Jennifer Garner is getting candid about the challenges of raising children while living in the public eye.
The actress recently appeared on Evan Ross Katz’s Shut Up Evan podcast, where she reflected on navigating fame as a mother and revealed that the attention surrounding her family once became so overwhelming that she was asked not to attend one of her child’s soccer practices.
Jennifer Garner Says Fame Impacted Her Kids’ Childhood
Garner, 54, shares three children — Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14 — with her ex-husband, Ben Affleck.
Looking back on the height of paparazzi interest in her family, the Alias star explained just how chaotic everyday outings could become.
“If I went through a yellow light, 15 cars would go through the red behind me,” Garner recalled. “They would drive up onto people’s lawns, even on a hillside.”
According to Garner, the situation eventually spilled over into her children’s extracurricular activities.
“We were trying to have our little one play soccer, and the association asked us to stop because there were 20 cars coming,” she said. “So it wasn’t just about us. It was just an industry that had gotten out of control.”
“The Kids Are Paying the Price”
Garner also spoke about the emotional toll paparazzi attention took on her family, particularly when her children were young.
“If you show up and you’re trying to get into the pediatrician and you have a sick kid on your shoulder and you’re scared and you can’t get into the door because you’re blocked by photographers, there’s something wrong with that, and the kids are paying the price,” she shared.
The actress acknowledged the complicated feelings that came with speaking publicly about those experiences, noting that she understands the opportunities her career has afforded her family.
“It felt like ‘poor little me, my poor little kids who have everything in the world,’ but it was a danger to everyone around us,” Garner added.
Garner has previously been outspoken about the need for stronger protections for celebrity children, even advocating for anti-paparazzi legislation in California during the early 2010s.
An Unexpected Relationship With the Paparazzi
While discussing her relationship with photographers today, Garner admitted that things have evolved over the years.
She revealed that two paparazzi have been assigned to follow her for more than two decades, creating what she described as an “odd” connection.
“I have a very interesting relationship with my main guy,” she said. “I mean, I’ve done anything to ask him to leave. And at the same time, we have an odd respect for each other. I don’t know… we’ve had some really real life moments together.”
© WireImageGarner even recalled one frightening moment when she turned to a photographer for help.
“I was followed by someone who, for whatever reason, I thought was going to hurt me, and I ran to him because I knew him and trusted him, and I knew that he and I would be okay,” she explained.
She later joked, “Like, there’s kind of a Stockholm syndrome thing.”
Still, Garner made it clear that their relationship has had its limits.
“At the same time, I’ve called the cops on him a million times and been like, ‘Can you please just give me a walk around the block with my kids and my dog?'”
Garner Praises Ben Affleck’s Co-Parenting
Earlier this month, Garner also opened up about her relationship with Affleck, nearly a decade after their divorce.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, she praised the actor for being a supportive and dependable co-parent.
© Sylvain Gaboury“Their dad has become this incredible co-parent,” she said.
Garner added, “He takes care of them. He’s a great partner in that way. And that’s very freeing.”
Now that their children are older, Garner says she’s finally finding more flexibility in balancing motherhood and her career — something that wasn’t always possible during the height of the paparazzi frenzy surrounding her family.
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