On the weekend of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s Las Vegas elopement, Jennifer Garner made a boss move and went parasailing. Seraphina Affleck, 13, was at the first wedding with J.Lo’s child Emme, also 13, while Violet, 16, stayed home. Page Six reported that Violet didn’t go to that first wedding “because she’s extremely loyal to her mom.” Violet went to New York with Lopez and Affleck last weekend and she was in Paris with her sister and J.Lo’s kids, so it looks like everyone gets along fine.
In the lead-up to Lopez and Affleck’s second big wedding blowout at Ben’s property in Georgia, sources told Hollywood Life that Garner was invited but that she’s otherwise disposed and can’t make it. She does like that her kids get along with Lopez’s kids and says she’s grateful that Lopez has been a good stepmom. It’s all very gracious, as is typical from sourced statement from her camp.
A source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife that the Alias alum was invited to the ceremony– but a previous engagement will be keeping her from witnessing the superstar couple’s nuptials.
“Jennifer Garner is hard at work on a project in Texas and won’t be attending the wedding celebration, but she’s been totally supportive of her kids being there and is really positive in general about the whole thing,” the insider detailed, refencing Jen and Ben’s kids Violet, 16, and Seraphina, 13, and Sam, 11. “There is nothing more important to her than her kids’ happiness so the fact that they feel welcomed and at ease and have bonded with J.Lo and her kids is just the best thing she could ask for.”
First of all, how much of a pain must it be to see your ex husband and his new wife in paparazzi photos and videos constantly? I know this happens with regular people and their exes posting to social media, but it’s a different level when it’s on the news and you can’t avoid it. Even if you’re completely over the person, it’s got to be annoying.
Second, this is a good way to handle everything. Just say you have to work but can’t make it. It would be so awkward if Garner showed up! She would be the story and she doesn’t want to deal with all that, but of course she was invited out of goodwill. Say what you will about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, but they work to keep it classy in the press and for their kids. They always tell us about it too.
Around the time that Lopez and Affleck got married, Garner was seen at a Sam’s club in South Charleston, WV with her dad and boyfriend, John Miller. She also posed with fans. So she may have been working but she had time to visit her family in WV.
Jennifer Garner did NOT attend her ex-husband's wedding … she had other plans — shopping at Sam's Club! https://t.co/VxBaaHztNQ
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 21, 2022
photos credit: Cover Images, Getty and via Twitter
My son worked with Jennifer Garner in Save The Children, and had NOTHING but good things to say about her. He said she was extremely hard working, humble, kind, and genuinely caring. She does stuff you never hear about. (ps: He said Jill Biden was awesome as well!).
Thanks for sharing. Jen Garner actually does seem like a genuinely nice person.
I’ve heard similar things (that’s she’s kind and sincerely works hard for charity).
I think everyone get along, Jennifer Garner knows the pr game, and she is no saint.
This. And yes, though she plays the PR game well, I still think it’s too much to expect to attend the wedding of your ex-husband to the woman he was engaged to marry before you. I think she sees this for the circus it is, and said “no thanks”
Being famous is such a chore. I know that there are MUCH heavier things to bear but the constant in ones face seems tedious for some stars. I’ve never been to a Sam’s Club – just Cosco and BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Agreed. Celebrity (especially in this day and age) sounds like it generally sucks.
I bet Jennifer Garner is glad she can officially/publicly hand over custody of Ben to his new wife. Since they broke up, anything messy that Ben does, people have acted like it was up to her to do something about it (like he’s not a grown ass man responsible for himself and his choices). I would imagine it’s something of a relief for that to be off of her plate.
Yeah, I love my anonymity. I grew up in a small town where you would run into someone you know every time you left the house. I live in the city now and I love being able to go to the grocery without being bothered!
I moved from a big city to the small town where my mom lives. I miss my anonymity!
They made no missteps. He invited her out of goodwill and she declined graciously.
I will say this, I wondered if it gave Jennifer G pause when Ben got back with JLO and then married her given the history. I wonder what’s was in Ben head this whole time, was this a genuine reconnection after almost 20 years or was JLO the one that got away?
I think the latter. Though he loved Jen G…JLo is the one who got away.
I don’t know cause after the divorce, Ben went on to have two serious relationships,Lindsay and Ana. Jlo was single at the time,I remember cause she was in a situationship with Drake so why didn’t he try at the time?
Also Ben didn’t really fight for their love when they were heavily criticized or she was seen not good enough for him unlike a Prince Harry.He acted like a coward at the end of their relationship.
I like them together but I don’t like to think that Jennifer Garner was a placeholder
Yeah, the Ana stuff would be easy to eye roll but I would have a lot of weird feelings about this one if it was my ex.
But they seem to have a healthy separation. I think the exes that are still cohabiting/vacationing etc (à la Kardashians) are way messier than this whole situation.
After everything Ben put her through, I’m sure JenG is happy to hand him off to another woman. ANY other woman.
yeah, although I’m sure she’s over it, in her place I’d be asking myself, “was it all bs? Was he settling with me? Was he holding a torch for her all along?” Would feel weird for sure.
Ben and Jen G got pregnant really really quickly after they started dating. Then Ben did the “right” thing by marrying Jen G when she was a few months pregnant.
If she had never gotten pregnant I don’t think they would have married and I think Jen G recognizes that as well. She was the pursuer of Ben in the first place if I remember my gossip correctly. She always always always looked more into him than he was into her and she knew that too. They went on and had a pretty successful Hollywood marriage despite the start so it worked out in the end. She got 3 kids and a nice divorce settlement I am sure.
Ben was a big, bloated.problem Garner was always having to deal with. JLo has him in check for now. That is a big win for her. Considering her kids are young and that she is a hands on mom, she will be in Ben’s life for a lot more years. She will be there after JLo is gone, if that is how this new marriage turns out. The best thing for Garner would be for Ben & JLo to last forever. It would mean stability for everyone. If they implode, then Garner will be dealing with Ben’s sh*t again for the sake of her children.
FHMOM – I fully second your comment! For Jen G. It’s probably a huge relief that he’s somebody else’s problem for awhile and hopefully forever. Jen G has put up with SO much from him, trying to keep him stable for the sake of their kids.
As for JLo and Ben, they are both loving the heck out of alllllll the publicity, and good for them. They are fully into the game, and well matched that way. Fingers crossed that this marriage sticks 🤞🏽
I thought it was super weird that she officially said she was in Texas but then there were pictures of her in a SAMS CLUB in West Virginia. I mean, was that supposed to get out? and they were browsing sams club with no cart? it’s a bulk store.
Yeah PR miscalculated there, but look, the simple fact is she was invited as a courtesy, did not want to go and they did not expect her to. I was stunned at how many stories stressed that OMG neither she or Mark Antony attended (gasp!). I mean…no s**t! When did it become a rule that you had to attend the wedding of your ex, particularly in Garner’s case where she was very clear in early interviews that she was heartbroken how it ended? I get she’s generally pretty PR calculating, but in this case people need to leave her alone.
She’s from West Virginia so she was probably visiting her parents/her sisters who she is very close with. Maybe she had a break in filming and decided to spend her free downtime with her own family instead of seeing her ex-husband and new wife get married. I don’t think it’s weird to want to be with her own family knowing her ex is having a lavish blow out over the top wedding. (She and Ben never did that, they eloped to a beach on Turks and Caicos with only Victor Garber as officiant and she was pregnant with Violet at the time). So she said she had a work commitment instead which is probably true. She doesn’t owe us the specifics of her location on a daily basis.
I don’t see the big deal about Garner not attending. No matter how friendly exes are, most still don’t attend each other’s wedding. Not because of feelings but just it would seem awkward. Not to mention it brings more attention since celebrities are involved.
Why in the world would Ben invite his ex wife to his wedding? They don’t have small children that need their mommy to be there. I don’t care how friendly you are in divorce. Jeez. I don’t see Marc Anthony at this wedding. Was he invited too? What about Arod and his kids. I mean…Jen was a few months shy of being their stepmom.
Jen didn’t need to provide a reason for declining. She’s nice. I would have rsvp’d nope and told the tabs “no comment”.
You’re kinder than me, my press comment would have been “Ha,ha,ha ha nope. He’s her problem now”
I remember the look on Jen G face when she drove him to rehab, when she handed him his fast food in the car, the look of utter resignation on her face that she had to do this for her children. Jlo can do that now.
My thoughts as well. He’s her problem now. Sense of relief!!
I will never forget that look. Jen G gets some hate on this board, but I think she’s a fundamentally nice, good person and a damn good mom. She drove him to rehab for her kids, and I admire the hell out of that.
I hope she had a relaxing weekend in WV surrounded by people she loves. She is (again) doing right by her kids and their father by acting with grace and class in public, she is not obligated to attend her ex’s wedding.
Now he’s J. Lo’s problem. She can drive him to rehab (and get him fast food on the way) the next time he slips up. Hopefully he will stay sober and those two will be good for each other.
The articles wondering why Jennifer Garner wasn’t at the wedding were basically click bait. The writer and blog/tabloid knows fully well that most former spouses don’t attend their ex’s wedding. The exception (and the better story) is when they do. Just like the whole Page 6 tidbit that got picked up by blogs that said JG & BA’s oldest daughter didn’t go to the Vegas wedding out of loyalty to her mom. Mind you her mom has long moved on and has been in an on and off relationship with her boyfriend since 2018. And then the silly article the other week implying that Ben & JG met up at the pool with their youngest son for a meet up. When it looked strictly like a drop off/pick up situation. All of these silly articles unfortunately smack of misogyny because they clearly have the underpinning of pitting JLo and JG against each other amongst the fans of both women. All for some damn clicks (which I knew = $$, but still).
Ben had no problem running to the media to say Jen G was the reason why he was drinking and the cause of his unhappiness while they were married and JLO was his savior. Why on earth would she want to go to the wedding and put herself in such an uncomfortable situation?
I agree Ben is JLO’s problem now she would do well to remember that 20 years ago Ben was blaming her for his drinking and unhappiness and praising Jen G as his savior.
I’d argue that his Garner comments were taken out of context and he’s never referred to Lopez as his saviour so I don’t know where you got that notion (that’s totally contrary to any advice about how to discuss addiction issues)
He said JLO was his reason for being sober.
How, in such a short time, has JLo been a good stepmom? No shade just asking since it’s been all of a minute.
I know right. So is Ben a good step-dad? They always focus on the women !
Jen posted on Instagram over the weekend that she just finished filming in Austin. I think she left there and went to see her family in West Virginia.
JG has clearly moved on. She was not only with her dad but also her boyfriend, John Miller at Sam’s Club in Charleston. Clearly, John has met her family & this is a private, but serious relationship.
I think that Ben & JL invited her because of the children & she graciously declined.
Jennifer Garner is a great person:the work she does with Save the Children is awesome and she seems to be a great mom. I always believed that she was the one initiating the divorce and she was done with Ben. When they separated and before the divorce was final, and they were going to church or dropping off the kids at school, she seemed annoyed and done with him like barely supporting his presence for the sake of the kids.She never seemed to care about who Ben was dating except Lindsay. I think at the beginning she loved him like crazy but once they decided to divorce, she was really done with him and he always seems so small in her presence,like a kid or she was doing him a favor to be in her presence. She did the best for their coparenting situation and handled it really well despite all the criticism.
I think she really didn’t care about the wedding but she cared about her kids.
I remember when the Cambridge’s came at LA for an event,Jlo tried to say hello to Jennifer Garner and she completely ignored her(it was at the time when Jlo was separated from Marc and there were all kind of disgusting rumors about Jlo and Ben getting back together) .Now that Jlo is the stepmother of her children, I think she wants the best for her kids