Jennifer Garner has been spotted pledging support and a sympathetic ear to ex husband Ben Affleck as rumours he and current spouse Jennifer Lopez have split continue.

Affleck has been seen living in a rental property after rumours he left the $60m marital home he shares with Lopez ‘weeks ago’, and whilst he’s been largely out of the spotlight the one visitor he’s consistently had is his ex-wife. Garner has been spotted at the rental property in Brentwood, Los Angeles, as the pair remain close despite their marriage ending almost a decade ago.

The former couple, who share three children, began dating in 2005 after Affleck and Lopez’s first relationship and engagement had ended. Now their second one is rumoured to be ending too, it seems Garner and Affleck are closer than ever as she tries to support him through his rocky marriage and tries to prevent him from relapsing into his former alcohol addiction.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were married for a decade between 2005 and 2015, and remain close

In 2015, the couple announced the end of their marriage with a joint statement which read: “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.”

Despite their split, they remained close with Garner and their children flying to London to support Affleck during the filming of Justice League. Speaking to the Today show, Garner explained: “He and I are great friends, and we just all went en masse.”

Later that year she praised Affleck’s parenting skills as she revealed they’d celebrated son Samuel’s birthday party as a family. She told Extra at the time: “We all dressed up, I dressed up as a ninja, and Ben dressed up as Batman for Sam, which was the best dad moment in history.”

The couple co-parent three children, with Affleck previously praising Garner after his 2017 rehab stay for the support she gave him and their family

Affleck’s alcohol addiction was widely publicised and in 2017 he attended a rehab centre after Garner and her children persuaded him to seek help. In 2017 Affleck released a post-rehab statement as he revealed Garner had been a huge support. He said: “I’m lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do.” He added: “The support I have received from my family, colleagues, and fans means more to me than I can say.”

In 2020, Ben told the New York Times just two years before he wed Jennifer Lopez: “The biggest regret of my life is this divorce.” In December 2022 he went on to marry Lopez after the pair had rekindled their romance, and the couple have lived in harmony wih Garner who is thought to see Lopez as a ‘stabilising influence’ in her former husband’s life.

An insider told the Daily Mail that Garner is not only helping her former husband but also Lopez too: “JLo has been confiding in Jen because she knows that she is one of the only people in the world who would understand what she is going through. She has been through it with the same man herself and although the circumstances were quite different it is still the same man and they both dealt with some of the same issues.”

As Ben lives away from the marital home he shares with Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner has been to visit him multiple times

Garner is reported to be trying to ‘save’ Affleck and Lopez’s marriage, as she sees Lopez as a ‘stabilising influence’ on her former husband

They added that Garner is keen to keep Affleck and Lopez together if possible, and that she’s previously told Lopez how ‘valued’ she is. They continued: “[Lopez] is one of the only women who can get through to Ben and keep him from jumping off the deep end with his addiction.”

Lopez and Affleck have been the subject of rumours for weeks that their marriage is on the rocks, with the couple last pictured together in March and Ben now living separately.