Life has thrown at her its toughest challenges so far but she has always risen back up with renewed faith in love.
Love is blind, they say. And those who have experienced pain after looking at their relationship through rose-tinted glasses would agree with this. While some choose to stay in relationships that have no future, other choose their own happiness over compromising for something that has no future.
Jennifer Garner met her first husband and her first love Scott Foley on the sets of Felicity. After dating for a few years they went on to tie the knot in 2000. But the story that started with fiery passion ended before long, leaving Garner with a broken heart.
However, the actress did not let herself turn bitter. In fact, she graciously talked about her split and did not let it come across as ugly or bitter. “Oh, he’s a great guy. We were full-on grown-ups, but looking back I’m aware we did not know what hit us. … We didn’t have a shot. He’s a really good guy, and we just imploded,” said the actress about her first husband.
Garner did confess that she regrets getting married so early and unprepared. “Everyone reaches maturity at different times. I wish I’d known to wait for marriage until I was 30 or over. I did marry in my twenties and I found divorce a crushing experience. I thought the divorce statistics would never apply to me. I was beyond heartbroken when they did,” said the actress.
Even though her divorce took a toll on her emotional and mental health, she did not lose faith in marriage and love. She kept her heart open for new possibilities. “I got up and got on with it. I also kept my belief in marriage. I did not have a fairytale vision of the future but I still believed I would find someone to commit to and raise kids with,” she said.
Garner met Batman actor Ben Affleck on the sets of Daredevil and got lucky in love for the second time. They were married not long after, in 2004, a year after her divorce. They welcomed their first daughter Violet in December 2005, followed by daughter Seraphina and son Samuel in 2009 and 2012 respectively.
This time around too, fate did not favor her entirely. Her soul was crushed again with another separation amid rumors of Ben Affleck cheating. The couple announced their separation in 2015 but Garner did not shy away from confessing that she in fact loves Affleck and will keep loving him.
"He’s the love of my life. What am I going to do about that? He’s the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous," she said. "He’s just a complicated guy. 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."
They called it quits in 2018 after Garner filed for divorce amid her husband's alcohol abuse and rumors of an affair. Though relationships continuously failed, Garner remained open to finding love.
According to US Weekly, Garner found love again and this time it looks like 'forever.' Sources say her relationship with John Miller is a happy and healthy one. “Jen brings out the best in John, and he is the happiest he has probably ever been,” reports US Weekly.
Throughout her journey, she kept facing challenges one after the other. But at every step, she grew stronger and never allowed love to leave her life.
References:
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/jennifer-garner-dating-history/john-miller/
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/jennifer-garner-dating-history/john-miller/
https://pagesix.com/2012/02/07/jennifer-garner-wishes-she-hadnt-gotten-married-in-her-20s/
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/jennifer-garner-dating-history/scott-foley/
