Jennifer Garner Once Said She ‘Could Cry’ When Thinking About the Media During Ben Affleck Era

Jennifer Garner hated the way the paparazzi chased her around during her marriage to Ben Affleck. Here's what she said about it later.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are in the news more than ever in 2024 due to their alleged marital issues. The couple got engaged in 2002, but they broke off their engagement in 2004. Affleck then fell in love with Jennifer Garner shortly after and married his Daredevil co-star in 2005. Garner and Affleck divorced in 2018, and Affleck finally tied the knot with Lopez in 2022. Here’s what Garner said about the awful paparazzi situation during her marriage to Affleck and how she “could cry” when discussing it later.

Jennifer Garner said she ‘could cry’ when thinking about how the paparazzi swarmed her in the past

Ben Affleck is getting a lot of media attention in 2024 due to his alleged marital troubles with Jennifer Lopez. And Jennifer Garner is also making headlines by proxy. While Affleck and Garner divorced in 2018, they remain close, as they co-parent three kids and live nearby. Garner more than likely doesn’t like the newfound media attention on her, as she once said she “could cry” when thinking about the swarms of paparazzi.

CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton spoke to Garner in 2019 about her experience with the media when she and Affleck were married. “It’s startling to become recognizable,” Garner said. “It’s startling, shocking.”

Garner’s relationship with Affleck intensified the media coverage.

“There was a solid decade where there were five or six cars minimum, and easily 15 or 20 on the weekends, outside of my house at all times,” she continued. “Looking back on that, I really feel the stress of it. I could cry talking about it.”

Garner said she no longer looks at the tabloids, as it’s not healthy.

“What I think that I’ve learned is that scrutiny in your private life puts a pressure to make something happen,” she explained. “You feel a pressure to hurry up and get married because you think that’ll end the ‘are they engaged, are they not.’ And that’s true in the reverse as well. If there is any inkling of trouble, or if the tabloids decide there’s trouble, it can create trouble.”

She said she doesn’t like seeing the people in her life, including Ben Affleck, ‘made into a meme’

Jennifer Garner doesn’t like seeing herself in the tabloids, and she also doesn’t like seeing Ben Affleck. In 2024, Affleck and his wife, Jennifer Lopez, have dominated the media for alleged marital issues. Garner’s been helping Affleck get through his tough times with Lopez.

“I really work hard not to see either of us in the press,” Garner told Stellar Magazine, according to Elle. “It doesn’t make me feel good, even if it’s something nice about one of us. I just try to forget that I’m out there in any way, and the same with anyone I love. I don’t need to see anyone in my family made into a meme.”

Ben Affleck scolded the paparazzi outside of Jennifer Lopez’s home

Ben Affleck had an unfortunate run-in with paparazzi at the end of June 2024. He stopped by the mansion he once shared with Jennifer Lopez (Affleck allegedly lives in a $100,000 monthly rental near Jennifer Garner) when he spotted a group of photographers taking his photo as he drove down the dark driveway. The flashes from the paparazzi cameras nearly blinded Affleck as he drove, causing the actor to get out of his car and scold the photographers.

TMZ reported that Affleck told the photographers that their camera flashes were dangerous. He also explained that his daughter was going to drive down the hill, and they also put her in danger. The paparazzi responded well to Affleck’s scolding.

Lopez wasn’t home at the time. She was vacationing in Italy and prepared for Paris Fashion Week.

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