Jennifer Garner has remained a supportive friend and co-parent with ex-husband Ben Affleck, all while maintaining her own notoriously private relationship with businessman John C. Miller.
Garner and Affleck appeared in great spirits together last week to send their oldest child off to college in Connecticut, the day before his now-estranged wife, Jennifer Lopez, filed for divorce after two years of marriage.
While mostly elusive and rarely spotted together, Miller and Garner stepped out for a date night in Malibu upon her return home, but celebrity matchmaker Alessandra Conti warned that Miller may be uncomfortable with what’s to come for Garner now that Affleck may be in a new crisis mode.
Jennifer Garner’s relationship may be affected by Ben Affleck’s divorce, a celebrity matchmaker tells Fox News Digital. (Getty Images/BACKGRID)
“There have been reports that he’s been uncomfortable with the type of relationship that Ben and Jen have,” Conti exclusively told Fox News Digital. “And, a lot of times, in these reports when there are anonymous sources that are coming out, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. I think we’ve learned this time and time again: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
“We don’t know who these anonymous sources are. However, it is a red flag that there have been a lot of insiders coming out about his nonsupport of the very special relationship that Ben and Jen have.”
Jennifer Garner and John C. Miller stepped out for a rare date night in Malibu on Friday. (BACKGRID)
She added, “But I would hope that he would rise to the occasion, and he would realize that, if anything, Jennifer needs him more now than ever because she is stepping up in so many ways in Ben Affleck’s life.”
“However, it is a red flag that there have been a lot of insiders coming out about his nonsupport of the very special relationship that Ben and Jen have.”
Conti hoped Garner “wasn’t pouring from an empty cup” as she helped Ben. “She’s a very strong woman. She’s shown this time and time again,” she said. “She’s a mother. She has won so many awards for her acting. She’s kind … any media that Jen is ever doing, it’s like she’s helping the homeless, you know, and in an off-the-cuff way. So this is a woman with a very strong value system, a strong head on her shoulders. And, you know, she’s just an incredible partner. Ben is so lucky to have her.”
Garner and Affleck met on set while filming “Pearl Harbor” in 2000 but kept their relationship professional as she was married to actor Scott Foley at the time. They reconnected following his failed first engagement to Lopez in 2003, when Affleck and Garner (who was also now single) began working together on “Daredevil.”
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner spent time in Connecticut last week to send their oldest child, Violet, off to college. (BACKGRID)
Jennifer Garner still supported Ben Affleck even after they separated. She was the catalyst in getting him help for his alcohol addiction in 2018. (Jon Kopaloff)
In 2004, they went public with their relationship and were married the following year. In 2015, the former couple, who have three children together, announced their separation, and after almost three years, finalized their divorce in 2018.
Weeks later, the “13 Going on 30” star began dating Miller, who was previously married to violinist Caroline Campbell, with whom he shares two children.
Conti noted that Garner and Miller’s romance is “one of the most elusive relationships in Hollywood.”
“He hasn’t even posed with her publicly in any of the events that they’ve been to, which, honestly, as a matchmaker and as a matchmaker that works with celebrities, I would say that I’m not a fan of going about a relationship in that way when you’re with an A-lister,” Conti said. “While of course, privacy is wonderful, it’s a wonderful goal to have, it almost shames a female celebrity into almost being bashful or apologetic about her career and about the level of success that she’s attained.”
She added, “It kind of shows, even though he’s not outwardly displaying not being a supportive partner, I would say that when somebody is so secretive about a relationship, it’s giving nonsupport. It’s giving unsupportive.”
Conti likened Garner’s secretive relationship with Miller to Taylor Swift’s six-year romance with actor Joe Alwyn.
“It kind of shows, even though he’s not outwardly displaying not being a supportive partner, I would say that when somebody is so secretive about a relationship, it’s giving nonsupport. It’s giving unsupportive.”
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn began dating in 2016 and kept their relationship fiercely private. (Getty Images)
“Even though he never outwardly said anything negative about Taylor, it was such a stark difference between the way that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce … the way that their relationship has blossomed, and they have a very private relationship. Nobody knows what’s actually going on in their private conversations,” she said.
“However, they give the people what they want, and he’s celebrating her success versus somebody who is so media averse, like a John Miller, like a Ben Affleck, even though Ben Affleck is an A-lister himself. I am not a fan of approaching a celebrity relationship in this way.”
While Lopez appears to be leaving their blended family with her recent divorce filing, Garner and Affleck have formed an unshakable bond for the sake of their own children.
“I think that Jennifer [Garner] sees Ben Affleck as a family member. Jennifer, regardless of their divorce, Ben is family,” Conti noted of Garner’s view of her ex.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were married in 2022, 20 years after calling off their first wedding. Lopez filed for divorce on Aug. 20, 2024. (Johnny Nunez)
“Jennifer has, as shown time and time again, that she has a very strong value system, and that she puts family first. If you read ‘how to co-parent’ in a dictionary successfully, you’ll see Jennifer Garner right there and Ben Affleck as well, regardless of, you know, his different issues that have come up over the years. You can say they’re an incredible co-parenting pair.”
