ homes or them coming to us, though I will say I tend to get the playdate end of it most of the time.
Ha! You just summarized my life in that last sentence. And, yes, friendshis is not only key but a great evolution. When I met my husband we were all hot and heavy for eachother, but now he is my best friend. We’re still hot and heavy for eachother…maybe even moreso now because we’ve bonded through so many events in our lives, for me it just keeps getting better. The main difference is fitting in the hot and heavy. There are times we drop our son off at practice, stay long enough to get him settled in and race back home to….get hot and heavy. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
A foundation of friendship is the (healthy) way for relationships to stand the test of time because looks ,passion, and youth fades, and friendship allows room for growth. It seems the unhealthy relationships are where it becomes like a parent child – it is like this with controlling relationships. Frienship would seem to prevent this dynamic as there would be equal partnership within a friendship based marriage?
Gorgeous outfit. One of my favorites. Nice work, InStyle.
I’m not sure why Jenn snagged this cover but perhaps InStyle is trying to reach a wider audience? As in, ‘let’s focus in normal mom stuff’? Because I totally buy into that much more than what Vogue is pushing.
I think she has a movie coming out later this month that premiered at TIFF.
I like this more than Vogue, too. I like Garner, was happy to see her on the cover. Then I turn the page and there is an article about Mindy Kaling too (who I also love)!
I work with kids and sadly this arrangement is more common than I wish to admit. Mom knows all, dad looks confused over basic questions. Yeah you see some good dads, but I personally see this way more often.
The “she’s good at it, I’m not” is such a BS excuse. Because it takes an advanced degree to organize and fill out the school paperwork? You just don’t want to do it, you schmuck.
THIS^! He’s lazy and probably yet another kid Jen has to mother daily.
Thank you! One of the best ways of getting out of responsibility is to act incompetent, and refuse to learn.
I agree it’s a common excuse but when you make someone do something they don’t want to do, they’re not going to do a good job anyway. In my mind, I would rather do it myself and have it done correctly, than nag someone into doing a half assed job of it. And I’m not going to waste my life nagging a grown person to act like an adult.
She looks GORGEOUS
And well I’m not a mom yet but I’ve raised nephews as if they were my own and yes, Moms do most of the hard work because dads don’t understand… Paperwork, needs, food preferences, etc its too much to handle I suppose. That doesnt make them bad fathers. My dad always wanted to provide for his three daughters and that’s what he does best. He’s not even the fun dad, hes mostly awkward, the dad with whom you’ll have history lessons and talk about the news, and plans for your future… Maybe he is more like that because he has three daughters and hes awkward around that many women….
Anyway I digress, I find her statements normal. And she always seemed like a lovely person to me. And she was married to SF and I absolutely LOVE him so bonus points (not a fan of BA but oh well they make cute babies).
I don’t think she said anything bad about their parenting. I am also the “logistics” parent — I simply remember that stuff better. Marriage and parenting doesn’t have to be divided equally, giving each person the same share of the same responsibility, for it to be a partnership between equals. I suppose my husband is the more “fun” parent, but he is certainly capable of taking care of our children on his own, and we participate equally in all of the big parenting decisions — how to raise our children, how to discipline them, etc. There’s no “good cop / bad cop” or capable vs. inept parent just because I take care of health forms.
I do agree that often moms shoulder all or most of the actual responsibility of parenting, but I don’t think that’s what she’s saying here.
ITA, well said. While I have my finger on the pulse of scheduling, etc, my husband brings a completely different set of qualities to his parenting that’s just as helpful as knowing who likes to eat what for lunch. I think it’s less about equality than it is about dividing and conquering when it comes to the myriad of responsibilities that comes with parenting. As long as it adds up to a happy kid then I think it’s all good.
I have no problem with what she said, but I do think it’s weird they talk about their marriage so often. No wonder people gossip about them so much.
I think it’s weird too. Maybe that’s the only things they (or she, at least) get asked about?
I agree. Matt Damon’s wife is the caretaker and nurturer of that family. For a period Matt was doing so many movies that the brunt of everything at home was on her and whatever help they have. The one comment he made about he wouldn’t marry again if something happened to this marriage because it’s hard, he had to backtrack for so many interviews after that explaining because of her marriage is a good thing, but I guess otherwise it wouldn’t be, I guess. When I see Jen or Ben on TV shows joking about marriage and kidding comments about it, it’s cute. I don’t get the sense at all it’s a bad marriage. But the more you talk in print, the more you give people license to dissect your relationship and parenting, I guess.
I suspect that they talk so much about their marriage because it’s marketing for them that works. I took a quick look on her IMDB page and she has Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day coming up (and one film in 2015), so there’s not a whole lot of her own work to promote. May as well talk about your personal life if you have a magazine cover and no project to advertise.
Based upon their comments over the years, this doesn’t sound like good marriage. They make it sound so hard and gruelling.
The way Jen and Ben discuss their relationship it always sounds a job they just happen to like and not a relationship they actually enjoy. Relationships don’t need to be lovey-dovey 24/7 but it shouldn’t be so arduous.
I don’t like that InStyle has airbrushed her face so much. Does not seem natural.
I do think she’s a great mom and I admire that. Many men are just like Ben. At least he has a relationship with them. There are so many fathers out there that don’t. I also like that he does give her credit and does not act like her share is easy.
Bingo.
Honestly, I don’t think this will last. He seems not very involved. Didn’t he even said in his Oscar acceptance speech that his marriage is work or hard or something like that?! He seems like a 4th child and she tries to hold everything together and be the adult. I see him cheating in the future or he already cheated (with (Blake?) just to get out of his responsibilities.
Well, I don’t know if their marriage is great and I’m sure has times of difficulty. I expect it does. But well BEFORE the goofy Oscars Speech for Argo during the same awards season for the same movie he said these things about Jennifer.
The Golden Globes for Argo –
“I want to thank my wife who is the reason why I’m standing here,’ he said after giving her a kiss and claiming the prize.
‘I adore you. I love you so much. Thanks for sitting through this. You are my everything. Thank you,’ he added.”
I still feel bad for her about Ben saying that they have to work on their marriage in his Oscar speech.
1. Mothers are still expected to be/find themselves mysteriously in charge of all that meta-crap surrounding child-rearing. You know, as the kids grow, you can use that administrative energy/skill to stay on top of banking, investment and protection of your assets. Funny how many men can summon the mental energy for *that* stuff. Bet Ben does.
2. Though it’s like going against the tide, it’s still possible to insist on swapping roles from time to time, formally or informally, and to pull back (dealing with the dread of Nothing Getting Done). At the least, explain everything you do to your mate, the day you do it. They need to know what goes on behind the scenes and appreciate the time it takes. Make them listen. I think a lot about what would happen if I fell into a steaming manhole and see it as cross-training.
PS She looks great. Why doesn’t she wear warmer Autumn colors more often?
I think these two are just adorable together, and honest about their struggles, much more believable than the couples who act like everything is perfect all the time. She seems down to earth and sweet, and the few interviews I’ve seen with her I’m surprised at how funny she is, I like to think he doesn’t cheat on her and actually appreciates her, but who knows.
Does anyone else get the overall impression that the only reason these two are still married is because Jennifer doesn’t/won’t leave him and Ben does whatever the hell he wants? I think a less doormat-ish type would either have left him, or he would have left due to her “nagging” (demanding consistent, reasonable behavior). I’m not crapping solely on Ben, I think it’s on both of them. Just seems like the weirdest marriage. Like, it sort of (?) works only because they have complementary dysfunctions.
They’ve always given off the same impression to me and I hate it because I think she’s kind of great and he’s a bit of a tool. Affleck looks like he’s gritting his teeth through their entire marriage.
Also, don’t famous people own coffeemakers? Why are they always at Starbucks?
I can’t stand this idea that guys are incapable of doing stuff that’s accepted as “woman’s work”, because don’t fool yourself, that’s exactly what this is. And women, mothers or not (it’s the same with couples with no kids living together), let this pass like it’s normal that their partners don’t know or show any interest about how to use the washing machine! Teach them, don’t let them get away with the “she’s good at it, I’m not”!
I feel these kind of boundaries have to be set in the beginning of a relationship, otherwise the couple (heterossexual) with set into these pre defined patterns of behavior.
I never comment on celebitchy but this “Ben doesn’t know that stuff exists” really annoyed me! It’s not ok, if you’re a parent you have to be there too! *breathe in, breathe out*
Exactly! But it starts from the family you grow up in, most likely you will learn your role in a family by seeing how your parents were.
Luckily I (and so did my husband) grew up in a family where both parents were equally involved in their childrens lives, of course only one can fill the form or turn the washing machine on because you require one pair of hands for that action precisely, but jesus, it’s your FAMILY (with children or not), these are things that need to be done and I cannot begin to understand how it could be one person’s job to know how to do it.
And this ‘I don’t know how to wash the laundry’ or ‘You do it so much better’ (regarding cleaning or whatnot) is just a stupid excuse for laziness, I graduated from college and can’t remember having special lessons for women in ironing or vacuuming, also, people without degree or without any schooling do it every day, so I can only conclude that it doesn’t require any special education to learn how lead a clean and cooked food filled life.
Well, rant over, sorry for the long post, but it’s really infuriating when men act like incapable babies just because they’re lazy, and women just let them get away with it because I don’t know why.
You used the right word: “infuriating”. And you are also right about how education plays a big part on this matter, and if you have kids (boys or girls, it doesn’t matter) you and your partner will be role models for them, so there’s an extra reason why we should not accept these excuses. Of course there are chores one likes to do or is really better at, but that doesn’t mean the other should’t know how to do it.
I had this talk with my mother and she told me how easy is to just do what her mother did “because it’s faster”, “because she is better at it”, “or because she doesn’t want to bother the husband”. In the beginning, when I was little she saved my dad because he worked and she didn’t, but then when she returned to work she just couldn’t change that. My dad does a few things but he still has no idea how much work involves to deal with the housework in all its forms.
I had to lecture my boyfriend right in the beginning of our relationship because I wanted to be/do different than my mother and grandmother and raise our kids differently too. It was hard for him, but years passed and now he doesn’t question anything, he simply does whatever needs to be done and is open to learn. (His soups are now better than mine ^_^) Even his mother is pleasantly surprised. Yes!:)
“A problem shared is a problem halved”!
My husband tries, bless his soul. He recently petitioned to adopt my two hooligans. He has children from his first marriage and he admits he was not good at the day to day operations of parenthood. He’s getting better, though.
Poor Jennifer….exhausting parenting those 4 kids alone. That eldest one would wear any good woman out.
The roles were reversed in my family since my mom has always been the breadwinner in our family. Maybe it’s because my dad came here speaking no English and was at a disadvantage professionally right off the bat, who knows. But he did the afternoon carpool run, taking us to play dates and ballet class and horse back riding etc. I can’t remember who signed school forms… Probably my dad since he was the one with us in the afternoon helping us do homework. He did all the cooking too (Mom mysteriously still got stuck with laundry and the bill paying). Women were always surprised to learn it was him. I think once the school refused to release me and my sister at pick up to her because they were so used to seeing my dad pick us up, they kind of forgot my mom existed and was usually at work.
It’s true Garner and Affleck were barely together 8 months before she got knocked up (and forever ruined the last season of Alias). They had very little time before they had to become responsible parents. I’ve always wondered how that affects relationships-having a baby so soon with a partner.
Jen looks fantastic on that cover. It’s a pity it’s probably been photoshopped to within an inch of its life. 🙁
I think they’re great parents who love their kids. And I think she adores Ben. They just simply do not seem like a romantic couple to me, and they never have, even in the beginning.
Ben Affleck is lucky to have this woman. She keeps him on a good path in his life. Without her, I see him becoming a total loser, hanging out with hookers, and blowing away all his cash on chicks who don’t love him.