Jennifer Garner and John Miller ‘don’t need anyone else’s validation’

Us Magazine has an update on Jennifer Garner and her beau, John Miller. If you’ve paid any attention, Us tends to get updates an Jen when she hasn’t had much going on. Or if, say, her ex-husband gets engaged to his former fiancée and the world goes ballistic over the information. Meaning, Jen allows Ben Affleck to get most of the relationship spotlight, but she won’t let him have all of it. And in this latest story, the ‘sources’ say that’s because Jen and John don’t need it. They just want to be a regular couple who hang out – privately – and don’t need anyone to know what they’re up to. And they’re shading anyone who likes all that attention ::coughBennifercough:: But J & J just need each other and the occasional story about how private they are in a major publication from time to time.

Her guy! Jennifer Garner and John Miller’s relationship is stronger than ever — even if they’re much more subdued than her ex-husband, Ben Affleck, and his fiancée, Jennifer Lopez.

“She loves how little he cares for the limelight or the whole Hollywood scenester stuff,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly about Garner’s affection for her long-term boyfriend. “Very different from Ben and J. Lo’s relationship in that way. You’ll never see them ham it up for the cameras or fixate about what events to attend together, it’s just not their style.”

The insider adds: “They’re happier being a regular, under-the-radar couple and don’t need anyone else’s validation to know they’re meant to be together. That’s not to say they’re taking digs against others, it’s just not them.”

[From Us]

I don’t doubt that Jen and John do prefer a below the radar lifestyle. I just don’t know that Jen wants it so far below the radar. I imagine she’d like her nice-looking boyfriend of many years to show up on her arm to at least an event or two. And I use stories like this as evidence. Jen feels she needs to remind us frequently that she is in a long-term relationship and how good it is. I get that, I would feel the exact same way. But it’s what this source chose to attack that’s the most telling. Jen attends work functions alone while everyone else gets a date. And she’s not dating a famous person, so no one ever asks about John when he’s not there. Most probably forget about him, honestly. I think it bugs her.

Plus, when Jen’s source goes to Us, it’s usually to get out in front of a story. CB called it with Ben proposing to J-Lo based on Jen’s last Us story. So I guess we’re about to have a big Ben and J-Lo Red Carpet moment? It sounds like it’ll be big, too.

Something nice (I know – it’s a little late for that, Hecate) I applaud Jen for waiting until the flurry of excitement over Ben and J-Lo’s engagement died down before this story came out. Even petty can still be polite.


Photo credit: Avaolon Red, Instagram and Backgrid

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56 Responses to “Jennifer Garner and John Miller ‘don’t need anyone else’s validation’”

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  1. Shirley says:

    I think Bennifer are so over the top and annoying that I don’t know how she waited this long to say something.
    She is always the bigger person. I also think after all of the drama with Ben she is very happy to be with a guy that is capable of being in a normal relationship.

    • Josephine says:

      I think Ben being in a stable relationship with a mature woman with kids of her own is probably the best-case scenario for Jen’s kids, so I can imagine that Jen is careful to at the very least be neutral about Ben’s relationship.

    • Brielle says:

      How are they over the top?being affectionate ?
      Jennifer Garner was with Scott Foley and Vartan who seemed to be ‘normal’ guys but she wanted to be with Ben the ‘complex man’…like she said it,she went in her marriage with eyes wide open:she is not a victim.I hope that she is super happy with her new man,she deserves it.

      • Serena says:

        Yeah? Did she knew he was and was gonna be an alcoholic, cheat on her and humiliate her publicly ? I don’t think so. Nobody derseve that.

        I really wish this “She went in the marriage with her eyes open” narrative would stop, for god’s sake.

      • Brielle says:

        No,the narrative « She went in with her eyes wide open » won’t stop cause Jennifer Garner was the one who said it…
        Everybody knew that Ben was a recovering alcoholic (during the Paltrow era and that was during the Pearl Harbor era when they first met…) and he was cheating on Paltrow and after that J Lo with strippers so I can believe that she thought he would be different with her but there was a pattern with Ben…it was absolutely not her fault:Ben just has demons.I believe that they loved each other and she thought she could change him and she did for a while(his career back on track,their kids,nice life together…) but it didn’t work out….I also thought I could change some men when I dated them but it’s just not how it works…

      • Lena says:

        Now I KNOW Lopez is going Into this #2 engagement with her eyes wide open. She knows exactly what kinda man he is so let us all not cry for her when it all inevitably fails miserably. Because him.

      • Brielle says:

        Ouch Lena,why are you so angry towards the happiness of two total strangers and gleeful about its future demise?
        However I agree with you on one point,even though I like her,J Lo re-entered that relationship fully aware what Ben did to her last time: he humiliated her,refusing to marry her to conform to white society expectations and marrying the ‘perfect girl’ and every body rejoiced( that’s why I will always respect Prince Harry who didn’t let anyone sway him from Meghan,that’s some cojones or Joshua Jackson who stood up for Jodie and didn’t let his crazy fans dictate him his life…Ben and Robert Pattinson who didn’t defend their woc girlfriends,on the other hand meh,nothing to add) or maybe he was already in love with JG like he said on the set of Daredevil when he was a whole fiancé to Jlo and JG was married to Scott Foley( we will probably never know)…
        JG has a pretty good life with BA before it went left: they have their adorable kids,she helped him rehabilitate his reputation,he won his second Oscar thanks to her and now they are divorced,they seem to have a good co parenting relationship,she has lucrative endorsements,her company is doing great, and she is in a long term relationship with someone who seems to be a great guy.She is thriving…
        J lo said Ben was her real love and I think she is the one who thinks that but I don’t think he also does or his attitude didn’t demonstrate that: canceling their wedding,and after that they stayed 5 months together after that but he was clearly done but didn’t tell her (remember when they were in Georgia and they were seen at a clerk office and ppl thought it was for a marriage certificate when in fact it was for guns,she was pursuing him….it was sad) and she dedicated a whole album to him…yeah she knows what she is getting into,let’s hope that is for a happy ending for all: the kids,J lo and BA,JG and her guy

    • Carolnr says:

      There was an article out there ( I don’t remember by whom?) that said they did not believe John Miller existed. They made reference to the day Jen was papped talking to John, while he was in his vehicle. They said they couldn’t see how the DM claimed John was in the car. I think that is why this statement that” they don’t need anyone else’s validation was made.
      Interestingly, since Ben & JL got engaged , they have not been so over the top like they were on the yacht trip for JL’s 52nd birthday…

    • Brielle says:

      When she was with Alex(the only reason I miss him, he was giving us fans many behind the scenes,they were doing things with their kids,doing challenges…that I can understand can be annoying for some people but now with Ben,she can stays a week not posting and she posted Ben twice on her instagram.J lo is an oversharer but with Ben she is really hiding….so I don’t know how they are annoying maybe just existing…

    • Brielle says:

      If you want over the top,I present to you Casey Affleck and his 23 years old girlfriend making out like crazy in a supermarket or him showing her off in his instagram writing poetry but no one is interested so no one is mocking him…

  2. Barrett says:

    I love her IG w her mom. Her mom should be her red carpet date always.

  3. Anna says:

    This guy reminds me so much of Michael Vartan…

    • Julia says:

      Right? I remember I liked them together, so good for Jen to have her Michael Vaughn’s doppelganger

  4. Brielle says:

    They were papped outside of her home:they were hanging at his car but I guess ppl are less interested now that Ben and Jlo are together..
    Last week,they all (Ben,the two Jen and all the kids except Max) went at a school function and they were papped separately Ben and J lo(those were the taken photos) and Jen Garner with all the kids including Emme and Violet was the adorable big sister caring about all of them:it was a super cute picture.It seems to me that everything seems ok between all of them

  5. Tempest says:

    She looks so pretty in the red dress.

  6. BaronSamedi says:

    Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck famously almost never did red carpets together. I think it was a big deal when she joined him for the Oscars for the Argo run. So I’m not sure she really cares about going to events stag.

    Honestly she’s winning this PR game by simply NOT making that big a deal out of her life in general and we all know Ben will start sabotaging himself again at some point…

    • Coco says:

      Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck we’re not “ famously almost never did red carpets together.”
      If Ben had a movie to promote or an award to campaign for they were on the red carpet together the only time they weren’t really together is when Jen had a movie to promote.

      • Lena says:

        You are wrong about that coco. Until Argo (and after Argo) they didn’t. They went to each others openings (most of the time) but didn’t walk the red carpet together.

      • Coco says:

        No I’m not Argo Premier came out in 2012, award show red carpet in 2013.

        I google they were on the red carpet together in 2003, 2005 and 2007 which was before Argo

        After Argo they were on the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party and Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet also the 2014 Save the Children Illumination Gala.

    • Sunnyish says:

      Her PR game is very deliberate and contrived. The “aw shucks” Instagram content are rehearsed, professionally-made with a staff.

      She’s adorable but it takes a lot of effort and planning to curate that image because hey Garner is selling shampoo and makeup too. She’s hustling and playing the game very well.

      • Brielle says:

        Yup,she also play the game and she has to,to be able to exist in Hollywood and it’s okay.She has a persona:the sweet mom and ex devoted wife.She also plays those types of roles…

  7. Rapunzel says:

    Ben Affleck has his issues and is a hot mess, even though J-Lo’s glowed him up.

    But Jen Garner is, was, and always will be a phony. She left Foley for Vartan to have that celebrity supercouple when on Alias, then when big time A-lister Ben, whom she wanted all along, got her pregnant, she happily ditched Vartan for Affleck and was happy to be his partner and make him look good. And had their son as a band aid baby to keep him when he was almost ready to leave.

    She would likely still be withz him if his nanny fun times hadn’t publicly humiliated her. This “I love my normal guy stuff” is just her new brand. But let’s never forget she was with Affleck for so long because she plays the game better than him.

    • Coco says:

      Saying Jen use their son as a banded baby to keep Ben is complete BS. Ben is the one that said he wanted to have another kid after their son was born on Tv. Jen is the one who went to the media and shut that down quick fast and in a hurry.

    • Isabella says:

      Or it could be she went through a few painful breakups with various actors. Fell in and out of love like the rest of us. Had a baby because she wanted to, not because a man got her pregnant. Had more kids because she found she liked being a mom. Got divorced because the marriage didn’t work over the long term. Ben cheated and was a mess. She has a pretty good life, especially by Hollywood standards, so good for her.

      • Jaded says:

        Thank you Isabella. I still don’t get the sanctimonious ranting some people give Jen. I look back on my life and the painful breakups and infidelities I went through and have to give her props for putting up with Ben’s BS for so long.

    • Brielle says:

      I think also she is a little phony : I try to listen at her interviews and she always come off with these over the top stories but I also like her(Ben put her through a lot) and her aesthetic (her instagram seems natural even though she is helped and even lived with that person during Covid) ….What I don’t like is the fact that ppl are always comparing the two of them:
      – I like J lo, she always seems real in interviews,super open and funny…and also she is super fly
      – I also like Jennifer Garner
      -For me,Ben is the messy one:he said that he fell in love with Jennifer Garner during Daredevil…when he has a whole fiancé,J lo
      I hope they are both happy in their relationship and also co parenting well their kids

  8. Ariel says:

    I think she is petty and immature over stuff like this- if she was really happy with the way things are, she would sit back and enjoy it.

    • Pix says:

      Yeah, Gardner is an actor and she craves the attention and spotlight too. She doesn’t have to be petty, but I’m sure she can’t help it. I know if my husband, father of my kids, got back with his superhot ex-GF and acted like our relationship somehow held him back I’d freak the F out daily. So, I guess she’s showing grace?

      • Brielle says:

        And if I were J lo,I would ask myself why wasn’t I enough? Like why didn’t you defend me when all those ppl were saying that I wasn’t good enough for you like when Diane Sawyer said to Gwyneth that J lo was too racy for Ben Affleck and she would have been a better wife? (When we all know Gwyneth has only contempt for him an her parents didn’t like him) ? Wasn’t I enough good for you to have a family with?and why did you trash our relationship when we broke up? And you went to marry a woman everybody deemed more acceptable ? And who you said later you fall in love with when we were together….Yeah Ben is messy and complex and I don’t know why he makes all these women fall crazy in love with him

  9. Lena says:

    I think Jen thinks of red carpets as part of her “work” and she never after Vartan mixed her personal life with work. She and Ben never went on any red carpets or swanned around anywhere until he specifically asked her to during the Argo Oscar push. I always felt he owed her for that. I believe Oscar’s are just a popularity contest and his family man image helped push Argo over. @Repunzel-She had a messy 30s yes but so did JLo and Ben for that matter. Fact is for the past 17 years she’s been with just two men and I respect her for being low key publicly with both.

    • Coco says:

      Jen went to more then just the Argo red carpet with Ben .

      It funny that you act like she wasn’t married 10 of those 17 years. Jen and Ben were not low key, I’m not saying they were Ben Jlo level just not low key.

    • Brielle says:

      So Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were far from lowkey when they were together:they were/are one of the most papped families in Hollywood: they were papped at church,market,picking their kids,fighting or having words with Ben on the streets,papped with her stroller cat when Ben was papped with Ana,papped hugging Ben’s mom when Ben was boo’d up with Shookus…Matt Damon said that Jennifer Garner sell a lot of magazines in the midwest so let’s not say that she is lowkey: it’s just that she is less interesting without Ben..but hey whatever suits your narrative

    • Brielle says:

      Why being with two men for 17 years is praised? I thought we were past that:a woman worth should not be tied to the number of men she has had in her bed…

  10. Susan says:

    I’ve waffled on Jen G over the years, I used to find her very contrived and “awww shucks” and that stuff grates on my sarcastic snarky ass….however…she has gained my respect in recent years. She handled the divorce and multiple messy girlfriends with grace. Her “bless his heart” interview about the Phoenix tattoo was excellent shade. If she is playing a game—which I am certain she is—she’s doing an incredible job. She was never a great actress, and in her prime she was most famous for that rock hard body on a campy TV show. Somehow, she is still booking work and has maintained her fame where people who I’d consider equally talented (Leighton Meester and Julie Bowen come to mind) are far less visible. Granted, Ben Affleck is a big part of that notoriety, but wouldn’t other less-liked actresses have been cancelled for that racially offensive crap fest “Peppermint”? She’s had a few failures in both movies and TV (Camping, anyone?) and good lord, we are still talking about her, she’s still getting roles and her IG has raised her profile even more.

  11. Julia K says:

    Went to Google to look up John Miller. He has a pretty impressive background. Lawyer, CEO, author etc. Never heard of until today.

    • tuille says:

      His ex-wife is a world-famous violinist, so he’s had some previous exposure to the limelight.

  12. Eggbert says:

    I like both Jens but really really dislike Ben. I just don’t understand why the Jens like Ben? Is it because they think they can fix him? Is he just really good at love bombing and gaslighting?

    • Lena says:

      I completely agree he is dislikable. I’m a former (GBG era) fan but there are plenty of celebitches that are current Ben Stans. They just don’t want to talk about it today I guess.

    • Brielle says:

      Lena,you seem to have an irrational hatred towards Ben…Sheesh…
      @ Eggbert,I am not a Ben Stan but I like him:
      – he is a complex man like his ex wife said
      -he is great when he talks about films
      – he is witty,charming,interesting
      – he cares about social justice,take care of his initiative in the Congo,defended muslims (as one I reallly appreciated that)…he is generally conscious
      – I hated that he groped women,protected somehow Weinstein,protected his brother but he didn’t shy from it and took responsibility
      – and also he is a fuckboy/ womanizer :he was super indelicate towards Jlo and their relationship once he was married to JG and couldn’t stop talking badly about it,he jumps from relationships to relationships,and I don’t understand how he was so in love with Ana de Armas in. 2020 and in 2021,he is deliriously in love with J Lo….but hey only J lo knows but if I was her friend,I would have told her not to get involved with him again…

  13. Sonya says:

    I like Jennifer Garner, she reminds me of myself, bubbly personality, I have my serious days like most people, people seem to think that you can’t be that positive all the time, they think it’s fake, I get that all the time, Jennifer Garner is positive, talented, smart, funny , there is nothing about her that’s phony, she can back up everything she is, if you followed her career, and her Instagram, you would see. That’s her, she’s not the best or worse at anything, she is a celebrity in her own right, what Ben put her through would have had an effect on most, Jennifer Garner is the winner here. So happy for her, she cares about people. And it’s genuine. Homeless, care workers, she stop acting for awhile to raise her children, she’s a fantastic Mother.

  14. Meg says:

    ‘But J & J just need each other and the occasional story about how private they are in a major publication from time to time.’
    Lol she comes across as trying too hard here. ‘i exist too! Im just not an attention whore’ while talking to a major publication. Major eyeroll

    • Shirley says:

      I think we all know that if Jen Garner wanted attention all she has to do is write a “tell all” about her life with Ben Affleck.
      It’s time to stop trashing Jennifer Garner so that JLo can continue to rewrite history.
      We all saw their break up and him move on deliberately to marry and have children with Jen Garner.
      There is no reason to pit two women against each other.
      One has moved on. The other is engaged to Ben.

      • Brielle says:

        @Shirley,you said :
        ‘There is no reason to pit two women against each other’ and also that ‘ It’s time to stop trashing Jennifer Garner so that JLo can continue to rewrite history’’ so which is it? Or just J.Lo has to be trashed….
        Jen G has to move on once it didn’t work out with Ben and they tried to make their marriage work during 13 years…and Ben clearly has moved on since then cause he had a lot of relationships that we know of before J.lo…
        17 years ago is a lot of years so I hope for them that they matured and they are different persons:I mean J lo is completely different with Ben than when she was with Alex.WithAlex,she was more on SM showing off their relationship,their kids,workout…now she has posted Ben two times and she posts way less

  15. Loca says:

    All the US Weekly interviews from JGarner’s camp are low key digs at Ben Affleck’s relationships. It’s definitely not Garner’s business to comment on, makes her appear petty & bitter. 🙄 There was a recent gossip about this fake relationship.. you just never see them together ever. It’s ok for Garner to be still single… just no more fake boyfriend stories or commenting on Ben’s relationships period. Ben is no longer her problem plus he wasn’t happy with her anyway.

    • Serena says:

      Good lord, do you hear yourself? He IS her problem, they co-parents 3 kids, and she gets asked all the damn time about him.

      “He wasn’t happy with her” lol, more like he was a cheating alcoholic asshat, that’s what, and SHE probably wasn’t happy with him.

      And fake boyfriend, lol 😂,because of course you would know for sure.

  16. Kristen says:

    US Weekly couldn’t even publish something about Garner without mentioning her ex-husband. People can say whatever they want about Affleck & J.Lo, but neither have trouble getting roles and staying busy. Affleck’ most recent film-The Tender Bar which was directed by George Clooney-earned him Golden Globe and SAG nominations. What has Garner done career-wise over the past few years besides doing pretend cooking shows on IG and starring in mediocre projects?

    • Lena says:

      Interesting how the BenLopez fans can’t mention the two of them without bringing up Garner either. Even though his last woman was Ana de Armas not JG which they conveniently forget. And yeah I’d love a frank tell all book from Jenn. He deserves it with his retelling of history to suit himself which we all know was BS.

      • Kristen says:

        What’s there to talk about? He and Ana dated for less than a year. He and Garner were married for 10 years and had 3 kids, and have a longer history. Garner fans are the ones who still bring up Ben and J.Lo every time. Even CB is obsessed with mentioning them both in articles about Garner that have nothing to do with them.

  17. Serena says:

    If I was treated like Affleck did to her, you bet I would be petty as hell and even dish out all his dirt. She is WAY too polite, if you ask me.
    I’m sure Jen Garner enjoys attention, but she was also possibly sick of the ‘poor Jen’ stories out there attached to every Benniffer one.

    • Brielle says:

      I would love her to dish about what happened between them on Daredevil’s set: Ben did a little by saying that they fell in love there so did she cheat on Foley? And did Ben cheat on his then fiancé J Lo or soon to be proposed? Ben is really a home wrecker(Chris Judd,Foley,Vartan),he is really Mr Steal your girl

  18. Kristen says:

    Jennifer Garner fans are the ones who bring up Ben and J.Lo every time when talking about her. I guess they can’t be blamed seeing how Garner is a bland has-been who peaked in the 2000s and doesn’t get the same opportunities her peers do. The way this article suggests Garner won’t let her ex have all the attention is hilarious. The general public and industry don’t care about Garner and Miller.

  19. Shirley says:

    I think it is really sad that Ben hasn’t been seen with his mother, brother, or his children unless they are mandated by law to see him.
    Marc Anthony got engaged to a 23 year old and then obviously within 24 hours JLo, her mother and Ben are photographed with her in her “lucky” green outfit with her hanging all over him and him looking for the quickest exit.
    She clearly is trying to prove that Ben has always loved her.
    Why would she want him? He cheated on her with strippers a week before their wedding. That is a fact.
    Why don’t her fans think she deserves better than Ben? Maybe too young to remember the truth?
    It was great though to see Emme so comfortable with Jen G and her children after school. Beautiful picture.
    So happy for JLo’s children that they will be part of the Garner/Miller/Affleck/Muñiz/Lopez blended family.
    I am sure they still miss their other blended ARod family.

    • Brielle says:

      Shirley,J lo was in a blue short dress and not in green…and Ben was the one all over J.Lo at the valet car…you clearly don’t like J.Lo and see her as a competition to JG,which is insane….you are praising JG being with Emme but there are also photos of Max with Ben and J.Lo(Max hugging her,JLo and Max hand in hand…) so why aren’t you praising her also?
      We learned about Marc Antony Friday and J lo ad Ben were spotted Sunday so not really 24 hours later but hey whatever suits your narrative I guess…

    • Brielle says:

      Shirley says:
      May 15, 2022 at 11:11 pm
      I think it is really sad that Ben hasn’t been seen with his mother, brother, or his children unless they are mandated by law to see him
      This is some serious accusations :
      – the photos you bragged about JG and Emme,it was a school gathering where BA and J lo were also so they were all there(the kids and the three adults)
      -he was papped this week with Samuel last week and the week before he was seen kissing J Lo outside the school and picking one of his daughter with Emme but even if he is not papped,does that mean that he isn’t with his kids?I think he has 50% custody like JG
      – his brother,the same one who was papped kissing his 23 year old girlfriend all over the supermarket when the pandemic is still not over or writing poems to his girlfriend on his instagram but you didn’t call him sad or thirsty
      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10802367/Casey-Affleck-Caylee-Cowan-hands-grocery-shopping-LA.html