Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's Kids: Everything They've Said About Parenting

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Jeff Vespa/VF14/WireImage

Ben Affleck (L) and Jennifer Garner attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014 in West Hollywood, California

Jennifer GarnerandBen Affleckare famously proud — and private — parents.

TheYes Dayactress and theGone Girlstar split in 2015 after 10 years of marriage, officially divorcing three years later. Together, they co-parent their three children: Violet Anne, 19,Seraphina Rose, 16, andSamuel, 13.

Despite Garner and Affleck’s best efforts to preserve their children’s privacy, the family has had to weather several public ups and downs over the years. In January 2022, Affleck told theLos Angeles Timesthat he worried about how his kids would handle his public perception, explaining that he paid little mind to the media attention surrounding him until his children began to see it.

Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive

Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner, who’s expecting their first child, are on hand to cheer on the Boston Red Sox during a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park

“I got to a place where [the public perception] was so different from who I am that I just stopped reading and stopped caring,” he said. “But then, as my kids got older and started seeing the Internet themselves, that’s the difficult part.”

Speaking toGood Morning Americain December 2021, the two-time Academy Award winner added that the only opinion of him that matters is that of his children.

“I will be long dead and someone will ask my kids, ‘What was your dad like?’ and that is when I will know what my life was worth,” he said.

Affleck has also said that he considers his kidswhen making career moves. In fact, getting more time with his kids was one reason he began his production company, Artists Equity, which allows him to be in Los Angeles more.

“One of the reasons I did it was, I’m divorced. I share custody. I don’t want to go to Austin and New Orleans and Georgia anymore and not see my kids,” he toldThe Hollywood Reporterin an interview published in March 2023.

“It just doesn’t work. These years are too important. If I miss them, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life,” he added.Since getting divorced, Garner and Affleck moved on to other relationships. The13 Going on 30star has beendating CEO John Milleron and off since 2018, while Affleck was married toJennifer Lopezfor two years before shefiled for divorcein August 2024.

From their early reflections on raising children to how they’re navigating life with teenagers, here’s everythingJennifer GarnerandBen Affleckhave said about parenting.

Violet Anne Affleck, 19

Paul Morigi/WireImage

Jennifer Garner (R) and her daughter Violet Affleck listen to Ben Affleck testify before a Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on “Diplomacy, Development, and National Security” on Capitol Hill in Washington March 26, 2015

Two years after welcoming Violet, Garnergushed about Affleck’s parenting skillsduring a 2007 interview withInStyle.

From the beginning of their parenting journey, Garner and Affleck did their best to keep their children out of the spotlight, which proved difficult given the intense media attention surrounding their relationship. When she was just a kindergartener, Violet was already dealing with the paparazzi, as Garner explained in a March 2021 cover story forThe Hollywood Reporter.

The actress recalled a time when Violet spoke out about the traumatic experience of being constantly photographed. “She stood up on a chair in a little velvet dress, with her hair a bit back and her glasses on and she didn’t say her R’s right, and she said: ‘We didn’t ask for this. We don’t want these cameras, they’re scary. The men are scary, they knock each other over and it’s hard to feel like a kid when you’re being chased.’ "

Garner noted that the constant attention “put so much anxiety in our little family,” which was one of the reasons she was inspired to help to pass a bill that made it a crime for paparazzi to photograph children without permission.

“Anywhere that we went it was a total circus,” she said during a conversation on PBS’Tell Me More With Kelly Corriganin October 2020, adding that the paparazzi had a profound impact on her kids' childhoods, particularly when it came to their firstborn. “My one daughter tried to play soccer and it was such a zoo for the families that they just said, ‘Can you please not,’ " Garner explained.

Out of the spotlight, however, Garner and Affleck raised their kids with whatever sense of normalcy they could. When Violet was a preteen, Garner expressed her fears over giving her a laptop, explaining that she relented after learning Violet was the only kid in her class without one — but also admitting that she was “kind of panicked” about it.

“She’s not on social media yet — her school has a no social media policy until 6th grade — but I know it’s coming soon,” Garner toldTodayin 2016.

The actress echoed her concerns about social media again in 2019, explaining that shewouldn’t let Violet join Instagram.

“She’ll occasionally talk to me about getting Instagram, and I can see why because I’m on there and it’s something kind of fun that I do, and I am modeling the opposite of what I want for her to do,” Garner toldKatie Couric. “How often is that in parenting?”

“My daughter is so funny, she teases me, she’s 14 and she’s like ‘Why do they let you on this group chat? You don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t pretend you have any idea what’s going on,’ " Affleck laughed. “Then she’s like, ‘What are they saying on the group chat?’ which is only appropriate very rarely for my daughter, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s a way to stay in touch. It’s fun.”

Violet Affleck and Jennifer Garner.Nathan Howard/Getty

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: Actress Jennifer Garner and her daughter Violet arrive for the White House state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on December 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. The official state visit is the first for the Biden administration. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Now that Violet is almost all grown up, Garner has looked back on her parenting style. For a cover story withAllurein May 2023, Garner shared that she was a"nightmare” as a first-time mom.

“My eldest daughter [Violet] didn’t have a shot,” she said. “She couldn’t have a free thought — I was all over her. I was a nightmare for everyone around me.”

In July 2024, Violetstood before the L.A. County Board of Supervisorsand advocated for mask availability and free COVID-19 testing.

“One in 10 infections leads to long COVID, which is a devastating neurological [and] cardiovascular illness that can take away people’s ability to work, move, see, and even think,” she said. “To confront the long COVID crisis, I demand mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC light in government facilities, including jails and detention centers, and mask mandates in county medical facilities.”

Violetwill attend Yale Universityin the fall of 2024.

Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck, 16

Garner and Affleck welcomed their second child on Jan. 6, 2009. Seven days later, the couple’s reprevealed their newborn’s nameexclusively to PEOPLE: Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck.

Ahead of Seraphina’s birth, Garner and Affleck’s palBradley Cooperspoke to PEOPLE about the couple expanding their family, noting that he thought the pair would be “perfect” parents.

In 2012, Garner said that Affleck was excelling as a dad. “He’s all about [tea parties]. He can do it without using any energy at all,” she said during an appearance onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show. “He can sit there and be almost asleep and they think they’re having an incredible game with him. It’s skill.”

And while Affleck and Garner quickly settled into their new role as parents of two, Affleck later revealed that having multiple children made him rethink how he approached his career and work schedule.

“My life has really changed a lot. Once I had kids, it became very obvious to me that the priority was time with them,” he told PEOPLE in 2021 when he was working onThe Tender Barwith his longtime palGeorge Clooney, who directed the film.

“George was spectacular in that way,” Affleck said of the director. “He’s a dad too and would let me out on the weekends or cut me early. He really understood and appreciated how important it was for me to see my kids.”

The actor added that prioritizing family over work became especially important “when I got divorced and had half the time. … So I’m trying to fit a whole week of dad into three and a half days, [it’s] hard and stressful. My standards really changed. I don’t want to go travel and do something if it’s not really rewarding and meaningful. Yeah, I have to work. The kids know I have to work. Their mom has to work. They understand that. But it’s not like I’m some martyr for my kids. I get more out of it than anything else,” he shared.

Garner and Affleckannounced they were divorcingafter 10 years of marriage in June 2015, when Violet was 9, Seraphina was 6 and Samuel was 3.

The following year, Affleck gave an update on how their co-parenting journey was going whilespeaking toE! Newsat the March 2016Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicepremiere. “Jen is a superhero mom. She is an amazing mother and I’m really lucky to have her as a partner to co-parent these kids with. We try our best, we put them first and that’s what we do.”

In her first major post-split interview, Garner revealed toVanity Fairin 2016 that while she was still getting over their romantic relationship, she and Affleck were “completely in line” with their dreams for their kids.

“It’s not Ben’s job to make me happy,” she told the outlet. “The main thing is these kids — and we’re completely in line with what we hope for them. Sure, I lost the dream of dancing with my husband at my daughter’s wedding. But you should see their faces when he walks through the door. And if you see your kids love someone so purely and wholly, then you’re going to be friends with that person.”

In 2018, the former couple reunited tohost a party for Seraphina’s 9th birthday. “It was a small celebration,” a source told PEOPLE. “Ben was there too. Seraphina had friends over for cake and got a lot of gifts.”

Seraphina, now 16, has also seemingly embraced being a part of a larger blended family after Affleck married Lopez, as she’s been spottedspending time with Lopez’stwins Emme and Max on several occasions. Seraphina also joined siblings Violet and Samuel, along with Emme and Max, ingiving away their parentsat their August 2022 wedding.

Samuel Affleck, 13

London Entertainment / SplashNews.com

Ben Affleck and his son Samuel Garner Affleck attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics

Ahead of welcoming Samuel, Garner toldEllen DeGeneres, “It would be so weird to have a boy,” adding that the experience would be “cool and different.”

After giving birth to Samuel, Garner gave DeGeneres an update on her new life as a mom of three. “I mean, [my daughters] didn’t pee in my eye,” she joked, before adding that her son is “really, really, really sweet.”

She also shared an update on Samuel’s personality. “He reaches when he sees me and he laughs a lot,” she said. “He thinks I’m super funny. What more do you want?”

As Samuel grew up, he seemed to have inherited a love of baseball from his dad, who’s famously adie-hard Boston Red Sox fan. In 2019, Affleck told DeGeneres that he was thecoach of Samuel’s Little League team. “It’s one of those things, you love it so much, it’s like the dad dream,” he said, explaining that he was so dedicated to the job, he had even pulled a few strings to be at every game.

“I had a game last week and I was promoting [Triple Frontier], and I was going to Asia and I was like, ‘I have to come back a day early!’ " he said. “And it was like, ‘Whats the … ?’ And I was like, ‘My son’s Little League game? I’m the coach.’ But thank you, Netflix. They did let me [go].”

That same year, Affleck recalled how he took matters into his own hands after Samuel told him he wasn’t a New England Patriots fan.

The actor explained toJimmy Kimmelhow he tried to share some Boston sports history with Samuel before they headed to a World Series Red Sox game.

“I was telling my 6-year-old, my son in particular, you know, ‘We’re really excited because we’re from Boston and this is a big deal and the Red Sox’ and I’m giving him the whole history,” Affleck told the host.

“And he listens to me and then he stops and goes, ‘Dad. You’re from Boston. I’m from L.A.,’ " Affleck continued. “And I had a full existential crisis. ‘I failed, I’m a bad father, this is a disaster, I don’t know what to do!’ "

“My ex-wife thinks it’s creepy,” he joked.

Affleck’s efforts seemed to have some effect on his son, as Samuel recently made a rare public appearance at a Boston Celtics game in December 2022, where hesat courtside with his dadat the Crypto.com Arena in L.A.

In February 2023, Samuel and theGone Girlstarattended the Ruffles Celebrity Gameduring NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. The father-son duo had the honor of introducing the teams before the game, and while sitting courtside, they snapped a photo withShaquille O’Neal.

Playing basketball has become one of Samuel’s hobbies — and Affleck is often in the stands cheering for his son (or yelling at the refs).

“I have found myself just this year really embarrassing myself. I was at a basketball game for 11-year-olds,loudly complaining about the inconsistencies of the traveling callsagainst [them],” he admitted to PEOPLE. “And I just was like, ‘Get a hold of yourself.’ I mean, listen, you don’t want to be one of those parents.”

Affleck continued: “It’s that thing, I think, in modern parenting, especially. We want to help our children. We want them to succeed. We love them so much. And yet the real challenge is to get out of the way and let them do it on their own.”

source: people.com