Jennifer Garner has been a steady presence in Ben Affleck‘s life since their 2018 divorce with an unwavering friendship and amicable co-parenting. Still, there might have been some serious lessons learned during their 13-year marriage — at least, that is what it sounds like in one of her latest interviews.
On the Nov. 12 episode of the Lipstick on the Rimpodcast with Molly Sims, Garner revealed the best advice she received from her mom, Patricia Garner. “Never expect a man — don’t marry a man thinking you can change him,” the 52-year-old actress said. She tripped over her words while sharing the mantra and followed it up with a joke that she needed “to work on that one.”
The 13 Going on 30 star could have been referring to her marriage to Affleck at that moment because she stuck by him during the darkest days of his sobriety journey. Garner gave a glimpse at the breakdown of their marriage in a well-documented 2016 Vanity Fair article after they had announced their separation amid his alleged affair with their nanny.
“He’s the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous. He’s just a complicated guy,” Garner explained ominously. “I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”
Even though the upbeat actress weathered through difficult times with her ex, she stood by him when he hit his lowest point. She was the person who took Affleck to rehab in August 2018. “It’s very stressful for her,” a source told People after the incident. “And also devastating for her to have to stage an intervention in the middle of the afternoon, pretty much in public. But this was a crisis situation.”
Still, it’s wonderful to see how far their relationship has come and Affleck has maintained his sobriety through his divorce from Jennifer Lopez. Garner has remained by his side through it all as they continue to raise their three children, Violet, 19, Fin, 15, and Samuel, 12, but she likely learned some hard lessons with him along the way.
Before you go, click here to see celebrity exes who will always be friends.
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