E! has a “Live from E” segment up on their site with three of their correspondents discussing the state of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s revolving relationship. The E! commentators are analyzing the photos from their family church outing on Sunday. Affleck looks uncharacteristically happy, but he’s been sober probably for the longest stretch he’s had in years. That’s what they call a “pink cloud” in recovery, when things are great at the beginning. His mood is likely much better than usual and that’s surely making his home life go a lot easier.
E!’s Jason Kennedy said that they’re amicable for their kids and because they’re genuinely friendly with each other while Ken Baker thinks they may be back together but don’t want to admit it because they “don’t want to be part of the tabloid storyline.” It’s just a two minute segment and there’s no consensus as to whether these two are back together.
US Magazine reminds us that Garner was just in Georgia for a week filming a movie, so I guess this was a reunion of sorts. They also had these insider quotes which they published a couple of weeks ago. (We didn’t comment on them as there were plenty of other quotes to cover.) Their insider said “They are not a couple by any means, but they are resuming their coparenting arrangement…
“He is very appreciative of Jen being so supportive and giving him a chance to get better. She has always been there for him and continues to be.”
I guess Ben said it all in his post rehab statement where he referred to Jen as his “coparent,” but they certainly seem to be doing fine. Plus neither of them has stepped out with a date or partner in the nearly two years since they announced their separation nor have they filed for divorce. That pretty much says it all.
photos credit: FameFlynet
His face though. What is going on? Botox? Too much salt? Has it been like this in any of his recent movies?
For what it’s worth, I don’t think they’re completely over but who knows. Maybe they’re just extraordinarily civilized and evolved.
And what is going on with the young nanny with the short skirt? Maybe he’s laughing at the visual there?
I don’t think that’s a nanny; I thought it was their eldest daughter.
LOL, that’s the man’s daughter.
This is how tabloids write their stories, look at a picture and make up stories to go along with the pic.
There is a video – I think that pic followed a funny moment when his son was talking to the paps – saying something like “you guys” and his older sister (not a nanny) got him into line.
I think he’s detoxing from something way worse than alcohol. This is what junkies look like.
was gonna say. he looks like he’s always recovering from a bender. or drunk.
Oh god these two are seriously duller than dishwater aren’t they? If this are-they-or-aren’t-they-thing is all they’ve got to sustain interest in their boring lives then the end is almost nigh for them and their careers.
Ben is such a knob jockey the way he always looks so miserable and down about everything. And whats with the botox? And Jen is such a DAG…oh my god if you don’t know what a dag is, please look it up. She is the embodiment of dag. Sheesh, these two. I just can’t!
Two of my fav Aussie terms – knob jockey and dag!
“Ben is such a knob jockey the way he always looks so miserable and down about everything. And whats with the botox? And Jen is such a DAG”
AMEN!!!
Right?? Ben = eternal victim…pulling soar/bored/morose faces every chance he gets too remind the world that he is a victim.
victim of: Boston, marriage, drugs, alcohol, fatherhood, husbandry, the oscars, gambling, fame, “exploitative” nannies, JLo, Hollywood, prejudice, himself…
Jen is a victim of HIM… Everyone is a victim of the other here. Yet she is getting traction from their ‘are-they-aren’t-they’ relationship. I understand that it’s difficult to leave the father of your children and all, but do we really need all this pap walk bullsh*t???
Y.U.C.K!!!!
SPOT ON.
You summed it all up just perfectly ✔️ 💯 ‼️ 😁
I think they’re kind of co-dependent. I don’t for a second believe that they’ve ever had the perfect relationship – but they seem to work in a weird way.
I’d like to think it’s possible that he IS happier than he’s been in a long time now that he’s been sober longer, and honestly, it probably allows him to enjoy time with his family much more. Once you’re past the point of NEEDING to drink to enjoy yourself I think you’re able to enjoy the every day things a lot more.
Whether they’re together or not – as long as they’re putting on a good example for the kids in how they act when they’re together, and being a united front- I think that’s the important thing. I don’t doubt that they do love each other – they might just not love each other enough to make a marriage work well.
The E! Segment about these two is actually longer on the FB page – the 3 of them get into discussing his sobriety and whether that could actually be the key to a reconciliation .
The super happy pics that are flooding the Internet are actually the result of a 3-5 second conversation Ben and Jen had outside of church – where whatever he said caused the 2 of them to laugh and smile. No evidence of anything really. However, to me the only thing different about this outing vs the past is that they allowed (or she did) themselves to be photographed together – left the church together – he waited for her to leave – before he left etc – it’s a different tone than the past couple of months.
Either way I wish them luck
And–just my opinion–she leeeaaaned into him just so they could get that shot, where they’re laughing and almost could be about to kiss?
I do think it would be cool if they reconciled, if that’s what they both want and they can move forward in a way they can both live with and be happy. But I do think she plays the paps.
Look at the video – she definitely waited for him – tilting her head – he leaned into her to tell her something amusing – that is what these shots are from-3-5 seconds
He looks so much better!
Say what you will about them as a couple, but I really admire them for truly putting the children first. Ben effed up colossally but I think Jen managed the crap out of the story and the kids are largely protected.
Regardless of everything else, I have to give her especially props for that.
Putting the children first…?
As in, the kids having to deal with will-they-wont-they for multiple years?
Their relationship is consistently inconsistent.
I know! Great for the kids, right?
In the public statement he called her his “coparent”. That’s not how you refer to the woman you supposedly want to come back with.
Unless that is what you and “the woman” agreed on – so the statement was more about your addiction and rehab and not about whether you and your wife are patching things up
if that had been the case there wasn’t any need of a label: want to not say what’s you’re relationships status? just call her Jennifer. But we don’t know if they agreed to his statement, is the subtle “war” of conflicting and confronting statements from sources from both camps that was and still is going on on People Mag and US weekly (and throw in also E!) is of any indication then they’re very much NOT agreeing on how they want whatever their relationships status might be.
It sounds more like an arrangement than a marriage. You get what you settle for.
Thats exactly how you refer to a woman you are not fully romantically reconciled with but may want to be and would like not to play that out in public. They are clearly in limbo romantically, trying to decide whether to stay or quit and now that he is clean they can make that decision clear headed. Pretty sure they’ll stay and work on it.
I disagree. He didn’t need the “coparent” qualifier.
I Mean the way this is unfolding…Must be nice to be a married man “sow your wild oats” every few years and your wife sorta gives you the wide berth til you’re good and ready to get your sh!t together… I ..Guess??
I think they’re amicable and care for each other for their kids. This happened the same weekend the Justice League trailer dropped. I think it’s easier for her to keep track of what is going on for her kids’ sake by staying in his life, supporting his sobriety and sharing a positive moment together at church before she (?) drops the hammer. I think she held off on filing papers until he was out of treatment. Can’t kick him more when he’s already down. I agree that it’s been a long time since we’ve seen them look at least somewhat happy to be in each other’s presence, but I think his sobriety is helping make things less strained. For as much as I dislike Jen and believe her to be an enabler (and Ben is obviously no innocent), I do think that she is too smart to get back with him in a romantic way. She’ll support him while he builds himself back up so she can comfortably walk away knowing her kids are safe when they’re with him. They are to co-parenting what Goop is to “consciously uncoupling.”
I agree that she doesn’t want to leave the kids in his custody while he fighting his demons but, I also think she enjoys the back and forth tabloid game and daily church pap strolls. I think she really enjoys the attention.
I agree with you, Sage. She loves the attention because, without her marriage, she wouldn’t get any attention! Her career is no longer relevant.
I do think she plays the paps. She chooses when she is seen by photogs at the airport. Other times travels virtually unnoticed. At times conceals her left hand. I do think she needs to take the career in a new direction – like maybe she can become Kelly Ripa’s co-host. Either way she actually really looks into him in these photos – looks genuine.
To me, when you try to look at from a non-abstract point of view (which is difficult for an everyday, non-celebrity person as myself) it must be so difficult for them. They are celebrities. Maybe there’s this sort of survival mode to play the game. As Generation X parents they know that their children will be able to see everything via the internet for basically… ever. I can only imagine the pressure of that fact, and I don’t blame Jennifer for trying to make sure that it somehow might come across a positive learning situation in the long run.
Bloatfleck ,The New superhero !!
They look genuinely happy and so do their kids. I don’t think they intended for this to become a story – it was a candid moment that lasted seconds.
At first I agreed with you – a goldmine for the paps who got incredible photos from a 3-5 second encounter. But after watching the video a couple of times – I do feel there might have been some intent. It’s the way she walks ahead into the camera shot and waits for him tilting her head, and then he leans over and says whatever directly in her face. As much as I really do like these two – and I do think the smiles and laughs are genuine – they are also really old pros at this and know how to “give” a well timed photo. I do think it’s the first of several messages we will see coming our way.
Maybe. If and when they decide to go public with any reconciliation, they’ll certainly use photographers to help communicate it. I’m not convinced that they’d do it with their kids in shot though (along with someone else’s kid). Immediately afterwards, Jennifer walked ahead and they both looked serious again.
To my eye, this is a total shift in the way they have allowed themselves to be photographed by the church or other outings. And when I say allow – I do feel they control their image and narrative. In previous church pap strolls – even if they came in the same car, they avoided being in the same camera shot, and if they were in the same shot, never spoke to each other etc. that 3-5 second “closeness” displayed is something they have not shown in years. And even if the rest of the video was business as usual, the tension seems to be gone, Jen looks radiant and Ben actually looks happy. Happy for them – in whatever form this works for them. But I do suspect there was some intent.
Yeah, it’s definitely a shift. They’ve been photographed looking very happy a few times – in Paris, at dinner in London, after the gym with Sam – but not as openly as this. Last year, I found it interesting that Ben gave Jennifer his sweater in view of the paparazzi. They surely knew that it would create a story.
Are you serious with this? Smiling at each other for 3.4 seconds is “a shift”? How absurd.
Since He is out of rehab,he is happy to see the paps.He talks them even
He’s always been willing to talk to paparazzi when alone, but never with his kids
Last week there was this hilarious encounter where he asked for directions from the paps – I think TMZ did a webisode on it.
Also entertaining is that Sam (who Jen says hates them) seems to be coping nicely now by making faces, and engaging them to the embarrassment of his sister but the hilarity of his Dad.
I don’t think Sam likes paparazzi any better now – he’s usually shouting for them to go away. It looked like Ben was laughing at Violet mothering him.
Is this an example of them calling the paps? Or do they just know by now where to hang out on a Sunday to find them. I am not really sure either of them have fans that are truly invested in their marriage/divorce/separation. It’s not like they have a young following, I just don’t know if anyone is gonna buy their movie tickets based on their marital status…… If they are the ones constantly calling the paps, why do they bother? If either one of them were in a movie that seemed crappy, I wouldn’t go. If they were I a movie I was interested in, I would see it. Whether or not he was cheating/drinking she was taking him back/divorcing him. The last movie I saw with him was Gone Girl, because I really wanted to see that movie, and I liked it. I don’t give a sh* t if he’s married/divorced/sad/a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Maybe they are just addicted to documenting their personal lives and don’t know how to stop.
The tabloids put them on the cover either as the mainstory or a side story every week. That means they move copies. Hell, the fact that they are even being covered here should tell you that they bring in clicks. That means people are following them, whether thats with some kind of hipster irony or a genuine interest driven by love or hate, people are interested. If there is interest, there will always be paps trying to make a couple of hundreds from just hanging outside a Church on Sunday or a market on Saturday. Jen is apparently very routine oriented, so she doesnt need to call paps, they know. Its possible that she maintains the routine specifically to be photographed but that doesnt change the fact that they always catch her on a weekly routine.
You’re right that the movie-going public don’t care about their private lives. Box office figures since their split and an article in the new york times back up that assessment.
I don’t think they call the paparazzi. Photographers wait for them every week – at church, at school drop off and pick up, karate lessons and so on. The daily mail buys most of the pictures and the stories get enough hits to make it worthwhile for photographers. They appeal to the people who still buy magazines like People – lainey would call them the minivan majority.
Must be nice to be married to Jen. Every few years, you get to majorly and not so discretly f-ck up and she still takes you cheating disrepectuf ass back. I wonder who Ben will bang next? Co-star? Mutual friend? Assistant on the set of his next movie?
Ben had an affair with the nanny, a woman who was in their house every day and who had a relationship with their kids. The only way he could possibly top that would be to sleep with one of Jen’s sisters or other relatives. I wouldn’t put it past him.
one of Jen’s sisters …
*shudder*
I’m sure you wouldn’t.
E News looks ridiculous with all of this reporting over nothing.
BATDAD!
I think it was first pointed out on Lainey Gossip but Jennifer Garner is totally Amazing Amy from Gone Girl.
Jen’s friend Corena Chase and Sera’s godmother was photographed taking all kids to school yesterday. Makes me think both Jen and Ben are out of town.
I think Jen is still filming in ATL, and Ben was rumored to be making an appearance at CinemaCon this week.