Jennifer Garner Opens Up About Ben Affleck Divorce: ‘Losing A True Partnership Is What Was Hard’

Jennifer Garner is getting candid about what really hurt during her divorce from Ben Affleck—and it wasn’t the headlines.

“The fact of it is what was hard. The actual breaking up of a family is what was hard. Losing a true partnership and friendship is what was hard,” the actress told Marie Claire U.K. in a recent interview.

Garner and Affleck announced their separation in June 2015, one day after their 10th wedding anniversary, and finalized their divorce in October 2018. The former couple share three children together—Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 13. And while the split played out publicly, Garner says the real pain came from somewhere much deeper.

“You have to be smart about what you can and can’t handle, and I could not handle what was out there,” Garner said. “But what was out there was not what was hard.”