Jennifer Garner paid tribute to ex Ben Affleck in a sweet Father’s Day post.
The 13 Going on 30 actress, 54, took to Instagram on Sunday, June 21, to share photos of her late dad, William John “Bill” Garner, as well as Affleck, 53, in honor of the holiday. In one throwback snap, a younger Affleck stood in front of a fence in a dirt field while wearing a casual striped T-shirt and khaki shorts. His and Garner’s then-infant Seraphina, now 17, was strapped to his chest in a carrier, while their eldest child, Violet, now 20, stood at Affleck’s side and held his hand.
In another throwback photo, the Good Will Hunting star wore a Batman costume as he hoisted their son, Samuel, now 14, onto his shoulder.
“My sisters and I loved to spoil our dad; he never wanted for fresh baked cookies or a bowl of ice cream,” Garner began in her caption. “I see the way my kids dote on their dad, and I’m happy for them. To love and be loved by a great dad is a gift.”
The mom of three concluded, “Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads and to the kids of dads, too. ♥️.”
Garner and Affleck met on the set of Pearl Harbor in 2000. Garner was married to Scott Foley at the time, while Affleck was dating Gwyneth Paltrow. The pair later reconnected in 2002 on the set of Daredevil and went public as a couple in 2004 following Garner’s divorce. They later tied the knot in 2005 while Garner was pregnant with Violet. Their kids arrived in December 2005, January 2009 and February 2012.
Garner and Affleck announced their separation in 2015 after 10 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized three years later. Despite the split, the exes have remained coparents and close friends.
Garner opened up about her coparenting dynamic with Affleck in a February interview with Bustle.
“I think that I do a bit of both,” the Alias alum said of raising her kids with appreciation and conscientious upbringing. “And I think my kids’ dad does too. Especially when your kids grow up in two separate households, I become mom and dad and he becomes dad and mom. You kind of can’t help it, right? Because you don’t have the benefit of both sides of the yin and yang being in the same house.”
Garner also recently got candid about her split from Affleck.
“You have to be smart about what you can and can’t handle, and I could not handle what was out there,” she told Marie Claire UK in January. “The fact of it is what was hard. The actual breaking up of a family is what was hard. Losing a true partnership and friendship is what was hard.”
Following her split from Affleck, Garner moved on with her businessman boyfriend, John Miller, in 2018. Meanwhile, Affleck reunited with his ex-fiancée, Jennifer Lopez, in 2021. The pair tied the knot in July 2022, although they later called it quits again in April 2024. Affleck and Lopez’s divorce was finalized in January 2025.
