Patrick Demarchelier exclusively for Vanity FairJennifer Garner is breaking her silence about her divorce from Ben Affleck.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Garner candidly discussed what she has been up to since the divorce and revealed why Affleck is still the “love of [her] life.”
Garner and Affleck, both 43, announced their split in June 2015 after 10 years of marriage, but she insists that their marriage was authentic while they were together.
“It was a real marriage,” Garner said. “It wasn’t for the cameras. And it was a huge priority for me to stay in it. And that did not work.”
Despite their divorce, Garner said that she still has love for Affleck and wouldn’t change how their relationship played out in any way.
“I didn’t marry the big fat movie star; I married him,” Garner said. “And I would go back and remake that decision. I ran down the beach to him, and I would again. You can’t have these three babies and so much of what we had. He’s the love of my life.”
She continued: “He’s the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous. He’s just a complicated guy. I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”
The actress also addressed rumors that they divorced because Affleck cheated on her with their children’s nanny.
“We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny,” Garner said. “She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation.”
So what’s next for the actress? Garner acknowledges that, although she doesn’t have a set plan, she will have more time to focus on herself now, which is a bit confusing.
“I definitely put a lot of time towards my marriage that I will now have for myself,” she says. “I don’t know how I will use that.”
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