Jennifer Garner on relationships: They can be a self-fulfilling prophecy

21 October 2020

Jennifer Garner thinks relationships in the spotlight can be a "self-fulfilling prophecy".

Jennifer Garner

The '13 Going On 30' star - who split from Ben Affleck in 2015 - admits fame puts a huge stress on relationships, and encourages couples to marry sooner than they're maybe ready to.

Speaking on the Tell Me More With Kelly Corrigan show, she said: "I think there's something about seeing yourselves reflected in news of some kind - and whether it's true or not. If it's true and you are starting to be serious with someone and they start saying, 'Well, when are they gonna be engaged?,' It's almost like you just want to get there so that you can complete that and just maybe it will die down for a second. And then it's immediately, 'Trouble in paradise.' And it becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Meanwhile, Ben previously acknowledged his struggle with alcoholism caused his marriage to break down, and has spoken highly of the ‘Peppermint’ actress, as he said he feels “lucky” to have her as his co-parenting partner.

He said: "When you have children with somebody you're connected to them forever. And I'm very lucky she is the mother of my children. I'm very grateful and respectful of her. Our marriage didn't work, and that's difficult. Both of us really believe that it's important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they're together or not.”

The ‘Justice League’ star knows the impact divorce can have on children as his own parents split when he was young, and has praised Jennifer for helping to ease the "pain" endured by their brood in the wake of their breakup.

He added: "My parents got divorced when I was young and I know how painful that is, and I knew that they [my kids] would have to go through that publicly. But kids are resilient. They appreciate the truth.

"It's important for my kids to know that I respect and care about Jen and she treats me the same way. I have a lot of respect and gratitude toward her. And I wish her the very best."