Ben Affleck, a child of a broken home, knew how hard the divorce would on his kids but now he makes co-parenting with Jennifer Garner look easy.
Sometimes, not all marriages lead to a happily ever after. Some are cut short because of multiple reasons, including when people realize that they have grown in different directions. For Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, this may have been the case as they no longer made sense to each other as a couple. Though, with them parting ways their decision to be good parents to their three children hasn't changed. With parenting, they seem to be on the same page and they're making it look easy.
The couple divorced in 2018 after separating in 2015. The Elektra actress wanted to give the Good Will Hunting actor some time to pick up the pieces of his life as he battled alcohol addiction all those years before finalizing the divorce. Like many other parents, the couple realized that being good parents doesn't mean that they have to stay married even though it was making them unhappy. Their kids, Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel, would understand why they chose to be happy separately.
"Ben and Jen have found a way to put the kids needs in front of their own and things have really begun to work great for them, everyone in the family is really happy," an unnamed source told HollywoodLife. "Ben and Jen have done a ton of work to get to a healthy place. Ben has worked hard to become a better father and Jen has worked on things from her side too. It has been a long road, but they are all getting along really well, they have found a way to make it all work. They’re realizing that they don’t have to be married to be wonderful parents to their kids," they added.
The two actors are "two different people from when they first got married, but when it comes to being parents they have got that completely right. They’re at a place where everything stops for the benefit of the kids. No weirdness or drama is ever in the way when it comes to the kids' needs," the source added.
The 13 Going on 30 actress loves being a mom and that is usually obvious from her social media. She often cooks things from scratch for her children and she publicly gushes over them. "I can’t really complain about my kids," she said, according to PEOPLE. "They’re pretty awesome. They humor me. But I have chilled out and stopped trying to be my mom."
Together, they were able to get to a comfortable place only because they show each other respect. "I’m very grateful and respectful of her," the Justice League actor told PEOPLE. "Our marriage didn’t work, and that’s difficult. 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," he added.
Many experts say that it is important that parents don't hide arguments from their kids but it is crucial that the parents stay respectful towards each other instead of using degrading language. "It’s important for my kids to know that I respect and care about Jen, and she treats me the same way,” Affleck said in the interview. "I have a lot of respect and gratitude toward her. And I wish her the very best," he added.
The Gone Girl star knows that he will be bonded with the Alias actress for life and he considers himself lucky for that. "When you have children with somebody you’re connected to them forever and I’m very lucky she is the mother of my children," he said. They had been married for 10 years before deciding to part ways.
Affleck, a child of a broken home himself, knows how hard it is for the children and still chose divorce, his "biggest regret," knowing that it would the best thing for his kids. "My parents got divorced when I was young and I know how painful that is, and I knew that they [my kids] would have to go through that publicly. But kids are resilient. They appreciate the truth," he added.
The former couple is often seen spending time together with their kids in public. They went to daughter Seraphina's soccer game together in January 2020 and in late February 2020 they took their son to a birthday party together, as per Daily Mail and Metro UK.
References:
https://people.com/parents/jennifer-garner-kids-motherhood-more-laid-back/
