There’s nothing like the holiday season to bring people back together, and in the case of movie stars Ben Affleck (Air, Gone Girl) and Jennifer Garner (Alias, Deadpool & Wolverine), the end of this year seems to be bringing only good, potentially reconciliatory things.
Affleck and Garner have been getting closer and closer lately, and have joined forces for good causes. The actors were seen together over Thanksgiving (Nov. 28) wearing matching aprons and actively engaging in Midnight Mission, an initiative that serves free meals to homeless people in downtown L.A.’s Skid Row community. The former couple also took their three teenage kids — Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose, and Samuel — to the charity event. The aprons read “I heart the Midnight Mission.” The organization took to social media to celebrate the presence of the duo in an Instagram post:
Reports from sources close to the actors (as per Life&Style) revealed that, after the event, Affleck went to Garner’s place for a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner. This is just the latest of several outings between the two of them. Some months ago, they took their kids to Japan on a summer vacation, and Garner also celebrated Affleck’s 52nd birthday in August. Their reunion seems to have started after Garner provided some emotional support for Affleck after he moved out of the mansion of superstar Jennifer Lopez, following their separation in April.
Again to Life&Style, a source stated that even if they don’t become an item again, it looks like Ben and Jen found new and exciting territories for their relationship. The source said: “Ben and Jen are closer than ever. They’ve developed a mutual respect and a deeper level of friendship they didn’t have before. It has some friends asking if they could be on their way to getting back together.”
Part of that new and improved mutual respect stems from the fact that, after struggling with alcohol addiction — a topic that the actor and director has been open about — Affleck has “done a lot of work on himself,” showcasing a level of self-improvement that his ex-wife “had always hoped for him.” It seems that his improvement has “changed how she feels about him,” according to the source, and that this is why she has been dedicating so much time to reuniting with him, and giving him a chance at potentially spending even more time together.
In an interview to The New York Times in 2020, Affleck was again straightforward about his battle with alcoholism, stating quite bluntly that his addiction is what caused his divorce and that it was “the biggest regret”of his life. After their divorce, Garner told Vanity Fair in 2016 that he was “a complicated guy” who was also “the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous.” The star capped it off by saying Affleck is the love of her life.
Could this be the return of Ben and Jen? Even if they remain really good friends, it’s still a great thing that they managed to reconnect after so many years. While it might be too early to start drafting any power couple names, we do know that Bennifer is already taken, so perhaps Gaffleck? Barner? That doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but we’ve got plenty of time to pitch more ideas. My inbox is open.
Published: Dec 16, 2024 12:42 am