When Jennifer Garner Finally Broke Her Silence About Ben Affleck's Affair With 28-Year-Old Nanny

Ben Affleck is one of Hollywood’s hottest actors in terms of talent and charisma. His ability to embody a character while maintaining his authenticity as an actor is noteworthy. However, apart from his roles in many Hollywood blockbusters, he is also in the limelight for his tumultuous love life. Before marrying Jennifer Lopez, Affleck was in a loving marriage with 13 Going On 30 actress Jennifer Garner. Sadly, they split after news of his scandal came to light. Almost a decade ago, his ex-wife Garner opened up about what she knew of his affair. 

In a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair, the actress got candid about her now ex-husband's alleged affair with their 28-year-old nanny, Christine Ouzounian, a year after her divorce. For some context, before Affleck and Garner separated, they seemed to be having a great marriage, from heartwarming PDA moments to welcoming three children: Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11. The couple seemed to have it all together until tabloids broke the news of Affleck’s affair.

As such, in her conversation with the publication, Garner clarified one vital piece of information about the entire ordeal: “We had been separated for months before I even heard about the nanny.” Garner continued to clarify, “She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not part of the equation.” 

Garner’s confession insinuated that Affleck and she had been having trouble in paradise for a while, eventually leading to their separation. Furthermore, it suggested that maybe the affair with the nanny was a consequence, and not necessarily, the cause of going their separate ways. Nevertheless, the divorce was likely not an easy decision or experience for her family.

Garner emphasized the aftermath of it on her children while shading Affleck, claiming he made 'bad judgment.' The Alias actor added, “It’s not great for your kids for a nanny to disappear from their lives.” Her perspective suggested that, perhaps, Ouzounian was pretty close to the children because of her role, and the affair would have impacted her kids in unlikely ways. Additionally, Garner pointed out, “I have had to have conversations with my children about the meaning of scandal.” 

Then, Garner did recall the day she first heard about the alleged affair. A reminiscing Garner said: “I turned on CNN one day, and there we were.” Since it was a very sensitive and emotionally straining time, Garner revealed she took a 'silent oath' to stay as far away from the news as possible. She chose to remain 'totally clueless about all of it.'

As per People, Affleck and Garner decided to end their 10-year marriage after they reportedly 'simply grew apart.' In 2015, they released a joint statement announcing their divorce from each other: “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.” Affleck and Garner sternly iterated that it would be the only time they’d 'comment on this private, family matter.' True to their word, the former couple have remained on good terms with each other with no signs of bad blood.

This article was originally published on 1.14.24.