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Garner: Co-parenting means you're 'mom and dad'
24 Feb
Summary
- Garner discusses co-parenting challenges with Affleck.
- She says parents take on 'mom and dad' roles separately.
- Garner reflects on the gains and losses of co-parenting.
Jennifer Garner recently shared insights into her co-parenting relationship with Ben Affleck. She explained that when children live in two separate homes, parents often find themselves fulfilling both the 'mom' and 'dad' roles individually.
Garner, 53, appeared on Bustle's "One Nightstand" YouTube series, where she discussed the dynamics of raising her children, Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 13. She described their co-parenting approach as a blend of both maternal and paternal qualities, acknowledging that this separation means neither parent has the "benefit of both sides of the yin and yang being in the same house."
She elaborated that this method has led to personal growth, allowing her to "let go and not focus so much on bringing up." Garner previously spoke to Marie Claire UK about the difficulty of her 2015 separation from Affleck, calling the "actual breaking up of a family" the hardest part. They finalized their divorce in 2018.
In 2019, Garner wrote for WSJ Magazine about adapting to coparenting in the public eye, stating, "We have to adapt." Affleck, reflecting in 2020 with The New York Times, called the divorce "the biggest regret of my life," admitting to past mistakes and the shame associated with them.
