Jennifer Garner gives rare insight into ‘very public, very hard’ time

Jennifer Garner has offered an uncharacteristically candid glimpse into her personal struggles, five years on from her divorce from Ben Affleck.

Jennifer Garner arrives for the HBO series premiere of "Camping" on October 10, 2018 at the Paramount studios in Los Angeles. Picture: CHRIS DELMAS / AFP

Jennifer Garner has a friend in Reese Witherspoon.

The 13 Going on 30 star revealed how the trailblazing producer supported her through a tough moment in her life.

“I think back to going through a very public, very hard moment in my life. [Reese] was right there,” Garner said during a panel discussion at Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away event in Los Angeles on Saturday, per Page Six.

Although the actress, 51, didn’t share further details about the difficult experience, she said dance cardio also helped her get through it.

“I danced cardio-d so hard, we broke her foot, but she kept going,” Garner said.

“It was like, OK, we worked out at 7 on vacation, we’re going to work out again at 2. [Reese] was like, ‘I’m going to be there, I’m going to be there.’”

Despite her divorce from Ben Affleck in 2018, the Alias actress and her ex-husband have continued to amicably co-parent their three kids: daughters Violet, 17, and Seraphina, 13, and son Samuel, 11.

Jennifer Garner, Kellyn Smith Kenny, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling at the Hello Sunshine's Shine Away event. Picture: Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Elsewhere during the panel, Garner thanked the Legally Blonde star, 47, for supporting her as a mother.

“She’ll also look at you and say, ‘OK, you need to be finding a preschool. This kid is 2 and a half and they need to start next month. You actually have to get on this,’” she said of Witherspoon, who is a mum to Ava, 24, Deacon, 19, and Tennessee, 11.

Earlier in the week, Garner stepped out with her son Samuel, who is now almost as tall as the 5-foot-8 actress.

The pair were spotted on an early morning coffee run in Los Angeles on Wednesday. They were also photographed on an outing with his big sister Seraphina, during which the trio smiled and laughed together.

Since Affleck and Garner called it quits, the Gone Girl actor has found love with his new wife, Jennifer Lopez.

The former Hollywood golden couple called it quits in 2015. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Lopez and Affleck on their wedding day. Picture: Instagram/Jlo

Lopez, who shares 15-year-old twins Max and Emme with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, tied the knot with Affleck in July 2022.

Last year, Lopez revealed that she and Affleck, 51, have an “amazing” co-parenting relationship with Garner and they all “work well together.”

“What I hope to cultivate with our family is that his kids have a new ally in me and my kids have a new ally in him,” the singer, 54, told Vogue in November 2022.

“Someone who really loves and cares about them but can have a different perspective and help me see things that I can’t see with my kids because I’m so emotionally tied up,” she continued.

The singer and Affleck were first engaged in the early 2000s, but called it off before saying “I do.”

They eventually rekindled their romance, and he proposed for the second time in April 2022.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Jennifer Garner gives rare insight into ‘very public, very hard’ time