How Jennifer Garner Explained the Ben Affleck Nanny Scandal to Their Kids
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were a fan-favorite Hollywood couple for the decade they were together. The couple tied the knot in 2005 and separated in 2015 before finalizing their divorce in 2018. During their marriage, they weathered several storms, including rumors that Affleck cheated with their family nanny. Here’s what Garner said about explaining the nanny situation to their three kids.
Jennifer Garner said she had ‘conversations’ with her kids after rumors emerged that Ben Affleck cheated with the nanny
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck didn’t have a perfect marriage. The media caught on to Affleck’s alcohol problems, which Garner repeatedly helped him through during and after their separation in 2015. Then, rumors emerged that Affleck was having an affair with the family’s nanny, Christine Ouzounian. Ouzounian only worked for Affleck and Garner for a few months.
Garner spoke to Vanity Fair in 2016 about the nanny affair rumors. She explained that in the wake of the rumors, she had to talk to her kids “about the meaning of ‘scandal.'”
“Let me just tell you something,” Garner told the publication. “We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes. It’s not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives.”
After several months, Garner said she “had to have conversations about the meaning of ‘scandal'” with her kids.
In 2021, Garner didn’t address the nanny scandal directly while talking to The Hollywood Reporter. However, she spoke of the protocol she had with her kids when they’d see “shocking” headlines concerning their family.
“When they were smaller and there were things out there that were shocking, my request to them was always, ‘Let Dad and I talk you through whatever it is,’” Garner said. “I’d tell them, ‘If you see an image on the front of a magazine, I’ll look at it with you, and we’ll process all the scary feelings that come up together.’”
Ben Affleck’s representative called the nanny rumors ‘complete garbage’ and ‘lies’
Ben Affleck denied rumors of cheating with the family nanny, Christine Ouzounian. According to People, his representative denounced the rumors as “complete garbage and full of lies.”
So, what happened between Affleck and Ouzounian? According to a source, Affleck said he and Ouzounian had “a work relationship and a friendship. There has never been a romantic or sexual relationship.”
However, a friend of Ouzounian’s said this isn’t what the nanny alleged. “Christine is in love with him,” the friend said. “It’s been going on for a long time.”
Another insider said Ouzounian made the same affair claims to them. “For Christine, it was a relationship,” the source said. “A friend warned her she was going to end up heartbroken.”
The first friend alleged Jennifer Garner was “livid” when she found out. “And I don’t blame her, because if my children bonded with you and you did this? It’s just the biggest betrayal,” they said.
Jennifer Garner and her ex spend time together with their kids in 2024
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck stayed friends after they finalized their divorce in 2018. The exes live close to each other in 2024 to see their three kids simultaneously. They spent time together recently as they prepared to send Violet, 18, off to college. They also reportedly went on a trip to Japan together in August 2024, though Garner didn’t post any video or photo evidence online of Affleck attending the trip with her.
Garner also allegedly helped Affleck with his marital issues with Jennifer Lopez. Affleck and Lopez are allegedly headed for divorce in 2024. Affleck confided in Garner over his problems and sought out her advice.
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