According to sources close to actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, the couple might stay together after all, says People. A separation that’s closing on two years in the making could end with reconciliation.
I was surprised when I saw this, not only because I assumed the split had gone official back in 2015 when the couple made it public, but because once the path to divorce starts, it seems to rarely make a 360. But the news comes as a pleasant surprise, a breath of hope amidst the trail of Hollywood relationships gone sour, especially in light of the Brangelina split, and the recent announcement of Scarlett Johansson’s impending divorce.
Now, Garner and Affleck aren’t out of the woods yet, even if sources are to be believed. Garner reportedly had begun saying she wanted to file for a divorce and move on with her life. And People’s sources said that the couple wants to make amends, not that they’ve reached a full resolution.
But both of them allegedly would like to settle their differences and stay together. And both of them seem to be taking steps to actually make that happen, whether it’s gathering for one of their three kids’ birthdays or vacationing as a family, even living together. That time seems to have had a positive effect on their relationship, if after two year’s semi-official separation they’ve decided they don’t really want to call it quits.
Affleck said that he appreciates being able to take his children to school, as well as their knowing that he’s there. The kids, Violet, Seraphina and Samuel, are respectively 11, 8 and 5 years old.
Why am I so pleased to hear Garner and Affleck might stay together? Not simply because Alias was the ultimate unrealistic spy hairdo show, although Garner amply demonstrated the value of a good style change. It’s partly because there’s a certain irony that Hollywood, one of the major shapers of American romantic ideals, seems to be full of happily-ever-two-years instead of happily-ever-afters. Celebrity marriages don’t have a great track record, probably partly because of the pressures of travel and distance involved in an acting career, not to mention the strain of spouses acting out romantic plots with strangers—c’mon, I know that would bother a lot of people.
The actors of modern fairy tales (13 Going on 30, anyone?) don’t seem to get a lot of fairy tale endings. There’s a disconnect between the worlds they portray and the world where they live, which is the same world of human relationships as everybody else, although that might be easy to forget. Million dollar movie contracts don’t change that: relationships take work, marriage takes maintenance. But it’s also worth maintenance.
That’s why I think it’s so refreshing to hear that Garner and Affleck are trying to work it out. If they stick together, they’ll have a distinction amid the ended fairy tales in Hollywood. They’ll show the value of fighting for something good even when it’s hard. They’ll demonstrate how things can stay romantic long after the carriage turns to a pumpkin. They’ll be an example of that true love story everyone is always looking for.
