Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have become an unexpected model of post-divorce cooperation, navigating the complexities of co-parenting with a mix of loss and newfound partnership.
Despite being divorced longer than they were married, the actors have prioritized their three children—Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14—above all else. Garner recently reflected on the emotional journey, telling Marie Claire U.K., "The actual breaking up of a family is what was hard. Losing a true partnership and friendship is what was hard."
"Time is the opportunity to heal. Time is the opportunity to forgive, to move on and to find a new way to be friends."
Garner explained that co-parenting requires each of them to take on roles traditionally filled by both parents. "I become mom and dad; he becomes dad and mom," she told Bustle. "There's a little bit of loss in that, but there's also something gained in that."
Affleck has consistently praised Garner's parenting, calling himself "really lucky" to have her as a co-parent and describing her as a "superhero mom." He told People in 2020, "When you have children with somebody, you're connected to them forever... Both of us really believe that it's important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they're together or not."
Garner's perspective has evolved over time. In 2021, she told The Hollywood Reporter she no longer worries about dancing with Affleck at their children's weddings, saying, "We'll boogaloo and have a great time."
Both have moved on romantically—Garner has been dating John Miller since 2018, while Affleck's marriage to Jennifer Lopez ended in 2024—but their commitment to family remains unwavering. As Garner noted in her first post-split interview in 2016, "The main thing is these kids, and we're completely in line with what we hope for them."