Jennifer Garner opens up about hardest part of Ben Affleck divorce

It’s a new year and new insights for Jennifer Garner, who’s shedding rare light on her “hard” divorce from Ben Affleck.

The “13 Going on 30” star, 53, told Marie Claire UK the couple’s 2015 split prompted her to “be smart about what you can and can’t handle, and I could not handle what was out there. But what was out there [gestures] was not what was hard. The fact of it is what was hard.”

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Garner — who along with Affleck has three children aged 13 to 20 — found “the actual breaking up of a family is what was hard. Losing a true partnership and friendship. is what was hard.”

The “Alias” alum and Affleck, also 53, tied the knot in June 2005 and finalized their divorce in 2018. Several years later, he reconciled with ex-fiancée Jennifer Lopez. Affleck and the Bronx-born pop star, 56, said “I do” in two ceremonies during summer 2022, only for Lopez to file for divorce on their second anniversary.

The divorce was settled on Jan. 6, 2025, two days before TMZ reported that Affleck had fled to Garner’s home amid the devastating L.A. wildfires.

By March, insiders told Us Weekly that the exes’ “bond” was “the strongest that it’s ever been,” while discounting speculation they were heading for a romantic reconciliation.

“Their relationship has evolved into a strong friendship,” one source said at the time, dubbing Garner “a grounding and trusting force in Ben’s life.”

Tech CEO John Miller has long been reported as Garner’s boyfriend, though she remained relatively mum when speaking to Marie Claire, coyly sharing: “I have so much love in my life.”