Why Jennifer Garner Had Doubts About Working With Ben Affleck When They Were Married

Jennifer Garner talked about not expecting to work with her then-husband, Ben Affleck, in a 2010 interview.

Jennifer Garner, 52, wasn’t exactly eager to work with her ex-husband, Ben Affleck, 51, when they were married. The Family Switch star explained her reasoning in a 2010 interview, saying that although she thought the Oscar winner was “brilliant,” she didn’t want to change their relationship by being on set together.

Garner and Affleck worked on 3 films together before they were married

Although married for 13 years—Garner and Affleck separated in 2015 before officially divorcing in 2018—the couple never made an onscreen appearance when they were together.

Before saying their “I do’s” in Turks and Caicos on June 29, 2005, they’d worked together a few times. Their first appearance together happened in 2001’s Pearl Harbor. Affleck played a combat pilot, and Garner, a nurse.

Then they both starred in 2003’s Daredevil, reuniting for a spin-off with 2005’s Elektra. (Affleck’s appearance in the film didn’t make the final cut.)

Their friendship turned romantic while working together on Elektra. Up until that point, Garner had been married to her Felicity co-star Scott Foley. They were married in 2000 before going on to divorce in 2004.

As for Affleck, his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, whom he’d eventually marry in 2022, ended in a called-off wedding after intense tabloid coverage and the anointing of “Bennifer.”

Jennifer Garner didn’t want to ‘rock the boat’ by working together

While they worked together before getting married in June 2005, Affleck and Garner never appeared in a movie or TV show during their 18-year marriage.

Garner explained her own hesitation to work with her then-husband in a 2010 W Magazine cover interview. Then 37, the 13 Going on 30 star didn’t “expect to work with her husband […] again anytime soon.”

She told the magazine that the reason was that the dynamic in their marriage had worked, and she didn’t want to potentially jeopardize it.

“I think he’s brilliant at what he does, but why rock the boat?” she said. “It works between us pretty well the way it is.”

Garner continued: “I don’t know if I want to go to work with him. I’d be like, ‘OK already, you got the shot. Let’s go home!’”

She didn’t mind Ben Affleck ‘working crazy hours’

In the same interview, Garner discussed the challenges of being in Boston, Mass., away from their family home in Los Angeles, California, while Affleck filmed two movies.

“I miss my girlfriends!” she said. “That’s the hardest thing about being on location when it’s not for your own project. When it’s for you, you’re on set with everybody you know. But if not, it’s lonely.”

“I can live with Ben working crazy hours. But I can’t live without girlfriends around to talk about men with!” she said with a laugh. “It’s fine if he’s not there; I just need someone to b***h about it to!”

Garner and Affleck have remained friendly in the years since their split as they co-parent their three children; Violet, 18, Fin, 15, and Samuel, 12.