Here's Looking at Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's Relationship When They Were 'Truly in Love'
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were 'relationship goals' back in the early 2000s. The two Hollywood superstars met at the peak of their respective careers in 2000, fell in love a few years later, and tied the knot in 2005. The couple had their fair share of ups and downs as they welcomed three children together - daughters Violet Anne and Seraphina Rose Elizabeth and son Samuel Garner. They split in 2015 and got divorced in 2018, let us take a look at their highly publicized relationship from being lovers to co-parents.
Affleck and Garner first met on the sets of the $450 million blockbuster Pearl Harbor in 2000, during that time the Elektra actress was married to her Felicity costar Scott Foley. The pair reunited for the $179 million action flick Daredevil in 2003, by that time Affleck was engaged to pop queen, Jennifer Lopez. They became close friends on the sets. "He's your basic tall, dark, and handsome. He's it," Garner exclusively told People of her costar in 2003. "I can't imagine anyone in the world I would rather see swoop in and save the day than Ben." By 2004 Garner filed for divorce from her marriage to Foley and Affleck broke his engagement with Lopez. They then made their first public appearance at Game 1 of the 2004 World Series while supporting the Boston Red Sox.
The Alias actress had revealed in a 2010 interview with Parade Magazine that the couple had fallen in love over emails. "Well, it helped that we were both single at the time," she said. "He's a very good writer ... He's a very persuasive writer." They further cemented their relationship by getting engaged privately on Garner's 33rd birthday, they held an intimate wedding at Turks and Caicos in June 2009. The A-lister couple welcomed their first child, daughter Violet Anne Affleck, in 2005 in Los Angeles. In 2008 the 13 Going on 30 revealed she is pregnant with her second child, on January 6, 2009, they welcomed their daughter Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck in Los Angeles.
In an interview with Parade Magazine in 2010, Garner revealed the secret to their successful marriage of five years. "You steal the time. You steal a date, you steal a kiss, you steal a whisper," she said. "After the kids are asleep you well, you know. Whatever it is. You slip away for a night." Affleck on his part had shared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show the same year that he was madly in love and felt blessed to have a family. "I am madly in love," he said. "I have the best family … I could not be luckier. I really have come right to the place where I was supposed to be. You've got to knock wood. I've gone around and I've taken some rights and lefts and found myself at a place that is really wonderful, and that I'm really grateful for."
In 2012 the couple welcomed their third child, a son named Samuel Garner Affleck. Things fell apart by 2015, the Hollywood sweethearts shockingly announced their separation right after celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. Their official statement read, "After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce. We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding." They further sought couples' therapy and attended weekly counseling sessions at a center in Los Angeles.
In February 2016 interview with Vanity Fair, Garner called Affleck the "love of her life". She said in the cover story, "I didn't marry the big fat movie star; I married him." She added, "And I would go back and remake that decision. I ran down the beach to him, and I would again. You can't have these three babies and so much of what we had. He's the love of my life." The couple finalized their divorce in October 2018 amidst Affleck struggling with his rehab stints. In 2019 they sold their Pacific Palisades home for an estimated $3.195 million and moved on. The Gigli actor called his divorce from Garner "the biggest regret of his life". He said, "I didn't want to get divorced, I didn't want to be a divorced person, I really didn't want to be a split family with my children," he said on GMA. "It upset me because it meant I wasn't who I thought I was and that was so painful and so disappointing. In myself."
