Jennifer Garner has opened up about how her split from Ben Affleck changed more than just her personal life. The actress recently reflected on the difficult years that followed their separation.
During a recent interview, the actress spoke candidly about the aftermath of her split from her former husband, Ben Affleck, and the sacrifices she made to prioritize their children.
Jennifer Garner Put Her Career on Hold After Her Split From Ben Affleck
Garner explained to InStyle that motherhood had already slowed her acting career before her marriage ended. As an actress, she noted that pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery naturally require long breaks from work. However, the changes within her family after the separation made her step back even further.
“First of all, when you’re in a performance kind of role, you give up a year/year-and-a-half of performance while you are pregnant, having a baby, recovering,” Garner told the outlet. She continued, “When my kids were little, I worked so little, and then we had such an upheaval in our family, that I really hardly worked for a long time.”
Garner and Affleck announced their split in 2015 after a decade of marriage and finalized their divorce in 2018. Despite ending their marriage, they have continued to co-parent their three children: Violet, Fin, and Samuel.
The actress admitted that the family changes significantly influenced the choices she made regarding work. Instead of focusing on major Hollywood opportunities, she dedicated much of her attention to helping her children navigate the transition.
Why Garner Remains Selective About Acting Projects
Looking back on her recent return to acting, Garner said she appreciated having “this year and a half where I just indulged [in acting],” while also acknowledging that acting can be a “very selfish” profession.
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“It’s all about your schedule,” she continued. “It’s not about what the kids have going on at school. It’s not about pickups and drop-offs and making it home for dinner.” Even so, Garner believes her children benefit from seeing her pursue meaningful work. She explained that she does not feel the need to apologize for having a career.
“I do thank them for being so sweet about it,” she explained. “But that’s part of life. Working hard is part of life, and messing up is part of life. Tripping and falling—there’s room for all of it.”
While Garner and Affleck rarely discuss the end of their marriage publicly, she spoke earlier this year about the emotional challenges that followed their breakup. The actress admitted that dealing with public interest in their relationship was difficult, but the real pain came from the collapse of the family unit itself.
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