Making it work! Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck manage to maintain an amicable coparenting relationship while raising their three kids, despite “underlying tension.”
“Jen has very high standards and expectations,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “She wants things done a certain way, and sometimes Ben isn’t able to live up to that.”
That being said, the actress, 47, never lets their kids Violet, 14, Seraphina, 10, and Samuel, 7, “see” any of the former couple’s problems.
“Jen puts up with a lot and does everything she can to keep it together,” the insider tells Us. “She wants Ben to be in the kids’ lives. That means dealing with things she isn’t happy about. Jen’s major sticking point is that Ben needs to be sober — and truthful about it. There’s no wiggle room on that as far as his relationship with his kids goes. He’s trying to stay on track and be the best he can for them. But Jen doesn’t always trust him — and relapse is always a concern.”
The source added, “Regardless of any disagreements, they try to put on a happy face for the kids and put their needs first. There’s definitely a lot of resentment, but they’re a family first and foremost.”
Garner and Affleck, also 47, who wed in 2005, finalized their divorce in October 2018 more than three years after calling it quits. The 13 Going on 30 star has since been seeing John Miller, while the Golden Globe winner confirmed in October that he is dating after splitting from Lindsay Shookus for the second time.
Following Affleck’s October relapse, Garner has been leaning on her boyfriend, 41, for support. “They are very happy, and going strong,” a source told Us exclusively in November. “John has been a rock for Jennifer.”
For more information on the pair’s coparenting dynamic, watch the video above and check out the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
With reporting by Brody Brown
