Jennifer Garner talked about the challenges of raising her three kids in the spotlight with her ex — actor Ben Affleck — and said that despite “all the mess of parenting, it’s a gift.”
During the 51-year-old actress’ appearance on a Variety “Actors on Actors” interview with actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, Garner and Ralph discussed experiences they had in common which included being part of Hollywood while trying to raise kids and also co-parenting with their respective husbands after divorcing them.
“With all the celebrity and all of that, I feel like I have a very normal life, and I think you have that similar sort of vibe. And we love our kids,” Ralph said.
“Yeah, of course, and all the stuff that comes with it,” Garner replied.
Jennifer Garner and Sheryl Lee Ralph for Variety’s #ActorsOnActors, photographed by Greg Swales. https://t.co/95ojyOU1Pj pic.twitter.com/CZseHZhanm
— Variety (@Variety) June 10, 2023
The “Alias” star added, “all the mess of parenting, it’s a gift.”
“Both of us having gone through divorce,” Ralph said. “You did something that I did as well, and that was maintain as healthy a relationship with my ex for the health and well-being of my children. And with the spotlight on us all the time, sometimes that can be difficult.”
“But when I look at my kids, when I see you and your kids, I was like, ‘Girl, we did that,'” she added.
Garner replied, “We’re doing it!”
The “13 Going on 30” star previously talked about becoming a mother for the first time with her daughter Violet and the constant attention she got from the paparazzi, Allure magazine reported.
“There were two decades where it was really hard to hold a conversation,” Garner said. “Not in a woe-is-me, poor celebrity way. I was on baby watch every single day. The day after I had a baby, the paparazzi were watching again. They kind of rush you through your life because they’re just trying to get to the next stage of something they can sell.”
“I learned a while ago that I’m way too sensitive to what is written about me, my family,” she added. “The only things I have on my phone are the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal. I can’t even have CNN.”
Garner and Affleck wed in 2005 and share three kids together. Their divorce became official in 2018. Ralph married Eric Maurice in 1990 and they share 2 kids together. The pair divorced in 2001.