By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-05 18:41:39 | Updated at 2025-03-06 03:19:52
8 hours ago
Jennifer Garner has been spending a lot of time with her ex-husband Ben Affleck after he split from his second wife Jennifer Lopez last year.
This week the two were seen embracing when taking their children paintballing in the Los Angeles area in photos obtained by DailyMail.com.
Now DailyMail.com has learned that Garner - who has not been seen with 'beau' John Miller since February 20 - is 'deathly afraid of falling back in love' with Ben as she has 'trust issues' with him after he slept with their kids' nanny Christine Ouzounian - who is now 37-years-old - 10 years ago.
'She loves Ben but is worried that he will crush her all over again,' a source told DailyMail.com.
'She doesn't want to heal another broken heart because it is just too much drama, plus she does not want their kids to see round two of their mom in a bad place with their dad. So much could go wrong if they reunite.'
In March 2016 Garner gave telling quotes to Vanity Fair magazine about how her heart was 'tender' after her marriage to Ben crumbled.
Jennifer Garner has been spending a lot of time with her ex-husband Ben Affleck after he divorced his second wife Jennifer Lopez. Now DailyMail.com has learned that Garner is 'afraid' to fall back in love with Ben as she has 'trust issues'; Ben and Jen seen at paintball on March 2
After all, Ben slept with their kids' nanny Christine Ouzounian - who is now 37-years-old - 10 years ago. 'She loves Ben but is worried that he will crush her all over again,' a source told DailyMail.com
She also claimed in VF that his romance with the nanny did not end their marriage but it did hurt.
Jennifer and Ben, who have three children together - Violet, Seraphina and Samuel - announced their split in June 2015.
Garner told VF nine years ago that she was committed as much as she could be. 'It was a real marriage,' said Garner. 'It wasn't for the cameras. And it was a huge priority for me to stay in it. And that did not work.'
But the Daredevil actress asked people to not be too hard on Ben. 'No one needs to hate him for me. I don't hate him. Certainly we don't have to beat the guy up,' she said. 'Don't worry—my eyes were wide open during the marriage. I'm taking good care of myself.'
And her heartbreak is obvious.
'I didn't marry the big fat movie star; I married him,' she said. '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. What am I going to do about that? He's the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous. 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.'
But she was not about to turn on the man she hoped to spend the rest of her life with.
'Of course this is not what I imagined when I ran down the beach, but it is where I am,' Jennifer confessed. 'We still have to help each other get through this.'
'She doesn't want to heal another broken heart because it is just too much drama, plus she does not want their kids to see round two of their mom in a bad place with their dad. So much could go wrong if they reunite,' the source added; seen in 2014
In March 2016 Garner gave telling quotes to Vanity Fair magazine about how her heart was 'tender' after her marriage to Ben crumbled; seen in 2016
As far as moving on, she said she has to get on with it. 'It's not Ben's job to make me happy. The main thing is these kids—and we're completely in line with what we hope for them.
'Sure, I lost the dream of dancing with my husband at my daughter's wedding. But you should see their faces when he walks through the door. And if you see your kids love someone so purely and wholly, then you're going to be friends with that person.'
As far as the pressure from fans to get back together with Ben, she said she gets it: 'When Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt broke up, I was dying to see something that said they were getting back together.'
She ended the interview by admitting that her heart was 'a little on the tender side right now.'
In late February, Affleck and Lopez were officially declared single.
The On The Floor hitmaker, 55, and the Gone Girl actor, 52, settled their divorce on January 6, however, court documents obtained by PEOPLE magazine confirmed their marriage was legally dissolved on February 21.
The exes rekindled their romance in 2021 and got married in 2022, but called it quits in 2024.
In late February, Affleck and Lopez were officially declared single. The On The Floor hitmaker, 55, and the Gone Girl actor, 52, settled their divorce on January 6; seen in 2021
The exes actually were engaged then broke up before he wed Garner; seen here 2003
Court documents listed the date of their separation as April 26, 2024.
The couple reached a settlement regarding their $61 million mansion, but specific details on that are being kept confidential.
Legal documents also revealed that Jennifer intended to return to her maiden name of Jennifer Lynn Lopez.
It was previously reported by TMZ that each party would 'walk away with what they individually acquired during the marriage', meaning that the pair of them will get to keep whatever they earned during the production of their respective film projects whilst they were husband and wife.
It was recently claimed the pair want to continue being a part of each other's lives for the sake of their families.
A source told the New York Post Page Six column: 'They have every intention of continuing to be in each other's lives despite not being romantically involved.
'Ben and Jennifer are still connected and they do communicate when it involves their kids.'
Ben is dad to Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 12, from his marriage to Jennifer Garner, while the 'Waiting for Tonight' singer is mother to 16-year-old twins Emme and Max with ex Marc Anthony.
