Jennifer Garner reflects on her Ben Affleck divorce: “losing a true partnership”

Jennifer Garner has made plenty of headlines over the decades with Ben Affleck, but she’s stayed relatively quiet about their divorce. They split in 2015 after 10 years of marriage, officially divorcing in 2018. From the reasons for the split, coparenting, and Jennifer Lopez, the media has been largely painting her story. 

In a recent interview, Garner shared her own insight into her split with the Air director, with whom she shares Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose, and Fin with Affleck.  As one of Hollywood’s A-list couples, it became an opportunity to sell headlines with chaotic rumors. Reflecting on that time, the Alias alum explained, “You have to be smart about what you can and can’t handle, and I could not handle what was out there.”

But despite the cloud of public obsessions, she said that wasn’t the hard part. “The fact of it is what was hard. The actual breaking up of a family is what was hard,” Garner said. “Losing a true partnership and friendship is what was hard,” the 53-year-old continued.  

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The actress said she made an effort to lean on those close to her during the difficult period. “That’s where your resilience is: it’s in your relationships and in the people who carry you through.”

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Where they stand now

Garner opened up about their co-parenting and how happy she is with their current partnership. While talking about the things in her life that surprise her, she said, “That I’m able to co-parent at this point in time with peace and equanimity and a partnership that I didn’t know I would ever get back to.”

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She also shared insight into the idea of time and the big word, “never.” “I think it’s important for women to know, when they think, ‘Oh, I’ll never see that, I’ll never have that feeling, I’ll never be friends with this person again,’ [that] time is the opportunity,” she told the outlet. 

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Since their split, the former couple has been one of the strongest examples of coparenting. They attend their children’s shows, games, and spend holidays together. “Time is the opportunity to heal. Time is the opportunity to forgive, to move on, and to find a new way to be friends,” the 13 Going on 30 star said.

What Affleck has said

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Affleck has also had nothing but good things to say about his former wife. A year after his split, he told CBS’s This Morning, “She’s just a fabulous person. She’s a great mother. She’s a real talent … She’s somebody that I admire and respect and remain excellent friends with.”

And in 2025, he told GQ, “I’m really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids’ mom, who’s wonderful and great and we work together well.”