Jennifer Garner once experienced anxiety over her financial security following her divorce from Ben Affleck. During an episode of the “Aspire with Emma Grede” podcast, Garner revealed her concern about maintaining financial support for herself and her children after the end of her marriage. Garner, who has three children with Affleck, discussed her fears and how she managed to overcome them.
“I panicked when I was first out of my marriage and realized I had taken such a step back in my work,” Garner explained. She acknowledged that her career did not guarantee longevity or increasing financial success as she aged. “Suddenly I realized I don’t know how long I’ll be able to work. This isn’t a career that’s like, ‘Hey, you’re 60, you’re 55, you’re 43, come on, let’s pay you more than you’ve ever made.’ You know what I mean? That’s not been traditionally the role. I was suddenly like, ‘Wait a minute, I have to take care of myself, I have to take care of these kids. So what is it going to be?'”
Garner faced a significant lifestyle change, unable to leave for extended periods for movie shoots. “I can’t leave these kids for six months at a time,” she said, expressing her love for location work but recognizing the need to remain in Los Angeles for her children.
Garner and Affleck first met during the filming of 2001’s “Pearl Harbor” and developed a romantic relationship in 2004 after co-starring in the 2003 film “Daredevil.” They married in 2005 and separated in 2015. Reflecting on her earlier life, Garner stated, “I was so lucky to be able to luxuriate and working some and being home and being a mom a lot of time. I was really grateful for that opportunity. I got to kind of have the best of both worlds, so I can’t really look back and complain about any of it. It is what it is.”
Two years post-divorce, Garner co-founded Once Upon A Farm, an organic children’s food company. This marked an important step in her financial independence.
Garner opened up about the challenges her family faced during her separation from Affleck. “When my kids were little, I worked so little, and then we had such an upheaval in our family, that I really hardly worked for a long time,” she shared. Balancing her career with personal life taught Garner to embrace imperfection.
“You have to raise yourself at the same time. And just be so radically kind to yourself about how imperfect it is,” she noted. “There’s no such thing as balance. There’s no such thing as doing it right. And when the big moments happen, you are okay, and that’s on you to know and understand so your child feels your okayness.”
Garner discussed the dynamics of parenting in separate households with Affleck. “When your kids grow up in two separate households, I become mom and dad, and he becomes dad and mom,” she said. “You kind of can’t help it, right? Because you don’t have the benefit of both sides, the yin and yang being in the same house, so you have to have a bit of both in the way you parent.” Although this arrangement involves some loss, Garner also found positive aspects in the way it shaped her parenting approach.