Do not believe what you read: Jennifer Garner is not getting back together with Ben Affleck.
But the actress is talking at length about her divorce from the Oscar winner.
In a Vanity Fair cover article, Garner opens up more than ever before regarding her split from her husband of 10 years.
She and Affleck stunned a nation last summer when they announced the dissolution of their marriage amidst rumors that Affleck cheated in Garner with the family nanny.
But Garner takes the highest road possible in this feature piece, making it clear that infidelity was not the reason for the relationship ending.
“Let me just tell you something,” she says matter-of-factly.
“We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation.”
The stars announced plans to divorce in June 2015.
Just a month later, the actor was linked to his children’s 28-year-old nanny, Christine Ouzounian, with photos surfacing of Affleck, Ouzounion and Tom Brady aboard a private jet.
But even if Garner doesn’t cite this alleged affair as a basis for her divorce, it’s clear she doesn’t think highly of Ouzounian.
“It’s not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives,” she says, referring to her hiring of Ouzounian as an example of “bad judgment.”
If you’re looking for Garner to trash the father of her three kids, however, well… keep looking.
“People have pain – they do regrettable things, they feel shame, and shame equals pain,” she says, adding:
“No one needs to hate him for me. I don’t hate him. Certainly we don’t have to beat the guy up. Don’t worry – my eyes were wide open during the marriage. I’m taking good care of myself.”
Garner and Affleck have clearly remained somewhat close since their split.
They’ve been photographed together so often than talk of reconciliation flitters around the Internet every few months.
Garner says she doesn’t read the Internet or follow any kind of celebrity gossip, so she knows nothing about that.
But she does feel strongly about Affleck’s crazy new back tattoo, which is a gigantic etching of a Phoenix.
“You know what we would say in my hometown about that? ‘Bless his heart.’ A phoenix rising from the ashes.
“Am I the ashes in this scenario? I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes.”
God bless Jennifer Garner. Everyone should be this strong and grounded in the face of public heartbreak.
