Jennifer Garner ‘is encouraging Ben to work on his marriage to Jen’

While the tabloids have always tried to make it sound like Jennifer Garner has beef with Jennifer Lopez, I never really believed it? I’ll buy that J.Lo is not Garner’s favorite person, but the last years of Ben Affleck and Garner’s marriage were particularly bad, and it’s not like Ben left Garner for J.Lo. Garner seems to want good things for Ben for their children’s sake. Garner wanted to see him settled, sober and able to co-parent their three children. So… do you think Garner is pleased or displeased with the recent turn of events? Ben and J.Lo are having significant marital problems and they’ve seemingly separated. How does Garner feel about it?

Jennifer Garner is showing her support for her ex-husband, Ben Affleck, amid his marital issues with Jennifer Lopez.

“Jennifer Garner is encouraging Ben to work on his marriage to Jen,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “She fully supports their relationship and wants nothing more than for him to be happy.”

The insider adds that Garner, 52, knows firsthand that being in the spotlight “can put a strain” on their relationship.

Garner’s rep did not respond to Us’ request for comment.

Speculation swirled that Affleck and Lopez’s marriage had hit a rough patch after the duo were not photographed together for 47 days. However, since the breakup rumors began, the twosome were spotted and photographed attending a school function for one of his kids on Thursday, May 16.

[From Us Weekly]

Given that Ben has seemingly moved back into the Brentwood home which is just a short distance away from Garner’s home, I bet Garner has been well aware of the situation for weeks, if not months. I would actually love to know what she really thinks, but this Us Weekly report seems to reflect her stance to Ben. You know, this is probably what she’s telling him: work it out, reconcile, talk it out with J.Lo, figure out how to compromise.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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34 Responses to “Jennifer Garner ‘is encouraging Ben to work on his marriage to Jen’”

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  1. Nubia says:

    So he isnt staying at a 100k monthly rental like the tabloids claim?

    • Lens says:

      Pap sites have shown him going into a mansion (huge -like ten bedrooms) and having pizza delivered routinely (bachelor living once again) that is two blocks up from his exwife. It is in the same general Brentwood neighborhood as the bachelor home he had before so doesn’t look that much different from the street but it is not the same house. He sold that house quickly before moving in to a rental with jlo the year before they bought their white elephant in Beverley hills.

  2. Lucy2 says:

    At the moment he is J Lo’s problem, and I think Jennifer Garner would like him to stay that way.

    • Jas says:

      Yes. I was coming to say exactly this. 😊
      I reckon Ben would be a LOT.

    • Mimi says:

      Jen Garner definitely wants him to stay with JLo and far away from her.

    • Bettyrose says:

      Ding ding ding! She doesn’t need that man child on her doorstep when he’s feeling lonely. Oh man I just had an image of him in 20 years imposing on his adult children as they’re trying to live their lives. Showing up at Thanksgiving with his latest 20 year old gf, making off-color jokes to the grandkids.

      • FastForward says:

        Haha, I think your vision of the future Ben Affleck is going to be proven 100% accurate.

    • theotherviv says:

      Yep, he has a new mom to take him to the Drive-Thru and buy a sandwich and that new mom has staff, so JenG is not too worried.

  3. Kinchicago says:

    How sleazy to expect an ex, any ex to manage or mediate a marriage. Vomit.

    • ML says:

      THIS!! In what world would Jennifer Garner be the appropriate person to mingle in Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s marriage?! To me, as with you, the answer is NONE.

      I can see her taking an interest in her children that she shares with Ben, but not as a pseudo marriage counselor. Gross.

  4. Sara says:

    I wonder if Jennifer garner ever gets sick of (publicly) being the only grown up on the room?

    • ELX says:

      She still has two kids under 18, one under 14, so yes, she wants him stable. I doubt she wants any repeat of the last time she had to cart him to rehab because his brother was away, it was an emergency and there was literally no one else. Never mind that if he and JLo split, her 18 -year-old daughter is her father’s legal next of kin.

      • Blithe says:

        @ELX that’s a great point, and an important one, that needs to be made more often. Parents decide to get married, and parents decide to get divorced. Parents decide that being single is the best way to maintain their families. Children, however, turn 18 — and MAY end up as the legal next of kin for their adult parents, often without any say in the matter or any understanding of what that might entail.

        So, parents, the kid you’re grounding for something trivial today — may be making decisions about your life support tomorrow. It’s critically important for all parents, and especially for single parents to make sure that their kids have some preparation for unexpected eventualities like this. (Do a living will, make custody plans for younger kids openly known, and, if possible, make sure that there is a chunk of money available to your kids just in case they might be suddenly responsible for managing the bills of a household or even planning a funeral.)

    • Mika says:

      I wouldn’t put too much stock in this story, it’s probably just an excuse to put Jennifer Garner on the cover of US. Jennifer Garner is always going to be popular with the older readers of magazines like People and US because she is pretty, white, and she put her career to the side after children. The Minivan Majority loves a woman who appears to know her place.

      • Christina says:

        There are photos of Garner visiting Affleck at the Brentwood house alone, without the kids. Who knows what they talked about, but she did drive him to rehab not long ago and stopped to get him a burger on the way. She is invested for her kids. I don’t doubt that she is helping to manage his emotions now to prevent the inevitable relapse that she doesn’t want to manage later.

      • one of the marys says:

        This comment got under my skin. Most women make choices to balance career and children and home. Jennifer Garner is still working. I don’t know that ‘her place’ is very different looking for a lot of women

      • chloeee says:

        honestly ever since she cocked her head and pointedly asked if Regina King knew where her ancestors were from while Regina King was talking about being born and bred LA she has given me the weirdest, sinister vibes.

  5. Cate says:

    Pretty sure she wants what’s best for the kids. A breakup is probably going to be pretty disruptive for them and bring lots of tabloid scrutiny, so…if she has an opinion on the matter it probably is to wish for them to figure it out like adults.

  6. Miles says:

    I cannot stand this man-child. He’s a cheater, a liar and let us remember how he manhandled Hilary Burton. Garner seems to always be so… nice to him. Lopez needs to work on self esteem, as does Garner. He gets a pass like Depp, Pitt, and many others. I thought it was white men thing, but Diddy, and Kelly proved it’s a male thing.

  7. Kokiri says:

    I won’t hold my breath waiting for the “source” to speak on Marc Anthony’s behalf.

    This is so gross. I feel for Jen1.

  8. Giddy says:

    Jen Garner is a great Mom, and she will always want what is best for the kids. Right now that means that she absolutely wants Ben in a stable, happy marriage. However, Jen Garner looks gorgeous and relaxed while JLo looks beautiful but tense. Marriage to Ben must not be easy.

  9. TN Democrat says:

    Jennifer Garner seems like a classy lady and seems to put her children first. She allowed her divorce with Ben to drag out while he dried out even after Nanny-gate and a series of public humiliations to try to get him in a sober, stable place to be able to co-parent. The look on her face when she handed Ben the bag of fast food while hauling him to rehab said it all. She fought for legislation to limit paparazzi/publication of celebrity kid photos. She is probably grateful to be free from a 200 lb 50 something toddler and dreads the media intrusion. She did more than her bit and he keeps dragging her and their kids into his messy, mess.

  10. VilleRose says:

    She wants him to work it out for the kids’ sake but also deep down I think for her own sake too. When Ben is left to his own devices all by himself, she feels like she has to step in and take care of him because she feels responsible as the mother of his kids. Didn’t she drive him to rehab after he briefly dated an Insta model back in 2018 when he relapsed? And I’m not sure Jennifer should give marital advice. I know she tried and tried to make it work with Ben because she deeply loved him. Their separation/divorce dragged on for 3 years. It was frustrating to watch and that couldn’t have been healthy for her or the kids. I’ll always be a fan of Jennifer Garner (Alias was the first show I ever became part of a “fandom” as a teenager) because she is such a good person. But sometimes I wished she put herself first more often.

    • Jayna says:

      Jennifer Garner I believe does make sure her own needs are met. She is thriving as far as work-life/personal life balance. She has been in a relationship for about five years, with a brief six-month or so breakup during the pandemic. Some say it was because he wanted to marry and she didn’t. Her kids did come first. He has two kids. She said she has no desire for her life to be the fodder of paps again in the way it was during their marriage and breakup.

      She’s still followed a lot, but to make her relationship really public would give rag mags the ability to create false pap cover stories. He’s a lawyer, who is a CEO of a company. There are photos of them together every so often just doing normal things and in the airport. He’s been to a few of her premieres and appearances in NYC, one with his daughter, but no red carpets with Jen. He was in West Virginia with her. Nobody would have known except John and Jennifer were at Home Depot with her father, and somebody asked for a photograph with her. So he was papped with Jen and her father by a fan. Ben knows him because he’s in Jennifer’s life and Ben likes him, evidenced by the fact a pap got a photo of Jen and John arriving at her home as Ben did and Ben was more excited to see John than Jen. LOL I think Jen is thriving right now. But she probably does worry about his stability more since his personal life is in upheaval again.

      https://pagesix.com/2023/01/30/ben-affleck-hangs-with-ex-jennifer-garners-boyfriend/

  11. Jaded says:

    I can’t imagine how worried Jen G must be at how this will affect the kids and how selfishly both Ben and JLo are acting.

  12. Gabby says:

    This story seems like it was planted by JLo to convince Ben to come back. If so, I think it’s shitty of her to drag Garner into it after all the “greatest love story ever for 20 years while we were still in love but apart” crap. Her narrative throws undeserved shit on Garner’s marriage to Affleck by insinuating he had been in love with Lopez the entire time. Not a girl’s girl.

    Yes, I think Garner wants Ben to be sober and stable for their kids. There are many ways for him to accomplish that besides staying in his current marriage. That love letter sharing thing is just beyond the pale and would have been a deal breaker for me.

    • FastForward says:

      This seems like a great assessment in all the points you’ve made. And why would Jen G think JLo’s approach is good for Ben’s sobriety when it’s clearly stressing him out?!

    • @debbye says:

      Yes his love letters were a violation of intimacy. I know exactly how that feels.

  13. TheOriginalMia says:

    Jen just lost her dad. I’m sure Ben’s martial woes are troubling because of the kids, but I highly doubt she’s counseling him on anything. She’s got too much on her plate right now. As long as the kids aren’t negatively harmed by the separation, I think she’s staying out of it. As she should.

  14. SIde Eye says:

    Jen Gardner looks so effortlessly beautiful in that header pic. She’s stunning. So is JLo, but right now JLO looks stressed, tired, heartbroken. This is the toll he takes on you. He’s a lot. He’s a love bomber jewelry purchaser (he has great taste in jewelry) which feeds into her massive ego, when he’s done, he’s done. He’s a bit like Pete Davidson in that way. Obsessed, and then…not.

    Jen is literally her character in Juno right now who tells her childish wanna be cheater husband “your shirt is stupid”. From my own experience I know it’s exhausting to be the only adult in the room. But like many moms she loves her kids more than she disapproves of her ex.

  15. Carolnr says:

    I don’t believe that JG would be even communicating with JL about she & Ben’s marriage UNLESS Ben had relapsed. And then only because of the kids ( hers & JL’s kids) being affected. After all, JL has probably no idea how bad Ben could get if he relapsed.

  16. Arhus says:

    Once she gets past this “tour” and documentary and whatever, she’ll [probably, hopefully, maybe] mellow out with all the publicity.

  17. Jayna says:

    Jennifer Garner is not in any way involved in their marriage and advising on working it out. She and J-Lo are not close. They are cordial. Jennifer isn’t interested in telling Ben what to do in his marriage.

    What she would be involved in is discussing with Ben how to navigate this for their children. She would have been one of the first people he told when he moved out because it directly affects their children, and there is no way to hide it. So how does Ben deal with it in telling the children and how does Jennifer Garner support him in as far as the messaging to their children to soften the disruption in their lives? That would be the discussion as the parents.

    What I do believe she has done is this: J-Lo made sure she was seen looking at homes. Ben was then papped leaving his rental home. Whether he alerted the paps or not I don’t know. J-Lo passive-aggressively liked a post that made Ben look bad. Ben passive-aggressively made sure to be papped without his wedding band on.

    What does that cause? An onslaught of media attention. Who does that hurt the most? Jennifer Lopez’s children and Ben and Jen G’s children as they were still in school and there were events about to happen. She probably told Ben that Ben and J-Lo needed to think of the kids at this moment and not fan the flames of rag mags and paps. That’s why I think we saw the coming together papped photographs for two days. It was to tamp down the media coverage for the children’s sake and not ruin the upcoming events in the children’s lives.