Jennifer Garner Felt ‘1 Step Away From Being Amish’ Growing Up in a Strict Household
Jennifer Garner is used to the big city lights of Los Angeles, where she lives with her three kids and sustained a marriage to Ben Affleck. However, she didn’t grow up this way. Jennifer grew up in West Virginia with her mother, a schoolteacher, and her father, a chemical engineer. Here’s what she once said about how her upbringing was “one step away from being Amish.”
Jennifer Garner once explained how she felt ‘1 step away from being Amish’ with the way she grew up
Jennifer Garner grew up in a strict West Virginian household with two sisters and her parents. Her mother, Patricia Garner, and her father, William Garner, were born during the Great Depression and married in 1965. They were married for 50 years before William died in April 2024 at 85.
Jennifer spoke to NJ.com in 2012 about how she felt like she grew up “one step away from being Amish.” Her parents forbid her and her two sisters (she’s the middle child) from wearing makeup or revealing clothing, including bikinis. However, Pat and William encouraged their kids to follow their hearts and do what they loved. Jennifer loved ballet but felt like she didn’t have the ballet body type to continue.
“It was a very peaceful upbringing,” Jennifer told the publication. “This morning, I went by my old ballet school and saw my teacher and visited with her, and then my old locker partner from junior high came in — it’s just a very community-oriented place … but then, people have always looked out for each other here.”
In 2020, Jennifer spoke about how her mother “grew up really poor” in Oklahoma.
“My mom grew up really poor in Locust Grover, Oklahoma, on a farm,” she said on Tell Me More With Kelly Corrigan. “I think my mom was so poor; it’s just unbelievable that she managed to leave. As a matter of fact, when I moved to New York after college, my mom said, ‘Jennifer, no matter what you do, it will never be as big of a deal as it was for me to leave that farm.'”
Jennifer Garner’s mother, Pat Garner, said she ‘tried to be the disciplinarian’ in the family
Jennifer Garner has a close relationship with her mom, Pat Garner, today.
“I have a pretty special mom,” Jennifer said while visiting Today with her mom in July 2024. “My mom is not judgmental of people or of things, or of things happening to you. She is just kind of gifted at giving to people, and seeing what people need, and just quietly taking care of them. … She also is a mom who just doesn’t believe in guilt, right?”
“I do not,” Pat responded. “Guilt is a useless emotion.”
While speaking on Today, Pat said she “tried to be the disciplinarian because the parents that I admired were disciplinarians, but I’m not really.”
Jennifer added that she and her sisters “respected” her parents. “And we were a little a little bit scared of Dad,” she admitted. “I can’t say we were scared of you, Mom.”
She and Ben Affleck considered moving out of Los Angeles to get away from the media
Jennifer Garner wasn’t used to the media circus she had to become accustomed to after marrying Ben Affleck. The couple lived and raised their kids in LA. However, the media put immense pressure and stress on their family, causing them to consider moving out of the big city. The couple considered living in upstate New York, outside Boston, or the San Francisco suburbs. But they knew that in LA, people were more used to seeing paparazzi.
Jennifer told The Hollywood Reporter that the situation “put so much anxiety” in her family.
In 2024, Jennifer and Affleck still live in LA and do their best to avoid the spotlight.
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