Jennifer Garner Is The Blueprint For Successful Hollywood Co-Parenting

Actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck used to be a beloved Hollywood couple, but like many things in the entertainment industry, their relationship wasn't long-lasting. Famously dubbed Bennifer 2.0 (the OG Bennifer was Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, who had numerous red flags in their relationship), the couple began dating in the mid-2000s. Garner and Affleck tied the knot in 2005, and by 2012, they had welcomed three children. Three years later, they separated, and in 2017 they filed for divorce, asking for shared legal and physical custody of their children.

Since their split, Garner has been a blueprint on how to successfully co-parent. For instance, she never spoke ill of her ex-husband in public; in fact, she often praised his parenting. "I see the way my kids dote on their dad and I'm happy for them. To love and be loved by a great dad is a gift," Garner shared in a 2026 Father's Day Instagram post. Similarly, in 2025, Ben Affleck gushed to GQ about Garner's co-parenting skills, saying, "I'm really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids' mom, who's wonderful and great and we work together well." Over a decade after their separation, Garner and Affleck are definitely among the celebs who have co-parenting down to a science. 

Over the years that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have been divorced, the two have managed to maintain a good relationship, often spending holidays together with their children, and even going on joint vacations. In 2026, Jennifer Garner opened up about balancing her acting career and motherhood, revealing that she has been able to lean on Affleck when it comes to parenting. 

Garner spoke with ET about working on her series "The Five Star Weekend," sharing that if it weren't for her ex-husband, she wouldn't have been able to take on the project. "When it was offered to me, it was supposed to shoot, I think, in Nova Scotia. I said ... 'I have three teenagers, and I can't leave for four months. It's just not worth it to me,'" Garner shared, explaining that her children ended up staying with Affleck. "He's wonderful. He takes care of them. He's a great partner in that way. And so that's very freeing," she said. 

The "13 Going on 30" star added that she has no regrets about focusing on raising her children when they were younger: "I wouldn't trade a minute of it. But I feel like my kids are a little bigger [now]. Their dad has become this incredible co-parent." The couple's oldest child, Violet, turned 20 in late 2025, followed by Fin and Samuel, who turned 17 and 14, respectively, in early 2026.

If there is one thing that Jennifer Garner has always been known for, it's being humble and down-to-earth. In fact, Jennifer Garner's grounded parenting mindset in Hollywood is definitely not something we see regularly in the world of the rich and famous. Garner had previously opened up to Southern Living about how she's raising her children, saying, "It's really important for my kids to see that everyone doesn't have the lives they see in Los Angeles. That doesn't reflect the rest of the world. I want them to grow up with the Southern values I had ― to look at people when they say hello and to stop and smell the roses" (via E! News).

Speaking to Bustle in 2026, Garner opened up about parenting children who move between two homes. "I become mom and dad; he becomes dad and mom. You kind of can't help it, right? Because you don't have the benefit of both sides of the yin and yang being in the same house," Garner explained, adding, "So you have to have a bit of both in the way that you parent. There's a little bit of loss in that, but there's also something gained in that."

And while it's unfortunate that Garner and Affleck ended up parting ways, the duo's co-parenting skills serve as an inspiration for many co-parents out there. The two have shown that it is possible to have successful careers, deal with personal struggles, and even follow your own dreams, all while raising children alongside a co-parent you can lean on.